Music by Will Todd
New York City, 1964: Kitty Genovese is brutally attacked on the steps of her apartment building while thirty-eight of her neighbors watch and/or listen – yet no one helps, no one calls the police. Inspired by the true story that shocked the nation, British composer Will Todd and American writer David Simpatico slice through the silence of a city stricken with fear in the musical drama The Screams of Kitty Genovese. The New York Times says, “hold the hand-wringing over the precipitous decline of the American musical theater, please.” Keep your eyes and ears open – The Screams of Kitty Genovese will have you on the edge of your seat.
The Screams of Kitty Genovese, score by Will Todd; on Soundcloud.
This is the demo recording we cut in Edinburgh in 2010 at the Fringe Festival; David Edwards directed the production, which featured Sarah Applewood, Darren Charles, Steve Devereaux, Ben Dunwell, Robert Irons, Waylon Jacobs, Claire Platt, Jessica Ridley, Caroline Sabiston, Susie Self, Bradley White-Dale, Sophie Tehrani
This production was produced by STACI LEVINE and MICHAEL NASSAR.
Sarah Applewood, Waylon Jacobs, Caroline Sabiston, Robert Irons, Jessica Ridley, Bradley White-Dale, Ben Dunwell, Steve Devereaux, Susie Self, Claire Platt
This production was produced by STACI LEVINE and MICHAEL NASSAR
Here is a Trailer I put together; a very intense six minutes!
And here is the video of The Screams of Kitty Genovese production at the Tete a Tete New Opera Festival in London, 2010.
“Uncomfortably frightening and aurally thrilling.” Andy Propst, Backstage, 2006
“Hold the hand-wringing over the precipitous decline of the American musical theater, please.” Keep your eyes and ears open – The Screams of Kitty Genovese will have you on the edge of your seat.” NY Times, 2006
”In addition to being one of the most powerful operas of the last decade, The Screams of Kitty Genovese gave me hope for the renewal of musical theater.” Robert Brustein/ New Republic/ 2001
“So allow me to be among the first to shout from the rooftops in support of Todd and Simpatico’s score. Alone of those I’ve been exposed to at NYMF this year, this one would not be inappropriately compared to the greats of the layered, theatrical-collage form . . . if it’s any indication of what they’re capable of, Todd and Simpatico could have glorious careers ahead of them.“ Matthew Murray/ Talkin’ Broadway/ 2006
“What ultimately stays with you is the score. Though, mostly dissonant and unmelodic, it suits its material and makes for an intense and powerful experience” Julia Furay/ Curtain Up/ 2006
“The music (Will Todd) is exceptional in its evocation of what these people were thinking and feeling, reflecting all the tensions in every one of their lives.” Oscar E Moore/ Talk Entertainment/ 2006
David Simpatico, Dramatist 