Broadway's Next Hit Musical at the Tony Awards Trivia Night!

You know who wrote the lyrics to My Fair Lady. You know who has hosted the Tonys the past five years. You can easily rattle off at least three Idina Menzel credits. Congrats! You are a musical theatre geek and we want to see you on June 7th! Broadway's Next has teamed up with TrivWorks and the Tony Awards for a very special event!

The Tonys Awards Meets Trivia Meets Broadway's Next Hit Musical

The Tony Awards happen in the early summer. To create buzz around the broadcast, The Tony Awards reached out to TrivWorks - a company that creates trivia nights for corporate and public events. David Jacobson of TrivWorks was looking to create New York City's biggest Broadway trivia night ever and knew a great way to do that was to get Broadway's Next Hit Musical involved. So voila! A match made in Tony/trivia/Phony heaven!

Trivia, Prizes, Improv

TrivWorks is pulling out all the stops to make this event HUGE for Broadway fans. The Tony Awards has supplied some phenomenal prizes - including two tickets to the dress rehearsal of the Tonys Awards! Did you hear that? Two tickets to the dress rehearsal of the Tony Awards! We'll be there making up songs throughout the night, too, and emceeing. Just doing our regular craziness. It's going to be such a fun night!  

Get Your Tickets and Your Team Together

Now is a good time to get your tickets to the event. We recommend buying at least four so you can get a good solid team together. After that, pay attention on your newsfeed to the people who are constantly posting about Hamilton, snapping pictures of Playbills before curtain, and sharing BroadwayWorld articles. Those are your new teammates. Now go forth and study! #tonytrivia

Take Home YOUR Show!

I remember the first time that I saw Broadway's Next Hit Musical - it was called Next Big Broadway Musical back then. The theatre was so hot, everyone in the audience was roasting - I can't imagine how it was for the actors - but I was loving every bit of it. I didn't care. The emcee was completely hilarious and had the crowd in his hands.  Every time the actors put their hands into the fishbowl I went a little breathless thinking MY song would be picked. Then finally I got to vote for which musical I could see in full. It was such a personal experience. That was back in 2002 or so. Even though I haven't heard the songs since I saw the show, I remember loving them. In fact, I can't remember much about the show at all - only how I felt. Unfortunately, the show that I loved so much just sort of vanished into thin air.

And now...

Now, years later, we still want every audience member to leave the theater happy and excited about the show. The difference is, we have much better ways of about capturing and sharing Broadway's Next - many of them free! Here's what you can do to take parts of YOUR show with you:

First, let's start with what you can see and hear right now:

Red Carpet Videos

Maybe you noticed it when you came in, maybe you were even interviewed by our emcee, either way, we post all of our Red Carpet videos. I have to say, we're really hitting our stride with these. They capture the feeling of the theatre before the show starts, and how witty our emcees are. 

Free Song Download

If you have seen Broadway's Next since March '16 you'll know that we've started offering a free download of the winning song. Head to our website, tell us when you saw the show, and we'll email it to you. This is especially fun for our Phony Award winners. 

NOW THE SUPER BIG NEWS!

Signed Show Poster

Want a signed show poster? We'll write in the winning song and the musical title, and get the cast that you saw on that specific night to autograph it. Super fun to put up in your dorm! Click the picture above to order it.

Original Cast Recording

Since March '16 we have started selling the Original Cast Recordings of Broadway's Next Hit Musical's show. You'll get to hear all of the songs from the first act of the show - (did yours get picked, but not win?) - PLUS the songs in the musical of the second act. You voted for it, you walked out of the theatre singing it, you might as well have it on your phone too! Click the picture above to order it!

Travelogue: Megan Reilly on Touring Through Florida '16

Megan Reilly in costume in Miami, FL.

Chicken and dumplings are the two things that have really stuck with me after my adventures in the Sunshine State. I assumed that Florida’s eternal warmth and sunshine would inspire me to kick my “beach body” into gear, but this was not the case. 

Every tour has memorable moments. I would love to share a few of those with you that, may or may not, involve my serious relationship with food. 

* I dabbed onstage in front of eight hundred high school students in a gown. I looked like an urban mermaid and felt like Beyonce. I have never heard so many humans passionately chanting my name. What a time to be alive! 

* The incomparable Greg Triggs wrote a freaking book that I am beyond excited to read! It is called "The Next Happiest Place On Earth" and when it comes out y'all should read it. Maybe we can start a BNHM Book Club and our cast, crew and fans can all read it together and have informative conversations via Twitter or SnapChat. 

* I went for a thirty minute run and accidentally ran for one hour. I got burnt by the sun and looked like a weird lobster for part of the trip, but I ran for an hour. Despite the red glow, I was super proud. 

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* I went to see "Deadpool" with Rob and Greg and we each got our own, large popcorn. Gluttony is alive and well, folks. YOLO. 

* Robert freestyle-rapped during the drive from Avon Park to Miami. I have never laughed so hard in my life. Is there anything this fine lad cannot do? 

* I spent a lot of time in the CVS Snack aisle. Despite my deliberate decisions I never truly felt like I made the right one. 

* Spending time with Deb Rabbai in the ladies dressing room is my favorite thing ever. She is the best and our chats are the best. So many good chats! 

* I got home Saturday morning and slept for the rest of the day. 

Once again, I thank you Broadway's Next Hit Musical, for a week of memories, indigestion, laughs and beautiful, talented faces. I am living the incredible jean! 

Producer's Spotlight: Where the Story Goes

[Editor's Note: Once a month we hear from one of Broadway's Next's Producers to give a peak into the process of creating, performing, and maintaining our show. This week it's with author and producer Greg Triggs.]

Greg Triggs backstage in Jenison, MI

I'm in the process of bringing my first novel, The Next Happiest Place on Earth to market.  It used to frustrate me that it took eight years to write but now I kind of love that it did.  The book evolved as I did.  When I reread it I notice old feelings and perceptions, characters inspired by new friends and other things that are more engrained and certain because I had longer to sit with the thoughts.  That’s a luxury improvisers don’t normally have.

 My friend Budge Threlkeld with whom I worked at Disney’s Comedy Warehouse was one of the funniest men I’ve ever known.  He was in the original Broadway production of Miss Firecracker Contest by Beth Henley.  He performed stand-up at Carnegie Hall.  His best friend was Stephen Stucker the outrageous comedian from Airplane!.  Budge helped nurse him as Stephen battled and ultimately passed away from AIDS in 1986.

We lost Budge a few years back.  He had struggled with emphysema for a long time.  People who’ve spent years creating shows from nothing the way you do in improv are very loyal to each other – the ensemble was good about checking in on him during his convalescence.  When he and I would talk it was very often about the book.  I remember a day when I was struggling with the novel.  He told me to relax adding, “The story will tell you where to go.”  It was one of the most important and last things he’d ever share with me.

I’m thankful that he said that, but for the life of me I don’t know why I had to be reminded.  The process of writing a novel is very much like improv, at least for me.  Perhaps mysteries or legal dramas require a mathematical sense of plotting but a romantic comedy such as, The Next Happiest Place on Earth has a more natural and spontaneous flow.  One choice leads to another as the scenes unfold and build. 

Budge Threlkeld

There are certain moments in the book I love because they remind me of people I’ve performed with over the years – a turn of phrase I could hear Rob choose, a character Debbie would play or a scene that would make Budge laugh out loud.

As an improviser I’m not used to having a permanent record of my work.  Years from now I’ll reread my book and see only what I wish I had done differently – but that’s all in an imagined future.  For today I’m simply proud and grateful.  I hope the response to The Next Happiest Place on Earth will provide encouragement to write another novel – a story that will tell me where it wants to go.

Perhaps there will even be a character named Budge.

To find out more about Greg Trigg's upcoming book The Next Happiest Place on Earth head to www.gregtriggs.com.