PRODIGY
Book and Lyrics by Jenny Stafford
Music by Willem Oosthuysen
Emily, at age 14, is convinced that she’s a prodigy, just like her two heroes—her dad (a cellist) and Mozart. She just doesn’t know at what. However, when Emily is told that her father is killed in a car crash right before his biggest competition, she is determined to find out what makes her special and make him proud. With the help of her imaginary friend, Mozart, she sets off on a quest to find her skill.
Through non-linear storytelling, we also follow Emily at age 34. Having found her skill as a cellist like her father, she has buried herself in the obsessive world of the cello, and Cello (portrayed by an actor throughout the piece) becomes the only real relationship in her life. However, as she starts to discover the limitations of her isolation, she is challenged to reexamine who her father was, who she is, and how music, mental illness, and art define her and the world she has created for herself.
Prodigy received a full production through CCU, after being presented at New York University’s Collaborative Development Program, Indiana University, the Harrisburg New Works Festival, and the Two Rivers Theatre. Prodigy was also a finalist for the Yale Institute for Musical Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, and the Barrington Stage Mainstage.
Performer Credits:
Alyse Alan Louis, Cyrilla Baer, James Sasser, Stephen Mark, Patrick Burr, Tara Halpern. Cello: Alden Terry