2026 Festival Shows

Performances at 2pm on Aug. 1 & 2

Sponsored by JenStuckeyHome

by Jad Jacob

In a rock-and-roll retelling of Ludwig van Beethoven's story, the scandalous rock star turns Vienna upside-down with his musical revolution. The legendary composer comes to life through original music, from his humble beginnings as a young upstart on the music scene, to his fall from grace during the scandals of his later life.

by Laura Guli & Premila Mistry

Sixth grade girl Amalie, socially awkward, lonely and bullied, yearns for another world.  After magically entering Van Gogh’s painting Cafe Terrace at Night, Amalie bonds with Van Gogh over a shared understanding of life’s pain and beauty.  Amalie visits Van Gogh in the painting several times and this friendship gives her the confidence to start making friends.

2026 Student Showcase

Performance at 7pm on Aug. 1

C’est La Vie: The Musical

by Victoria Bernardes & Miriam Lakein

C’est La Vie is a musical centered around the lives of four teenage girls. Each has a set of problems that they are struggling to deal with from absent parents to blackmail to impossible expectations of success. The four girls are thrown together for a school project and do not initially hit it off. They face many trials as they attempt to work together, but eventually learn to trust and confide in each other. Throughout the events of the show, they learn that even when their lives are falling apart, having someone beside them, even if they cannot solve anything, makes life more enjoyable.

2026 Writers

Beethoven: Live in Concert Writing Team

Jad Jacob (Book, Music, Lyrics) is an award-winning Syrian-American composer and filmmaker. Film score credits include: Never Can Say Goodbye (produced by Tony-nominee Crystal Lucas-Perry); feature film Concessions, starring Michael Madsen and Steven Ogg (Edinburgh Int’l Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival). Recent performance credits: Area D (Ars Nova); Hayati (Liminal Theatre Collective); Tribute To Queen: Somebody To Love (The Palace Theatre, NH). Jad played Ludwig van Beethoven in the first staged developmental production of Beethoven: Live In Concert at Fort Salem Theater (April 2024). Jad has traveled the world as dueling pianist, piano bar entertainer, and music director - teaching music at Yaya Theatre Academy in Shenzhen, China; at Forestburgh Playhouse, with APTC; and performing on cruises with both Norwegian and MSC. Film directing credits include: I Am Syria, a documentary about Syrian refugees living in Germany (screenings, Harvard University); and Benson’s Playground (Premiere, Golden State Film Festival). He is recipient of the Al Budde Playwright Scholarship; finalist for the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting; and a graduate of NYU Tisch’s Film & TV program. His songs have been performed by Broadway veterans such as Lexi Lawson (Hamilton), Brennyn Lark (Six), and Keri René Fuller (Wicked). In February 2025, he made his 54 Below debut in a sold-out concert of original works, entitled Finished/Unfinished. www.jadjacob.com | @jadjjacob

Brian Clemente (Collaborator) has worked as a Director and Assistant Director on a multitude of Professional, Community and Educational productions. Local Directing Credits include Spring Awakening, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, The Glorious Ones, A Little Night Music at Schenectady Light Opera Company; the Regional Premieres of Theatre People, or the Angel Next Door, Popcorn Falls and Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End at Curtain Call, where he also serves as Associate Producer, and Into the Woods and Spring Awakening at Fort Salem Theater. Favorite Assistant Director credits include: the American Premiere of Angry Young Man at Urban Stages NYC (Dir. Stephen Hamilton), Intimate Apparel at Bay Street Theater (Dir. Scott Schwartz), A Streetcar Named Desire at Bay Street Theater and on the Guild Hall production of All My Sons starring Alec Baldwin and Laurie Metcalf, also with Stephen Hamilton. Recipient of the Gwen Fraser Award for Creative Excellence from Schenectady Light Opera Company. MFA: Stony Brook Southampton | brianclementedirector.com

Sunflower: The Story of Amalie & Vincent Writing Team

Premila Mistry, composer and orchestrator for Sunflower the Musical is a public school music teacher and teaches music at John Eaton Elementary School in Washington, DC.  She is a certified Orff teacher, and has won the Rubenstein Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2019, and the Spotlight Award for the American Center for Elemental Music in 2018.  She is the Founder and Director of Sticks+Bars Youth Marimba Ensemble, DC’s first and only African style marimba band.  Mistry’s ensembles have performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, at Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, MD with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and at various venues in the DC area and beyond.  

Laura Guli, the bookwriter and lyricist for Sunflower the Musical, is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice in Austin, TX where she works with adolescents and their families. She obtained her PhD in School Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in English from the University of Virginia. Laura is the author of the Social Competence Intervention Program (SCIP), a theater based curriculum for youth on the autism spectrum. She is also an award winning poet with a chapbook (A Fiery Grace) published by Finishing Line Press. Laura is passionate about musical theater, children and the power of art to create meaningful change. 

C’est La Vie Writing Team

Miriam Lakein (book)

Victoria Bernardes (music & lyrics)

2026 Cabaret Musicals

Performance at 7pm on Aug. 1

  • Café con Leche

    by Maiga Vidal

    CAFÉ CON LECHE is a queer romcom musical about Alejandra, a closeted accountant who works at her parents’ struggling mom-and-pop donut shop, California Cappuccino Donut Coffee (CCDC). After months of trying to convince her parents to change things up to be more competitive, they adamantly refuse. They don’t understand the iced coffee craze or why people don’t love their all- American donuts!

    However, when Bigg Coffee, the largest coffee shop chain in Los Angeles, opens a new store next door and gets the landlord to evict her parents if they’re late on next month’s rent, Alejandra is forced to act... behind their back. With the help of charming and definitely-also-not-hiding-something social media manager, Megan, Alejandra opens up Café con Leche, a secret rival coffee spot to steal straggling customers from next door, that operates only after CCDC closes at 2 pm. However, once her original Chilean-inspired coffee recipe, Media Naranja, goes viral, she starts drawing suspicion from both Bigg Coffee and her parents. As her success with Café con Leche and her feelings for Megan become undeniable, Alejandra begins to question just how much she’s willing to hide to keep her parents’ love.

  • From Water To Air

    by Alanya Bridge

    ‘from Water to Air’ is a song cycle by Alanya Bridge that explores themes of passing over, rebirth and self-discovery. Woven together through the elements; water, earth, fire and air, this evocative 60-minute show encapsulates the fragility of life, its transitions and transformations through a journey of healing.

  • Hatchetation

    by Amy Jo Jackson

    It’s 1900 in Kansas, and Temperance advocate Carry A. Nation is PISSED. What’s the point of having a Prohibition Amendment in the state’s constitution if nobody’s gonna enforce the dang thing? After the death of her young friend Zuleika at the hands of a drunken doctor, Carry reaches a breaking point – there HAS to be a way to get the attention of those in power. The next day, Mrs. Nation, armed with bricks, friggin’ DESTROYS a saloon. She’s an instant sensation. Carry is contacted by Dr. Eva Harding, a career organizer, who convinces her that she needs a team to take the movement to the next level. Eva gifts Carry a Very Important Hatchet, and together they build an army of self-proclaimed Home Defenders. 

  • Human: A New Ancient Musical

    by Bonnie Corral & Krystin Lacey

    HUMAN: A New Ancient Musical captures the moment when a human made art for the first time, on a cave wall, and what that meant for the future of humanity. A story told through the eyes of a small tribe of 7, it shows how humans 50,000 years a go were beginning to find joy in creating as a form of survival. It addresses themes of joy, hope, survival, tradition, expression, grief, loss, & growth.

  • Marlise!

    by Jesse Ayala and Justino Tesoro

    When a fading Hollywood star is framed for murder, she must join forces with her obsessive fan to clear her name and solve the crime. In a world obsessed with fame and perfection, Marlise! asks: what’s more powerful: the truth, or the story people believe? Set in 1954 Hollywood, the musical exposes the price of ambition and the myths behind the idols we adore.When the cameras stop rolling, even stars must face the mirror and the secrets in their closets.

  • New Year in Connecticut!

    by Sequoia Sellinger & Sarah Rossman

    The Stablemans are not like other families. No, but really. Life is a game of mental illness musical chairs, no one has boundaries, and the status quo is anything but static. "Next Year in Connecticut!" follows the Stableman family over the course of one dysfunctional, hilarious family dinner (in this case, a Passover seder).

  • tame the noise

    by Benjamin Walton

    tame the noise is an ADHD folk allegory performed by a troupe of performers. It tells the story of a town called Normal that has been plagued by an unknown force that has been named The Noise by Normal that causes people to uncontrollably speak, sing, or just make noise for extended periods of time. This is a nuisance to seemingly everyone except for a single boy. Sure, the noise affects him, but he doesn't seem bothered in the slightest.

  • Willow Storm and the Lightning Bolts

    by Stephanie Henry

    Set in the mid-1980s, Willow Storm and the Lightning Bolts follows Aaron Richards, a struggling singer-songwriter whose lack of confidence keeps him from breaking past auditions. With the help of her best friend Tiffany, a skilled costume designer, Aaron transforms into her inner female rock star, Willow Storm, crafting both an unforgettable look and a powerful stage persona. Together, tey form Willow Storm and the Lightning Bolts, a band that channels the energy, flair, and rebellion of 1980s glam rock.

Directing Teams

Ben Stasny

Ben is delighted to be returning for his fifth season as resident director with New Musical Project! Ben received his PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder and became certified as a facilitator of Theatre of the Oppressed from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre and Mandala Center for Change. He will be starting a new position as Teaching Assistant Professor at Kansas State University this fall! Some of Ben's favorite directing credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Hadestown: Teen Edition, Lend Me a Tenor, and of course NMP. Some of Ben's favorite performance credits include: King Arthur in Spamalot, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, The Genie in Aladdin for Disney Cruise Line, and as an actor in the New York New Works Festival in New York City. Ben is soaking up his final few days in Colorado and will deeply miss the fabulous people who he has worked with over the years. www.benstasny.com

Sunflower Director

Lloyd Harvey

Lloyd Harvey II A professional actor from Fort Worth, who got cast in one show at Backstage Breckenridge back in June 2022 and ended up doing 9 shows with the theatre. He has performed and directed at the Dallas Children’s Theatre, Casa Mañana, Jubilee Theatre, Uptown Players, WaterTower Theatre, and many others the past 20 years. Some of his greatest hits include Next to Normal (Dan), Company (Bobby), Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd), The Play That Goes wrong (Robert Grove), Take Me Out (Darren Lemming), Dog Sees God (Beethoven), RENT (Tom Collins) and Peter Pan (Captain Hook). Directing Beauty & the Beast, Junie B. Jones, the musical & Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Thank you Courtney Navarre, Elle Tyler, and Jad Jacob! Super excited to join in on this wild new adventure! 

Beethoven Director
Sunflower Music Director

Courtney Navarre

Courtney Navarre is a director, performer, and teaching artist based in the Denver–Boulder area. She holds a Master of Music from the UMKC Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music from MSU Denver. Her work spans musical theatre, opera, and arts education. Music Directing credits include The Gift of the Magi (regional premiere), Frozen Jr., The Great Divide (workshop/staged reading), Matilda, Into the Woods, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Directing credits include The Door (premiere), The SpongeBob Musical, Frozen Jr., Honk Jr., and scenes from Nadia Half Dreaming (New Musical Project 2025). As a performer, Courtney has appeared in Ghost Quartet, Die Zauberflöte, A Christmas Story, Getting Through April (staged reading and cast recording), Into the Woods, Chess, The Merry Widow, White Christmas, and more. She is the Associate Director at Parlando School of Musical Arts. Courtney is also a co-founder and producer of New Musical Project.

Bridget Burke

C'est La Vie Director

Bridget is a Colorado based, NYC trained actress and performer. She studied musical theatre performance at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City where her knowledge of the study of voice grew immensely. While in NYC she regularly performed at The Peoples Improv Theatre and in an Off-Broadway cabaret while earning a BFA in Musical Theatre with Honors from the New School. Since returning to Boulder in 2020, she is singing, teaching and directing around Colorado and excited to give back to the community that first inspired her to be a performer.

Sara Parkinson

Cabaret Music Director

Simon Daum

Cabaret Assistant Music Director
Beethoven Music Director

Abby Terrill

Abby Rose Terrill is a performer and teacher based in Boulder, Colorado. She holds both an MM from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BM from the University of Central Missouri where she studied Piano Performance and Pedagogy. As a passionate advocate for diversity in music, Abby prioritizes amplifying underrepresented and living voices, which she shares through both her performances and teaching repertoire. She actively participates in musical collaborations within the Boulder community where she runs a private studio, plays and sings in various vocal and instrumental projects, and accompanies local theater productions.

Victoria Bernardes

C'est La Vie Music Director

Dr. Sara Parkinson brings more than 25 years of experience in music education, arts leadership, and community engagement to her role as Director of Development at Parlando School of Musical Arts. A respected leader in Colorado's arts community, she previously served as Executive Director of both the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and Longmont Symphony Orchestra, following a season as Director of Education and Community Engagement with the Boulder Philharmonic.

Throughout her career, Sara has been dedicated to expanding access to music education, building meaningful community partnerships, and advancing the mission of nonprofit arts organizations. In addition to her leadership work, she is an accomplished pianist and conductor who performs regularly throughout Colorado.

Sara holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Iowa and New England Conservatory and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado Boulder. She lives in Boulder with her husband and two sons.

Simon Daum is a music educator/performer recently relocated from Philadelphia to Boulder. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Choral/General Emphasis) from Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University, where he sang in internationally touring choirs, served as Music Director of the Nu Psi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, graduated magna cum laude, and later attended the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute.

Simon has enjoyed working on numerous high school/college productions, whether music directing, vocal coaching, playing in the pit, or helping with technical aspects. Select highlights include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Freaky Friday, Bring it On, Les Miserables, Big Fish, and Once on this Island. As a performer, some of his favorite roles include Dr. Madden in Next to Normal, Mr. Popper in Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and Constable Locke in The Music Man. He also has years of experience singing classical and sacred music in the Philadelphia area, including performances of Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In the studio, Simon encourages healthy vocal exploration and loves helping students develop a better understanding of how their voices function. Valuing each individual’s personal relationship with music, he can accommodate students interested in multiple styles, as well as those interested in playing piano while singing. Outside of the studio, you can find Simon hiking, bouldering, playing basketball, and searching for delicious donuts.