2009 Vote!: A New Musical is an exciting collaboration between emerging New York songwriters Ryann Ferguson and Steven Jamail. The story of three high school student body presidential hopefuls, it is a fresh -- though by no means innocent -- look at politics, ambition, and coming of age. 2008 Down in the Valley was the IU Jacobs Schools of Music's first world premiere, and features a rich score by Kurt Weill (libretto by Arnold Sundgard). This July production marked the sixtieth anniversary of the piece's 1948 premiere in Bloomington, which was attended by the composer, as well as by legendary lyricist Jay Loerner, whose wife, Marion Bell, originated the role of Jennie Parsons. |