A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION full-length musical for 12 Women (+optional additional ensemble) by Amy Engelhardt & Arianna Rose

by Arianna Rose and Amy Engelhardt

[Full-length musical with optional two acts. 12 women, + optional additional ensemble]

(To listen to the demos: link on this page, under "Music Samples" in the column on the right.)

[Full-length musical with optional two acts. 12 women, + optional additional ensemble]

(To listen to the demos: link on this page, under "Music Samples" in the column on the right.)

A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION is a musical adaptation of the full-length play THE EQUIVALENT OF SENSATION, also by Arianna Rose.
SYNOPSIS:
At the unveiling of the million-dollar renovation of their renowned Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Modern Art, long dead sisters Etta and Claribel Cone suddenly materialize. "Family friend" Gertrude Stein and her paramour Alice Toklas (equally dead) also pop up, uninvited (much to Etta’s dismay). Their mission: to settle once and for all how the “Friendship” between Etta and Gertrude fell apart. Their younger selves appear to help them sort it all out. The surrounding artwork miraculously comes to life, with each woman represented by a painting with special significance for them. Etta struggles with her feelings for Gertrude and her modern proclivities, at direct odds with her Victorian mores. Through a series of evocative vignettes, we are transported back to Baltimore, Paris and Italy at the turn of the century to learn what derailed the relationship (and suspected affair) and how Gertrude and Alice came to be a couple. The musical is non-linear, moving between present time in the Cone Wing, past memories with the younger selves of the four women, with artwork that also represents the women that comes alive to comment on and move the story forward. Fantasy sequences are created when past and present merge. At its heart, A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION is about learning valuable, timeless lessons of love, and covert and overt feminism in a time when women were expected to be heterosexual homemakers.

Featuring a cast of twelve women of any race and ethnicity, the score is written for a modern rhythm section (pop/rock) with strings for a more chamber-like, period feel.
2026, Equity reading, Musical Theatre West, New Works Festival, Long Beach CA
2025 partial reading, Nautilus Music Theatre, ROUGH CUTS
2025 workshop & readings, University of Minnesota/Duluth Theatre Department
2024 finalist for the Edward Kleban Libretto Award
2024 finalist for Musical Theatre West New Works Reading Festival, Long Beach CA
2024 finalist for TRU/Streaming Musicals reading series NYC
2025 semi-finalist, Circle in the Square Theatre School Musical Theatre Residency, NYC
2023 Semi-finalist, Eugene O'Neill Musical Theatre Conference
2023 Semi-finalist, Normal Avenue NAPSeries, NYC

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A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION full-length musical for 12 Women (+optional additional ensemble) by Amy Engelhardt & Arianna Rose

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Bethany Dickens Assaf: A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION full-length musical for 12 Women (+optional additional ensemble) by Amy Engelhardt & Arianna Rose by Arianna Rose and Amy Engelhardt

“

There is so much to recommend this delightful, powerful musical. The framing of the work in the Baltimore Museum of Modern Art is theatrically exciting and lends itself to the play's questions of art and ownership, particularly when they intersect with gender. The four characters at the center of the story are expertly constructed (flawed, empathetic, compelling) and the period elements, including the musical arrangements, are employed with care and creativity without bogging down the work in historical details. The play in general balances this setting expertly with questions of great...

There is so much to recommend this delightful, powerful musical. The framing of the work in the Baltimore Museum of Modern Art is theatrically exciting and lends itself to the play's questions of art and ownership, particularly when they intersect with gender. The four characters at the center of the story are expertly constructed (flawed, empathetic, compelling) and the period elements, including the musical arrangements, are employed with care and creativity without bogging down the work in historical details. The play in general balances this setting expertly with questions of great contemporary resonance, including gender, artistry, and sexuality. A triumph!

read more

”

Character Information

12 women, any race/ethnicity. Optional additional ensemble to portray additional artwork.

ETTA CONE

40+, timid, subservient to older sister Claribel. Household Manager, Art Collector. Repressed, finds her path through the study and collecting of art and textiles. Loves lace, piano, family. Her looks are plain. Her figure buried under layers of petticoats and a black skirt, white blouse.

Character Age

40s-60s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
DR. CLARIBEL CONE

40+, Etta’s older sister,“the Empress”, Research Doctor, Public Speaker, Art Collector, charismatic, imperious, austere, demanding. A handsome and imposing woman. Petticoats and black skirt, white or black blouse. Often wore a black velvet cape with purple lining.

Character Age

40s-60s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
GERTRUDE STEIN

40+, charismatic, outspoken, melodic voice, Writer and Art Collector. Lesbian. Large in every sense of the word. Flouts conventions and dresses for comfort; more masculine look, bohemian.

Character Age

40s-60s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
ALICE B. TOKLAS

40+, quiet, determined, jealous streak, writer, lover of music, flowers, cooking, lesbian, life partner of Gertrude Stein. Always dressed well, wears a succession of fabulous hats, often wears sandals instead of shoes.

Character Age

40s-60s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman,
  
  Non-binary
YOUNG ETTA CONE

Etta's younger self, in the memory scenes

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
YOUNG DR. CLARIBEL

younger self of Dr. Claribel, in the memory scenes

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
YOUNG GERTRUDE STEIN

younger self of Gertrude Stein, in the memory scenes

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
YOUNG ALICE B. TOKLAS

younger self of Alice B. Toklas in the memory scenes.

Character Age

20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman,
  
  Non-binary
ODALISQUE ("Standing Odalisque Reflected in a Mirror", Henri Matisse, 1923)

Based on this painting by Henri Matisse: “Standing Odalisque Reflected in a Mirror” (1923). Special connection with Etta.

Character Age

20s-30s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
WOMAN 2/WOMAN IN TURBAN (based on 1917 painting WOMAN IN TURBAN (LORETTE) by Henri Matisse

based on the 1917 painting WOMAN IN TURBAN (Lorette) by Henri Matisse. Special connection with CLARIBEL

Character Age

20s-40s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
WOMAN 3/PORTRAIT OF GERTRUDE STEIN (based on Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Felix Vallotton 1907)

Based on “Portrait of Gertrude Stein”, Felix Vallotton, 1907. Special connection to GERTRUDE.

Character Age

20s-30s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
WOMAN 4/PORTRAIT OF A GIRL (based on Portrait of A Girl by Marie Laurencin, 1927)

Based on “Portrait of A Girl” by Marie Laurencin, 1927. Special connection to ALICE.

Character Age

teens-20s

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  Teens,
  
  20s
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL ENSEMBLE (other Cone Collection artwork come to life)

Additional optional ensemble can be employed, as more artwork in the Cone Collection come to life. They should be either women or non-binary actors, playing women, non-binary or inanimate beings comes to life from the paintings, sculptures, textiles, etc.

Character Age

Any Age

Character Race/Ethnic Identity

Any

Character Gender Identity

Female,

Non-binary
Can be played by:
- Actor Age
  
  20s,
  
  30s,
  
  40s,
  
  50s,
  
  60s,
  
  70s+
- Actor Gender Identity
  
  Woman,
  
  Non-binary

Development History

Type Reading, Organization Musical Theatre West, Equity Reading, New Works Festival, Year 2026
Type Reading, Organization The Depot Space, Duluth MN, Year 2025
Type Reading, Organization Nautilus Music Theatre ROUGH CUTS Minneapolis MN, Year 2025
Type Reading, Organization Surfside Playhouse Readers' Theatre, Cocoa Beach FL, Year 2025

Production History

Type Workshop, University of Minnesota, Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, Year 2025

Awards

Musical Theatre Residency

Circle in the Square Theatre School

Semi-Finalist

2025
Musical selection for New Works Festival

Musical Theatre West

Finalist

2025
New Works New Voices

Syracuse University

Semi-Finalist

2023
New Works Reading Series

TRU/Streaming Musicals NYC

Finalist

2024
New Works Reading Festival

Musical Theatre West, Long Beach CA

Finalist

2024
Edward Kleban Librettist Award

Edward Kleban Award

Finalist

2024
NapSeries Staged Readings NYC

Normal Avenue

Semi-Finalist

2023
Music Theatre Conference

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

Semi-Finalist

2023

Genre

adaptation,

drama,

fantasy,

musical,

period

Subject Matter Keywords

Gertrude Stein,

The Cone Sisters,

LGBTQ+

Length

90 minutes to two hours

Cast Size

12—30

Age of Intended Audience

ages 14-17,

ages 18 and up

Narrative Attributes

Centers Female Characters,

Centers LGBTQ Characters

Supporting Materials

Music Samples

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GuR0FHMp6bspXP6FR8KIH1Czp1NL71v6?usp=sh…,

https://ariannarose.net/a-collectible-sensation