Beth Blatt

Beth's words for theatre have won her the Director’s Choice Award (NYMF), the National Art Song competition, Jonathan Larson and NAMT grants, the Klinsky Award for excellence in musical theatre (2econd Stage), the GBH Lyricist Award (the O’Neill), and fellowships from The Dramatists’ Guild and America-In-Play. Her songs and shows have been performed at the Kennedy Center, the United Nations and Lincoln Center, as well as across the US, Asia and Europe.

Beth’s musical The Mistress Cycle (music Jenny Giering) was produced in New York, London, and twice in Chicago, where it received multiple Jeff Award nominations. Island of the Blue Dolphins (music also by Jenny Giering) was commissioned by TheatreWorks USA and toured the US. Beth also received the first-ever commission from The Village...

Beth's words for theatre have won her the Director’s Choice Award (NYMF), the National Art Song competition, Jonathan Larson and NAMT grants, the Klinsky Award for excellence in musical theatre (2econd Stage), the GBH Lyricist Award (the O’Neill), and fellowships from The Dramatists’ Guild and America-In-Play. Her songs and shows have been performed at the Kennedy Center, the United Nations and Lincoln Center, as well as across the US, Asia and Europe.

Beth’s musical The Mistress Cycle (music Jenny Giering) was produced in New York, London, and twice in Chicago, where it received multiple Jeff Award nominations. Island of the Blue Dolphins (music also by Jenny Giering) was commissioned by TheatreWorks USA and toured the US. Beth also received the first-ever commission from The Village Theatre for the musical Oneida. In 2017, she was commissioned to write a musical about the iconic politician and activist Bella Abzug.

Development/residencies include the Johnny Mercer Writers’ Colony (Goodspeed), the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Sundance (UCross), the O’Neill, Theatre Works Palo Alto, Goodspeed Musical Theatre, Queens University (Belfast), Running Deer. Princess Caraboo (book Marsha Norman, music Jenny Giering, director Gary Griffin) was presented at NAMT. Oneida was presented in development at the Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals, Vox Fest (Hanover, NH) and Music Theatre of Connecticut.

Beth’s short play Take It Down was selected for the Catherine Lindsey Playwrights Workshop (Darien CT). Her short play Strings was presented as part of Take Ten at the Players Club, and On Its Chimney was staged at Lucky Jack’s (New York City).

Beth co-conceived and created the play “In Her Words” based on interviews with refugee women. It was sponsored by the League of Professional Theatre Women at the Dramatists Guild, with partnership from refugee-support organizations Amnesty International and Women for Women International.

Beth is also the founder of Hope Sings, the for-benefit music business whose mission is to harness the power of song and story to support women. Notable projects include the anthem for UN Women, the first-ever anthem for a UN agency, which she produced and for which she wrote the lyric.

Beth has taught Musical Theatre Songwriting at Adelphi University and is the co-founder of the Musical Theatre Writers’ Group at the Music Theatre of CT. She is a past member of the BMI/Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop, a current member of the Dramatists’ Guild and the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College.

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Scripts

"In Her Words" (75-90 minute play)

by Beth Blatt

1
Cast Size
11—17
Genre
biography,
docudrama/historic,
drama,
immersive,
political,
zoom

Audience Response -
Monica Lewinsky: "What a thought-provoking and emotional evening. Kudos, Beth, to you + all involved."
Chris Anderson (founder TED): "Super powerful, a great project."
Peggy Chane (Chair Int'l Committee LPTW): "Kudos, brava, honor and glory to you for wrangling this into a fabulous piece of entertainment and education. You completely succeeded in making comprehensible, and meaningful, a slew...

Audience Response -
Monica Lewinsky: "What a thought-provoking and emotional evening. Kudos, Beth, to you + all involved."
Chris Anderson (founder TED): "Super powerful, a great project."
Peggy Chane (Chair Int'l Committee LPTW): "Kudos, brava, honor and glory to you for wrangling this into a fabulous piece of entertainment and education. You completely succeeded in making comprehensible, and meaningful, a slew of unrelated stories. Not easily done."

A refugee support organization offers a community presentation of a play drawn from interviews with six refugee women from Rwanda, Myanmar, Honduras, Syria, the Gambia and Kazakhstan. Before long, audience members start to interrupt the play with their concerns about welcoming refugees. The evening increasingly becomes about the drama in the room, which turns frighteningly real for one refugee woman on stage.

“In Her Words” is an immersive, interactive experience that encourages us all to look at our fears about “the other.”

Available in both stage and Zoom versions.

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Frank

by Beth Blatt

2
Cast Size
4—8
Genre
comedy,
period

1856. Business as usual at the New York Society Library, the oldest cultural institution in New York City – and busyness as usual for Frank, the “boy” who has to juggle stacks of books and the “personalities” of Library members. Something has to give…

1856. Business as usual at the New York Society Library, the oldest cultural institution in New York City – and busyness as usual for Frank, the “boy” who has to juggle stacks of books and the “personalities” of Library members. Something has to give…

Disconnected

by Beth Blatt

2
Cast Size
3
Genre
drama,
political

An undocumented woman deported to her home country attempts to parent her two children via the internet.

An undocumented woman deported to her home country attempts to parent her two children via the internet.

Strings

by Beth Blatt

2
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama,
romantic comedy

At an urban coffee emporium, Ruth - anything but your typical Little Old Lady - gives a much younger Cort a bigger jolt that his cuppa joe.

At an urban coffee emporium, Ruth - anything but your typical Little Old Lady - gives a much younger Cort a bigger jolt that his cuppa joe.

Take It Down

by Beth Blatt

4
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama

It’s Jill’s birthday. A big one. She doesn’t want any of her business contacts to know – but then her friend, Cathy, puts a birthday post on Facebook. And won’t take it down.

It’s Jill’s birthday. A big one. She doesn’t want any of her business contacts to know – but then her friend, Cathy, puts a birthday post on Facebook. And won’t take it down.

The Mistress Cycle

by Beth Blatt

3
Cast Size
5
Genre
drama,
musical

When Tess, a photographer in New York City, receives an offer from a wealthy, older man to "keep her" as his mistress, Other Women from various eras and cultures appear to share their stories: a 14-year-old concubine from 12th century China; Diane de Poitiers, royal mistress to Henri II of France in the 1500's; Lulu White, bordello madame in turn-of-the-last-century New Orleans; and Anais Nin, famous diarist and...

When Tess, a photographer in New York City, receives an offer from a wealthy, older man to "keep her" as his mistress, Other Women from various eras and cultures appear to share their stories: a 14-year-old concubine from 12th century China; Diane de Poitiers, royal mistress to Henri II of France in the 1500's; Lulu White, bordello madame in turn-of-the-last-century New Orleans; and Anais Nin, famous diarist and infamous sexual adventurer. As the show goes on, she first observes, then enters, then tries on these roles – and by show’s end, has made up her mind what to do.

The Mistress Cycle has been produced in New York, Chicago, DC and London. It has won numerous awards (Directors’ Choice at NYMF, a Jonathan Larson grant, etc.) and has featured some of musical theatre’s best talent , including Rebecca Luker (Secret Garden, Music Man), Adriane Lenox (Doubt), Sara Ramirez (Spamalot, Grey’s Anatomy), Julia Murney (Wicked, Wild Party).

One review here:
http://chicagocritic.com/the-mistress-cycle/

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