The Year of Living Dangerously
A New Musical
About The Show
Jakarta, Indonesia, 1965: A nation on the verge of violent revolution. Against this turbulent backdrop, three vivid characters engage in a strange and consequential love triangle: Guy Hamilton, a reporter freshly-arrived from Sydney with a taste for danger and a nose for news. Jill Bryant, an intensely bright, attractive attaché at the British Embassy, fiercely independent and wary of relationships. And Billy Kwan, a diminutive Australian-Chinese photojournalist with a passion to remake the world according to his ideals. As the political tension builds to a boil, the lives of these three characters become increasingly intertwined, leading to an explosive ending rife with tragedy, danger and romance.
In 1982, the novel of The Year Of Living Dangeously became a major motion picture starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt (Oscar: Best Supporting Actress). Now as political turmoil rages across the developing world, the story comes to soaring new life on the musical stage. It is a reminder that love, relationships, and passion are still felt in turbulent political times.
The Year of Living Dangerously is a new two act musical written for 16 actors. It was presented as a concert at Feinstein’s/ 54 Below in 2017. It also has had staged readings at The York Theatre Company in New York (for its Developmental Reading Series), Nola Studios in New York, The Coffee House (a private club in NYC), The University Club in New York and The Actors’ Chapel at St. Malachy’s Church for its new play series. In 2016 the musical was presented by Theatre Harrisburg in the first season of their New Works Festival.
Cast and Creative Team of the Concert at Feinstein's/ 54 Below:
Director: John Todd; Musical Director: Paul Staroba
Scarlett Strallen (Mary Poppins, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) as Jill
Simon Jones (Blithe Spirit, Miracle on 34th Street) as Col. Henderson
Kevin Earley (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Misérables) as Guy Hamilton
Marc delaCruz (If/Then, Pacific Overtures, Yankee Doodle Dandy) as Billy
Jim Stanek (Fun Home, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) as Pete
Janine Divita (Grease, Anything Goes, The Mystery of Edwin Drood)
Eric Badique (Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Starlight Express) as Kumar
Josephine K Cho (A Little Night Music, Once on this Island) as Ibu
Richard R. Henry (Guys and Dolls, Newsies, 1776) as Wally
Cathy Ang (KPOP, RIOT Antigone) as Chorus/Streetwalker
"The Year of Living Dangerously Broadway Bound!"
"Cast Announced"
About the authors
Jeffrey Haddow (Book, Co-Lyrics) is a 2009 winner of the BMI Harrington Award for Creative Excellence. His musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility (with composer Neal Hampton) received its world premiere at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He co-authored the musical revue, Scrambled Feet which ran two years Off-Broadway and the play Chekhov in Yalta which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Distinguished Playwriting. Jeffrey is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.
Thomas Tierney (Music, Co-Lyrics) composed ELEANOR - An American Love Story at Ford’s Theatre in Washington and many other U.S. theatres - and Narnia, based on The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (London and New York). Other shows: Jungle Queen Debutante (New York’s NAMT Festival and Seattle’s Village Theatre in Issaquah), Off-Broadway’s Pets!, The Dream Team at Goodspeed Opera, Tommy Tune’s one-man show Ichabod - and recently Diamond and the North Wind (with Jeffrey Haddow). He has composed 6 shows for Theatreworks/USA and AT&T’s theme for Disney’s EPCOT Center. For TV he wrote music for NBC's Emmy Award winning Unicorn Tales. Tom has performed his own music at Lincoln Center and at the White House, and has won numerous ASCAP awards. www.thomastierney.com
Christopher J. Koch, Australian novelist, was born in Hobart, Australia. He has twice won the Miles Franklin Award. In 1995 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for contribution to Australian literature. His novel The Year of Living Dangerously, set in Jakarta during the fall of the Sukarno regime, was made into a film directed by Peter Weir and starring Sigourney Weaver, Mel Gibson and Linda Hunt who won the Oscar for her role. The book was loosely inspired by his brother's (Philip Koch) experience as an Australian journalist in Indonesia during that period. His other books include Out of Ireland, Highways to a War and The Memory Room.
Selected songs from The Year of Living Dangerously
by Thomas Tierney & Jeffrey Haddow
The Year of Living Dangerously the Musical.
Music by Thomas Tierney, Lyrics by Jeffrey Haddow
Video excerpts of concert At Feinstein's/ 54 Below
