Christmas Letters - World Premiere
A World Premiere of a New Musical - FRESH, FUNNY, FABULOUS!
Christmas Letters
Book and Lyrics by Paul Cozby
Music by Laura Bergquist
Additional Music by Paul Cozby
Have you ever written or received a Christmas letter tucked into a card, attached to an email, or posted on Facebook? Did you ever feel secretly superior or infinitely inferior as you read the laundry list of annual accomplishments of your closest friends and distant relatives? Does the holiday season leave you feeling besieged, befuddled, and bewildered? Tied up in ribbons and wrapped up in bows? Overwrought, overspent and over it? Then this hilarious new musical is for you…from the first card to arrive through Black Friday blues, funky family portraits, unassembled toys, silly sibling rivalries and harried gift hunting husbands. But don't worry, it all ends well....after all its Christmas…the season of hope, love and good will towards men (and women, too!)
In May 2016, The Forum Theatre sponsored a reading of Laura Bergquist’s and Paul Cozby’s CHRISTMAS LETTERS. Ours is a city that has always had a heart for the arts, especially new musicals. That’s why we saw more than 100 people come to a reading of a new work.
The audience response was overwhelmingly positive, with participants finding the show engaging, entertaining and very funny. The audience feedback led to additional work expanding it to a full-length funny, touching, and uplifting theatrical event and the commitment by THE FORUM THEATRE to move ahead with a full production for the holiday season.
That’s right—this will be a world premiere of a new musical in Wichita, Kansas, with an incredible team of artists from New York. All with extensive Broadway or regional credits. . It’s so exciting to see a new work come to life right before your eyes, but it’s also costly.
It will take about $20,000 to take The Christmas Letters from where it is right now to the stage this Christmas season. We are counting on you to be a part of it by making a donation towards the GO FUND ME page goal of $7500.
Your tax-deductible donation to Forum Theatre Company Wichita, Inc. (a not-for-profit 501c3) will directly support the development, casting, rehearsal and eventual full production of Christmas Letters on stage in Wichita.
Now, let’s take it to the next step. Donate today and help The Forum Theatre Company, Laura Bergquist and Paul Cozby realize their dream.
With your support, The Forum Theatre will make this the happiest—and funniest—Christmas you’ve experienced in years.
Join us as we send Wichita a Christmas Letter!
LAURA BERGQUIST (Composer)
Laura conducted National and International Tours of THE KING AND I, TITANIC and MISS SAIGON. She is a frequent guest conductor in regional theaters and a clinician in universities. As an ASCAP Awards recipient for composition, her personal catalogue includes more than 60 works in print and several recordings. On Broadway this season, she was Musical Director and Conductor for ALLEGIANCE: A NEW MUSICAL (Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, Lorenzo Thione, directed by Stafford Arima) which starred Lea Salonga, George Takei and Telly Leung. She is currently the Musical Director for World Premiers of SENSE & SENSIBILITY, DADDY LONG LEGS and JANE AUSTEN’S: EMMA. Regional work as Musical Director and Conductor at The Old Globe, Chicago Shakespeare, Cincinnati Playhouse, TheatreWorks, Northlight, Cleveland Playhouse, Rubicon Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Lyric Theater of Oklahoma, Music Theatre of Wichita and Baltimore Center Stage. In New York she has music directed numerous reading and workshops for NAMT, New York Stage and Film, New York Musical Theatre Festival, Midtown International Theatre Festival and performed at Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, Avery Fisher Hall, Symphony Space and Merkin Hall. Laura maintains a large coaching studio and is regularly called on as a performer and music director.
PAUL COZBY (Bookwriter/Lyricist/Additional Music)
A Texan by birth and New Yorker by choice, Paul Cozby is an award-winning playwright and writes book, music and lyrics for his own original musicals, including Babes at Sea, Panther City and Herbert Hoover High School Presents—Cyranose! the Musical. Paul wrote a new book and additional lyrics for composer Bert Draesel and lyricist Nancy Leeds for The Dancing Princess, a family musical based on the beloved children’s book by New York author and illustrator Judith Gwyn Brown. The Dancing Princess was a finalist for the 2014 Eugene O’Neill Center National Musical Theater Workshop. Paul also collaborated with Tom Hyndman on a musical in development—Fictitious: A Completely Unauthorized Musical Parody Definitely Not Based on the Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger. An excerpt of Fictitious was performed Off Broadway as part of the 2016 Sound Bites 10-Minute Musical Festival.
Through their company, The Musical Machine, Paul and his wife, Sherry, associate produced—with Tony-winning producer Van Dean—the world premiere and off-Broadway debut of Rooms—A Rock Romance, directed by Scott Schwartz. And Paul was proud to be one of producer Ken Davenport's POGs (People of Godspell), helping bring that beloved musical back to Broadway.
NICK DEMOS (Director)
Nick Demos is an award-winning director and producer. Formerly he was the Artistic Director of Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma where he was honored as a “Living Treasure of the State” for his contribution to the arts and named “A Top Business Achiever Under 40” by the Journal Record business newspaper. Current directing projects include the musicals American Siddhartha (co-book writer), First World Problems by Tom Stuart and Stuart McMeans; the documentaries INVISIBLE: FIBROMYALGIA, and BODY ELECTRIC and the web series HAG (also writer). His company, Demos Bizar Entertainment is producing Come From Away on Broadway in 2017.
Previous productions include Memphis (Broadway – 2010 Tony, Drama Desk and OuterCritic’s Circle Awards; First National Tour; London -2015 Oliver Nomination); Make Me a Song (Off-Broadway – Drama Desk and OuterCritics Circle Nominations; London.) Vanities, A New Musical (Off Broadway); and the First National Tour of The Drowsy Chaperone. Demos Bizar also produced the films POLICY OF TRUTH; LOVE OR WHATEVER.
JEN BECHTER - A Wichita native is thrilled to return home. Most recently she was in My Fair Lady at Bay Street directed by Tony nominated Michael Arden and played the sassy secretary Deb in Elf the musical at Madison Square Garden. Offbroadway: Disenchanted, (sleeping beauty). Tours: Elf (deb), Beauty and the Beast (Madame La Bouche), R&H's Cinderella starring Lea Salonga (Portia). Reg: A Funny Thing...(Panacea) Bay Street, Urinetown (Soupy Sue).
BARBARA SCHOENHOFER is thrilled to be back in Wichita and to be a part of this amazing new production! Barbara has performed at San Diego Musical Theatre, San Diego Fringe Festival and has become a Teaching Artist, Director and Choreographer for the oldest children's theatre in the country; San Diego Junior Theatre. 
RAY WILLS - As a professional actor for 30 years in New York City and Los Angeles, he appeared in the original Broadway casts of The Producers, Wonderful Town, Big, and Anna Karenina, and performed with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center in Candide. Numerous Off-Broadway credits include All in the Timing, Wise Guys, A Class Act, and The Rothschilds. Television credits include Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order SVU, Ugly Betty, The Protector, 90210, and a recurring role on The Guiding Light. On film, Ray has been seen in Nixon, The Producers, Pootie Tang, and several documentaries. He has also performed at many of America’s most distinguished regional theatres. AFTRA
LESLIE ALAN COATES
KATHRYN PAGE HAUPTMAN is a graduate of Wichita State University with a B.A. in Speech and Theatre and, currently, is the Producing Artistic Director at The Forum Theatre where she brings 30 years of experience as a director, actor, producer and costume designer. She has produced well over 100 shows including the American Premiere of Children of Eden with Tony Award winning composer Stephen Schwartz and the World Premiere of Jane Eyre with Tony Award winning director John Caird, composer Paul Gordon and actors Anthony Crivello and Marla Shaffell, which subsequently went on to Broadway. Other World Premieres include Urban Myths by John Bucchino; directed by Scott Schwartz; Are We There Yet? with Ray Roderick; and Jungle Man! by Berton Averre. Favorite projects include the Regional Premiere of Kabuki Medea with celebrated Japanese director/creator Shozo Sato; and the Regional Premiere of Silver Dollar. She is the recipient of the Mary Jane Teall Life Time Achievement Award and the Wichita State University Outstanding Alumni Award. Throughout her professional career she has been an advocate for new artists and new works.
The Creative Team:
Ben Juhnke – Set Designer
Michael Maynard – Production Stage Manager
Sean Roberson – Lighting Designer
Aaron Profit – Property Designer
Adam Aker – Sound Designer
Shanna Berry – Assistant to the Director
Chelsey Moore – Understudy, female roles