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We’ve raised $40,000 of our $60,000 budget . Help us finish the film by funding the post-production stage — editing, sound design, music mixing, color grading, and a grand premiere at a major movie theater!
WHAT IS LITUSICAL ABOUT?
When Ben, a lovestruck high schooler, fails to flirt with his crush, Alice, he discovers a magical library that pulls him into classic novels like The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, and Pride & Prejudice, where the characters teach him about love through song & dance.
As Ben enters each book, the songs reflect its style—Gatsby as Harlem Renaissance jazz, Hamlet as punk rock, and Pride & Prejudice as a golden-age patter song.
Watch a quick update on everything we've done so far!:
See what we've already shot here!:
Litusical is all about reimagining the books we were forced to read in high school. What if instead of just being an answer on a pop quiz, Lizzie Bennet argued with her sisters through a Sondheim-esque patter song?
We want to show these books in all their magic. To show why these old chunks of text are so widely loved. And why we should love them still!
As Vivien Jones mentions in her foreword of Pride & Prejudice, "romance makes connections across history: it helps us identify and understand the continuities--and the differences" between the past and the present! Essentially, love is timeless.
We want to bring these pieces of history to life through a synthesis of our favorite things: music and film.
And look, I know you don't want me to talk about AI...but I'm gonna talk about AI.
People yearn for original content these days. For original interpretations. For humanity.
And that's what Litusical brings!
WHO'S MAKING THIS THING?
“Be prepared. Work hard. Don’t be a pain in the ass.”—this motto has shaped Payton Daly’s career as an internationally award-winning filmmaker, actor, and photographer. She began directing, shooting, and color grading films at age 15, splitting her high school years between Houston and frequent shoots in New York City.
Payton is currently a Film & Television Production major at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her training includes the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the Society of Camera Operators (SOC), Parsons School of Design, Manhattan Edit Workshop, and Liquid Motion Academy (underwater camera operating). She is a YoungArts Winner in Film and a National Gold Medalist in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She recently directed her first feature-length film, Are We There Yet?
Alongside her filmmaking, Payton studies musical theater songwriting through the New York Youth Symphony’s Musical Theater Songwriting Program, trains in improv at The Second City New York, and writes, shoots, and performs with the comedy group The Law Firm.
Since first stepping onstage at age three, Payton has performed in more than 60 plays and musicals and has trained in acting, voice, and dance at The Juilliard School, Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Stella Adler Acting Studio, Stonestreet Screen Acting Studios, Theater Under the Stars (TUTS), Stagedoor Manor, HITS Theatre, Wildfish Theatre, Queensbury Theatre, and the Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute (SSTI). She is a two-time Tommy Tune Award Lead Performer nominee and recipient of the North Star Leadership Award.
Adam Azrieli is a composer, conductor, and percussionist, with a focus on film scoring and contemporary concert music. He has written original scores for a wide range of films—including thrillers, comedies, family dramas, war stories, and musicals—crafting diverse sound worlds tailored to each project.
Currently studying Composition with an emphasis in Screen Scoring at New York University, Adam has trained under esteemed mentors such as Dr. Thomas Benjamin (former Chair of Music Theory at the Peabody Conservatory), Alfred Music composer Adrian B. Sims, and film composer Kat Vokes.
As a conductor, Adam has led live performances of his own works and regularly conducts the NYU Video Game Music Ensemble, the NYU Student Orchestra, and the Nokuri Foundation’s Night of Hope Big Band. An accomplished percussionist, he has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra (BSYO), the Columbia Concert Band, and served as principal percussionist for the Maryland Music Educators (MMEA) All-State Band and Orchestra.
WHO'S IN IT?
Our cast is chock-full of the most talented, upcoming young stars in NYC. Just look at them! They're beautiful!
Organizer
