November 21, 2006 | Arts

Guggenheim Winner, 'Angels in America' Director Lead Music Theatre Show

Northwestern University has announced that Guggenheim Fellowship winner and New York playwright Rinne Groff will be one of the American Music Theatre Project's (AMTP) creative team members when “The Boy in the Bubble” is given its first workshop in mid-December on the University's Evanston campus.

By Judy Moore

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University has announced that Guggenheim Fellowship winner and New York playwright Rinne Groff will be one of the American Music Theatre Project's (AMTP) creative team members when “The Boy in the Bubble” is given its first workshop in mid-December on the University's Evanston campus.

The new musical will be premiered at Northwestern in late July 2007.

Her romantic comedy “Ruby Sunrise” premiered at New York's Public Theatre last November, under the direction of the Public Theatre's Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. Eustis will direct “Bubble,” AMTP's fourth musical production.

In addition to writing the original script, Groff collaborated on the lyrics with Michael Friedman and Joe Popp. Friedman and Popp co-wrote the music for “Bubble.”

“The Boy in the Bubble” tells the story of an immune deficient teenager, Todd Travolta, who is forced to live his life trapped in the confines of a sterile isolator, with a protective layer of plastic shielding him from the outside world. The musical provides a keen perspective of contemporary society as seen through the eyes of the overly protected lead character.

Eustis has long been associated with new projects for the stage. He commissioned Tony Kushner's groundbreaking “Angels in America” and directed the world premiere production. Eustis has since gone on to serve as the artistic director of Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence, R.I., and as artistic director of the Public Theatre.

Northwestern School of Music Associate Professor Ryan Nelson will be the musical director for the “Boy in the Bubble,” his fourth AMTP production.

Performances of AMTP's third new musical, “Asphalt Beach,” with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by T.C. Smith and Peter Spears, continue at Northwestern's Josephine Louis Theatre, through Nov. 12. For tickets, call (847) 491-7282 or visit <www.tic.northwestern.edu>.