I wrote a musical? (Also: St. Paddy's show 2026)
So, this past year, as our nation has slipped into something unrecognizable (but also utterly recognizable, in all the worst ways), I was gripped by a passion and fury beyond my control. And I did the only sensible thing I could do with that amount of energy, which was to write a whole-ass musical.
It's called 'Robyn and the Merrymen,' and it's a feminist riff on Robin Hood set in mid-90s London.
Robyn, a woman in this telling, is a big-hearted busker and lead singer of the Merrymen. She and her bandmates, along with a fiery new friend named Marian, must take down a greedy developer before he demolishes their home and neighborhood pub. (You can read the full synopsis here.)
Here's a demo recording of the first song, 'Pickpocket Philanthropist.' It opens with Robyn busking in Camden Town, until she's chased off by Inspector Nottingham; she walks through the streets of North London until she reaches the Filch & Friar pub, where she joins the Merrymen on stage.
Our world is hurting so deeply right now, for so many terrible reasons — some of which I’m not in a position to write about authentically. But one central theme behind so much of this suffering, and one I do feel able to speak to, is the dramatic rise of wealth inequality and our society's adulation of the rich.
When I was a kid, Robin Hood was a cultural hero whose ethos of stealing from the rich and powerful to give to the poor and working class was widely celebrated; now the name is often associated with an online investing platform, of all things. (Barf.)
So I wanted to bring back the real Robin Hood, and in a more female-centered way, since, let's face it, patriarchy is another deep-rooted source of our systemic societal failures. Now more than ever, we need to summon and emulate the generosity and optimism of our best-known socialist outlaw folk hero to stand up to the corrupt oligarchs taking over our world.
It's a musical about social justice and inequality, and about love and good works. It's about how what we do matters more than what we say; how acts of kindness come back to us; and how it's better to break the rules in an ethical way than to adhere to immoral laws.
Stay tuned for more demo recordings and details on a staged reading later this spring!
In the meantime, I'm playing a St. Patrick's Day show on Saturday, March 14th, at the Monument Restaurant & Tavern in Charlestown. It's free and I'd love to see you, so stop by if you can!
