2010 is off to a running start! Urinetown at USC closed about three weeks ago, and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had much time to post an update until now.

Urinetown (a production of the Musical Theater Repertory of USC) was fantastic. We had a short run — one weekend, six shows — and it was a blast. I as a musical director could not have asked for anything more out of the extremely talented cast. And a special thanks to my pit band — Eliana Athayde on bass and Christopher Payne on drums — for helping me fill the Massman Theater with beautiful music.

Urinetown was my second music directing job; my first, See What I Wanna See by Michael John LaChiusa, had a cast of five and a pit band of six, whereas this show had a cast of about 20 and a pit of three. I think that what I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to work with a really big cast and a score that had a lot of really exciting musical/vocal moments. One of my favorite parts of the show is the frantically fast section of the finale of Act I, where there are a ton ofthings going on both in the music and on the stage. The cast performed it beautifully, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face,every single performance.

In other news, I’ve recently begun work on Starmites, a production of the Ensemble Theater Company, directed by my friend Steve Edlund. We’re working on casting the show right now, so expect more updates as we move into rehearsals!