The Playwrights Database
KURT MISAR
Nationality: USA
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A full member of ASCAP, the Drammatist's Guild and LA's former Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, Kurt is a Northwest Playwright's Guild and Drammy award-winning composer, arranger, producer and musical director with over 35 years of regional and national production credits. Original theatrical musical productions include: I Lost Me at the Movies, Clowns - Clowns - Clowns, All's Fair, Perfectly Safe, Claus, the Wind in the Willows and Wild Space a Go Go as well as three regional children's Theater productions of James and the Giant Peach. Other theatrical and corporate projects include specialty songs and music for various McDonalds Corporation In-School Shows and many theatrical underscores, including regional productions of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Velveteen Rabbit, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web, the Boxcar Children and the 2 act play Chateau Joyeux as well as music for Alice in Wonderland - a Tears of Joy Puppet Theater Company production. Kurt has composed numerous industrial holiday shows, produced in more than a dozen states for Bambergers (Macys), Robinsons, Lipman-Wolfe and Frederick & Nelson Department Stores - as well as school and regional Theater productions. As a NW area composer and producer, he has written and produced a variety of radio and TV jingles, custom advertising underscores and industrial video music scores - including three albums of direct license, soft jazz music for the on-hold industry.
Research: Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)
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below is a list of Kurt Misar's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
All's Fair Christmas At the Beggar's Bum Christmas At the King's Head Claus, Not Your Ordinary Christmas Eve Daydream Meanderings Of A 27th Floor Data Entry Clerk, The See Jane, See Jane Drive. Drive Jane, Drive. Swiss Family Robinson, A Wild Space A Go Go Wind in the Willows, TheAll's Fair
Synopsis:
In heavy debt during the Depression, Leonard Chambers throws one last, lavish 5th Avenue masquerade party at his manse. there, his daughter, Irene, longs for romance, while his ward, Amanda, eschews all men. Arriving as party invitees, Patrick verbally fences with his long-time foe Amanda, introducing his college friend Kyle to Irene. the two fall quickly in love much to the distaste of the family bootlegger, Johnny Applejack, who wants Irene for himself. Meanwhile, to mend the lifetime rift between Amanda and Patrick, the household tricks them into believing each is secretly in love with the other - the two becoming love struck. To foil Irene's new romance, Johnny has his henchman, Barker, seduce the household maid, Maggie, convincing Kyle and another family friend, the Senator, that this tryst, seen from afar and dimly lit, proves Irene is unfaithful. the next morning, Kyle breaks up with Irene, breaking her heart. Angry at Kyle's insensitivity, Amanda demands that Patrick prove his love for her and kill his best friend. Before either is seriously harmed, (though they try) Maggie unravels the confusion - explaining all. Johnny and Barker are run out; Kyle and Irene are happily reunited. Back to their old ways after Patrick's failure to prove his love, he and Amanda are finally shamed into admitting their love for one another, for after all, in love and in war. . ..ALL's FAIR.
Notes:
Winner of Best of Fest Award - Northwest Playwrights Guild, 1988 Winner of Best Original Play (or Musical) - Portland Drama Critic's Circle 1989-90 Kurt Misar - music, David Scott Marley - book and lyrics
1st Produced:
Portland Civic Theater Portland, Or
01 Jun 1989
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1st Published:
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Genre:
two-act Musical Play
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageChristmas At the Beggar's Bum
Synopsis:
In London of 1661, the husband-and-wife owners of a modest coffee house hope to give their young daughter a better life by marrying her off to a wealthy merchant. Planning to introduce the two on Christmas Eve, they find their scheme jeopardized by penniless customers seeking refuge, the arrival of a gossipy aunt, their actor son (learning to play all the female roles in his new troupe) and his lover, a playwright who manipulates the evening to provide the second act of his new play - not to mention the young butcher who is coming that very evening to ask for the daughter's hand himself! Secret identities, cross-purposes and a debate about the effect of coffee on the male libido all contribute to an evening of musical ribaldry.
Notes:
In-development. First public readings planned for Spring 2013. Kurt Misar - music, Brad Beaver - lyrics and Russ Cowan - book.
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
one-act Musical Play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageChristmas At the King's Head
Synopsis:
Christmas At the King's Head, is an eleven character, one-act musical taking place on Christmas Eve 1790 in a coaching inn at cross roads between York and London. Best described as a modest Dickensian story, this sometimes dark tale is filled with many of the traditional revels of the season. Those found inside the inn this night are happily affected by the uncertain visit of a ghost highwayman (rumored hung inside the inn by a village mob.) Set to celebrate the old Christmas traditions of the rural English town folk of this period - the traditional ghost story told by a local becomes more real than mere tall-tale.
Notes:
In-development. First public readings planned for Spring 2013. Kurt Misar - book, music and lyric
1st Produced:
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1st Published:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
One-act musical play
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageClaus, Not Your Ordinary Christmas Eve
Synopsis:
An original two-act musical play based on two stories--the LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS and A KIDNAPPED SANTA CLAUS by L. Frank Baum, author of the WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ. Developed in the Lehman Engel Musical theatre Workshop of Los Angeles. First public readings by professional actors at the Oregon Stage Company in Portland and LEMTW at the Los Angeles Music Center were sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. WORLD PREMIERE STAGE PRODUCTION BY: OREGON CHILDREN's theATRE COMPANY Portland, Oregon, November 24, 1995
Notes:
Produced two consecutive years by OCTC. Kurt Misar - music, Gordon Duffey - book and lyrics.
1st Produced:
Oregon Children's Theater Co. Portland, Or
1995
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Musikus Publishing - 1995 -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
Two-act Musical Play
Parts:
Male: 5 Female: 5 Other: 2 reindeer dancers or puppets
Further Reference:
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Top of PageDaydream Meanderings Of A 27th Floor Data Entry Clerk, The
Synopsis:
Shy,wallflower Sally, miserable in her job, is forced to share an elevator ride to work with the man of her secret dreams (Brad) and a bevy of misfit officemates (Ted, Alisha and the Boss.) To escape the anxiety of riding with the others, Sally fantasizes a series of comic relationships with each, including love triangles and revenge. In her rich fantasy life, punctuated with floors stops back to reality, Sally and Brad make the first sign of a real connection and with it - the hope that work might now finally be a tolerable place.
Notes:
Produced in conjunction with Portland's annual Fertile Ground Festival - 2012. Kurt Misar - music, Valory J. Lawrence - lyrics and book.
1st Produced:
Live On Stage, Portland, Or (Coho Theatre) January 2012
01 Jan 2012
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Musikus Publishing- December 2011 -
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
10 minute musical
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageSee Jane, See Jane Drive. Drive Jane, Drive.
Synopsis:
Married 15 years, Dick and Jane are taking their annual road trip down famed Route 66. Or are they? Hoping to bring back the magic of married life and their annual vacations, the two bicker and fight until Jane gets out of the car revealing this is all a practice exercise in their living room, part of marriage therapy which is going nowhere fast. Making a final attempt to salvage their relationship, the mounting emotional abuse and Dick's controlling nature makes the exercise intolerable, causing Jane to decide to go on alone. In surreal form, the living room chairs become the real car they once pretended to be and Jane drives off, running over Dick, in her first independent and defiant stance. And did we say - doing so comically throughout?
Notes:
Produced in conjunction with Portland's annual Fertile Ground Festival - 2013. Kurt Misar - music, Valory J. Lawrence and Kurt Misar - lyrics, Valory J. Lawrence - book.
1st Produced:
Live On Stage, Portland, Or (Pcpa)
01 Jan 2013
Organisations:
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1st Published:
MUSIKUS PUBLISHING- December 2012 -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
10 minute musical
Parts:
Male: 1 Female: 1 Other: 3 piece band
Further Reference:
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Top of PageSwiss Family Robinson, A
Synopsis:
1802. As Napoleon battles the English, the Wyss family flee conscription aboard a ship, bound for the new world, when a fierce storm runs it aground, killing the crew. In the new morning, the family salvage all they can and explore this small Caribbean island, finding it uninhabited, full of fresh food, water and a tree that will support a new home. Over time, they complete the tree house, cultivate crops and live happily until the boys find signs of another human. In their attempt to capture the native, they are caught instead, by Jenny, a young English girl who has escaped the French Army as they raided her neighboring island. While the two oldest sons bicker over who can win her heart, a fleet of French ships land on the island finding the family and conscripting one of the boys. their leader presses Jenny to join him, but with her help, the family fights off the invasion, drawing rescue from a British fleet nearby.
Notes:
First draft completed, this piece is awaiting public workshop. Kurt Misar - music. Brad Beaver - book and lyrics.
1st Produced:
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1st Published:
Musikus Publishing - 2006 -
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
one-act Musical Play
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 2 Other: Male chorus 4-8
Further Reference:
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Top of PageWild Space A Go Go
Synopsis:
Camp and sassy, sexy and funny, Wild Space a Go Go, a new musical by composer Kurt Misar, lyricist Brad Beaver and writer J.P. Linde, parodies '60s Franco-Italian sci-fi movies (remember BarbarElla and Wild Wild Planet?). It also spoofs European sexual openness, which makes it a slightly risque show by our standards, although there's no nudity or profanity, just characters talking about sex and finding themselves in compromising positions (very silly ones). With nods to early Star Trek and Dr. Who TV shows, Rocky Horror Picture Show, plus '60s girl groups, and in homage to convoluted space plots in general, Wild Space a Go Go combines satire and silliness with sparkling panache. And there's plenty of everything in this wacky two-hour musical: white plastic go-go boots, Op-art mini-dresses, peace signs, space guns, the Twist and the Swim, different time and space dimensions and even a blinking, whirring transporting device. - Holly Johnson, the Oregonian
Notes:
2010 PAMTA Award nomination for best song (Melt Into our Love). Kurt Misar - music, Brad Beaver - lyrics and J.P. Linde - book
1st Produced:
Wild Space Productions (Bac K Bar Theater) Portland, Or April 2010
01 Apr 2010
Organisations:
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1st Published:
Musikus Publishing - July 2009 -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
Two-act Musical Play
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 7 Other: 5 piece rock band
Further Reference:
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Top of PageWind in the Willows, The
Synopsis:
Adapted from the original Kenneth Grahame book, this two act musical play follows the exploits of Toad, Rat, Mole, Badger and host of river and wildwood animals as Toad continuously destroys the fragile peace of the riverbank village through his ever-growing pursuit of mad-cap adventure until the Chief Weasel and her Wildwood Gang trump up charges of a stolen motor car to get Toad arrested, found guilty and sent to prison. Through the help of Toad's newly found love, a young ermine named Maggie, Toad escapes and returns to the village to find his home taken over by the Gang. there with the help of Maggie and his Riverbank friends, Toad is able to reclaim his home, route the encroachers and even change his life - in pursuit of becoming a model (and ever-so unwild) citizen of the community.
Notes:
Written for large casts. Kurt Misar - Book and Music, Brad Beaver - Lyric and Book. AWARD for BEST PLAY - Chameleon theatre Circle - August 2012 HONORABLE MENTION AWARD - Jackie White Memorial National Playwriting Contest - August 2012
1st Produced:
Central Catholic H.S., Portland, Or
2009
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
two-act Musical Play
Parts:
Male: 11 to 17 Female: 8 to 14 Other: -
Further Reference:
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