MUSICAL THEATER in 2026: Writing for Musical Theater, with Bob Garrett
Bob Garrett was a Broadway star, a hit writer, a Motown staff writer, and vocal coach to the stars (Katy Perry, Jessica Lange...). He has advised on countless musicals (The Color Purple, etc) and has co-written his own, in development. Learn from Bob and some recent graduates of his class about the journey of figuring out when an idea might be bigger than just one song, and how to grow that idea into an entire show.
Bob Garrett is the rare mentor who has "done it all." We are so proud to have him as part of this community, guiding and inspiring the next round of creators to realize their visions and potential.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT or ENROLL in THIS 10-WEEK CLASS:
- Download the PDF from the event with important concepts & sample numbers from shows
- learn more about the class or enroll here
BONUS:
In this 90 minute video below from 2023 you'll both learn from Bob about some of the essential numbers in a musical theater production (the opening number, the "I want" song, the "eleven o'clock number") and view some examples. And you'll hear from graduates of various rounds of the program--both about the successes with their shows and their insights and advice for those just starting the process.
You'll hear from three of those recent graduates in this conversation, Jan Seides, Clare McCaffrey, and Courtney Leigh Heins. Courtney was named a FINALIST for the Jonathan Larson Grant 2022! Bob and his students take questions and inspire us to dream bigger--and act on those dreams.
Even if you are not interested in writing for musical theater (yet!), you'll get a lot out of this conversation about the process of dreaming and doing, writing and rewriting, iterating and refining, to get to something you're proud of.
Watch the video of our event from 2023 as well:
