In celebration of its 15th anniversary season, Music Theatre of Madison has announced that they will release An American Mythology, a concept album written by BBIPOC (Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color) composers from Madison and Milwaukee.
An American Mythology will be the first concept album for Music Theatre of Madison (MTM), a professional theatre dedicated to the new and different in musicals. Teams of artists will explore themes through their own myths in musical styles from rap to folk to pop and more.
“[MTM Executive Director] Meghan [Randolph] came up with the concept of an all BBIPOC concept album and I immediately thought it was brilliant,” says Adam Qutaishat, Music Theatre of Madison’s Associate Artistic Director and co-director of the album with Nathan Fosbinder, in a statement. “An American Mythology was a way for artists to create a story using whatever experiences felt important to them. So it’s been a lot of helping them feel at home with the concept and freeing them to make the fantastic music they already make and then fitting those pieces into something theatrical. They’ve made it impossibly easy.
“I hope this album becomes a full-fledged piece of theatre in the real world, whatever form that may take,” Qutaishat continues. “I could see it becoming a musical, a movement piece, a song cycle, or something we haven’t imagined yet. The things that people have been producing in their drafts are so inherently theatrical and the performers’ imaginations so vivid. I want this to become something that can be performed by artists in the theatrical world for years to come.”
An American Mythology will be the first of several offerings for MTM as they celebrate their 15th anniversary. The album will be released digitally, two songs at a time, beginning Saturday, May 15. The full album will contain bonus content including interviews with the composers.
“The album is written with the idea that it could conceivably be added to and become a full production,” says Randolph in a statement.
