A Roadkill Opera: From the GRAMMYs in 2015 to the ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop 2018

Oh my.

A Roadkill Opera has been invited to audit the February 2018 ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles, presented in conjunction with Universal Theatrical Group. The acclaimed annual Workshops (there will be a spring edition in New York) are led by Artistic Director Stephen Schwartz — the Tony, Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer/lyricist whose numerous credits include the Broadway musicals Wicked, Godspell, and Pippin, as well as the DreamWorks’ film The Prince of Egypt, and Walt Disney films Enchanted, Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The program is composed of various workshop sessions featuring prominent guests from all aspects of musical theater including producers, directors, critics, performers, and composers. Workshop alumni include Steven Lutvak (Tony award-winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Glenn Slater (Tony-nominated School of Rock), Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (Elf).

Among the songwriters who have participated in the workshops over the years are: Jonathan Larson (Rent), Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime), Steven Lutvak (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family) and Glenn Slater (Sister Act).

Photo of Jeffrey Dokken conducts the chamber orchestra while recording engineer Jeff Gruber adjusts microphones. — Jeffrey Dokken conducts the chamber orchestra for **A Roadkill Opera** while recording engineer Jeff Gruber adjusts microphones. Orchestral tracks were recorded live and simultaneously (for the most part) in January 2013 at Blue House Studios in Kensington, Maryland.

This is inspiring. When the 2013 studio recording of A Roadkill Opera led to an invitation to attend the GRAMMYs in February 2015, there had only been a single public workshop concert performance. In 2016 there were six fully-staged performances; four at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint in Washington, DC, and two by the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia (SONOVA) at the James Lee Community Theater in Falls Church, Virginia.

Photo of Stephan Alexander Parker and Jeffrey Dokken showing their Grammy tickets — **A Roadkill Opera**‘s librettist Stephan Alexander Parker and music director/conductor Jeffrey Dokken show their Grammy tickets before the Premiere in February 2015. The Roadkill entourage also included video director Ben Ganz and merchandizing director DJ Choupin. Composer Ferdinando Paer was not available to attend, as he passed away in 1839.

Photo of Stephan Alexander Parker and Jeffrey Dokken with photographer/merchandising director DJ Choupin — **A Roadkill Opera**‘s Stephan Alexander Parker and Jeffrey Dokken with photographer/merchandising director DJ Choupin at the **57th Annual Grammy Awards** in February 2015.

Photo of Ben Ganz and Stephan Alexander Parker on the escalator — **A Roadkill Opera**‘s video director Ben Ganz (founder of **Vego Pictures**) checks on the after-party for the **57th Annual Grammy Awards** while librettist Stephan Alexander Parker is pleased he remembers where he parked the car…

In preparation for the ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop, librettist Stephan Alexander Parker has been meeting with director and music director Jeffrey Dokken to discuss song placement, story restructuring ideas, and dialogue strategies. Maestro Jeffrey Dokken has led every performance of A Roadkill Opera to date. You can catch him in 2018 conducting at the Rome Symphony Orchestra, the oldest orchestra in the south, as well as at the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia and a slew of international engagements.

Photo of Holly, Eddie, llama, and Marvin on the set of A Roadkill Opera — Holly (Laura Wehrmeyer) and Eddie (Alan Naylor) debate ways and whether it is necessary to punch up the humor of In A Clearing while Marvin (Christopher Dews) tends to the llama in **A Roadkill Opera** in its world premiere performances in January 2016 at the Mead Theatre lab at Flashpoint in Washington DC.

Applicants to the ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop must be prepared, if selected, to present 50 consecutive minutes from the musical at the workshop. The 50-minute selection must include book and songs. To meet the workshop book requirement, librettist Stephan Alexander Parker has reunited with Ed Bachtel, the comedic wonder behind the most memorable sketches from the heyday of the Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company.

Photo of Cod Piece Dining Room comedy sketch, 1988, with Holly Danner and Ed Bachtel on a singles cruise — Cod Piece Dining Room comedy sketch, 1988, with Holly Danner and Ed Bachtel on a singles cruise.

Photo of DJ Choupin standing under the marquee for the Wort Hotel advertising Roadkill Live Comedy 8 pm — DJ Choupin, our box office manager for the 1988 Roadkill Live!!! Comedy Review, cheered us on our opening night in July 1988

Parker and Bachtel anticipate folding in classic sketches as well as crafting new dialogue for the musical version of A Roadkill Opera. Several of the sketches are referenced in the current version’s songs, which are anticipated to be retained.

Photo of Marvin handing a roadkill on a stick to Stephan as Dave looks on — Stage manager Marvin (Christopher Dews) presents a frozen roadkill on a stick to Stephan (David Timpane) while Dave (Alex Miletich IV) looks on with amusement in **A Roadkill Opera** at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint in Washington DC in January 2016.

Photo of Ed Bachtel selling roadkill to Holly Danner in the classic sketch Frozen Roadkill On A Stick during the 1988 run of Roadkill!!! in the Greenback Lounge at the Wort Hotel (enter through the Silver Dollar Bar). — Ed Bachtel sells roadkill to Holly Danner in the classic sketch Frozen Roadkill On A Stick during the 1988 run of **Roadkill!!!** in the Greenback Lounge at the Wort Hotel (enter through the Silver Dollar Bar).

Parker and Bachtel had a legal partnership when their productions ran in Jackson Hole at the Wort Hotel’s Greenback Lounge (enter through the Silver Dollar Bar) and the Pink Garter Theatre. They also started the Open Mic Night at Spirits of the West Saloon, which was the longest-running open mic in the valley prior to Dornan’s Hootenanny. Parker is a frequent visitor to the Silver Dollar Bar, particularly since the restoration of the old Greenback Lounge space into the Silver Dollar Showroom. Honestly, locals always referred to the space as the Showroom, but that’s a different story…

Photo of of the Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company ended with a standing ovation, as every show ended with Ed Bachtel playing the national anthem--by harmonica, through his nose — Every show in the history of the **Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company** ended with a standing ovation, as every show ended with Ed Bachtel playing the national anthem–by harmonica, through his nose, as seen here in a 1988 show at the **Silver Dollar Showroom** aka the **Wort Hotel’s Greenback Lounge** (enter through the Silver Dollar Bar).

Photo of Sidle, Cooke, and Parker — Local music legends John Sidle and John Byrne Cooke at the **Silver Dollar Bar** in Jackson, Wyoming, with **A Roadkill Opera**‘s librettist Stephan Alexander Parker. The three were enjoying the Wort’s **Longmire** party after the **Hootenanny** in July 2015.

Photo of Choupin and Thompson — DJ Choupin with **Longmire** star Robert Thompson at the Silver Dollar Bar in Jackson, Wyoming, in July 2015. **Longmire** author Craig Johnson can be seen behind them, wearing a white cowboy hat, naturally.