Videos now live from Larson Legacy Concert!
Check out the full video from my Larson Legacy Concert @ Adelphi University featuring a phenomenal cast of performers and musicians! You can find all videos HERE.
Larson Legacy Concert at Adelphi - September 25th, 2021
I am THRILLED to get to work with these talented artists on my upcoming Larson Legacy concert at Adelphi University!! Over a year ago I had the honor of receiving a Jonathan Larson grant, so it’s exciting to FINALLY get to showcase my work in person and celebrate Jonathan’s Legacy.
Join me Saturday, Sep 25th @ 3pm where I’ll be featuring songs from a bunch of my musicals in development. The concert is co-produced by Ruthie Fierberg and myself, and Music Directed by David Gardos.
Featuring: Micaela Diamond, Hannah Corneau, Lincoln Clauss, Troy Iwata, Jon-Michael Reese, Marissa Rosen, Florrie Bagel, Vishal Vaidya, and myself.
With an incredible ensemble featuring: KC Dela Cruz, Joseph Fierberg, Alesha Jeter, Joey Miceli, Kianna Kelly-Futch, Bill FitzPatrick, Paul Esswein and Alexia Sanchez.
CLICK HERE to get tickets! And check out the write up on Broadway World HERE.
"Wanna Go Out?" in BroadwayWorld Living Room Concert
In this time of crisis, quarantine, and social distancing, BroadwayWorld featured a video of my song “Wanna Go Out?” from BORDERLINE in their Living Room Concert series! It feels like an apt song for these times when instead of going out, Anna and Jesse decide to stay in. Thank you to David Gardos for helping with the guitar arrangement, and to Micaela Diamond and Nathan Salstone for recording this together from their isolation. They do me proud!
Check out the feature on BroadwayWorld’s site here!
We’ve also posted the video on YouTube:
Kate Baldwin was there to introduce us with a beautiful speech about Fred Ebb.
Fred Ebb Award Ceremony
I’m still reeling from Monday night when I had the privilege to accept the 2019 Fred Ebb Award and share some songs from my musical Borderline. Thank you to everyone who was there to share it with me and to my phenomenal performers Sarah Lynn Marion and Matt Dallal and my MD David Gardos for their extraordinary talents making me look good!! Nights like this don’t come often or at all when you’re an aspiring writer, so I’m feeling gobsmacked, grateful, and hella lucky that some stars aligned to make me this giddy and humbled on this snowy Monday evening :)
Thank you to Kate Baldwin for her beautiful speech about Fred and what he means to all of us, thank you to Mitch Bernard and the foundation for supporting new writers, and thank you to my co-winner Angela Sclafani for her talent!
"Kiss My Aztec" is a hit at La Jolla Playhouse!
Thrilled that “Kiss My Aztec” finally opened at La Jolla Playhouse and that the critics and audience seem to be having a blast! Shout out to my peerless collaborators John Leguizamo, Tony Taccone, and David Kamp. We still run until October 13th, so be sure to check it out if you’re going to be in southern California before then!!
Some review highlights:
“A little like “In the Heights” crashing into “The Book of Mormon” somewhere along “Avenue Q.”
“The show has the vibrant musical diversity (and welcome multi-ethnic mix) of that first show; the R-rated impudence and unfettered showiness of the second; and, along with the buoyant spirit, the fuzzy puppets of the third.”
“Don’t Tell Me What I Can’t Do” (one of scads of strong tunes by the gifted young composer Benjamin Velez)
“cheeky, salty, irreverent, playfully wicked (even a little scandalous)”
“The most potent musical numbers bookend the piece and provide the most resonance with today”
“You have to be impressed by the palpable energy and ebullience on display”
“fun folklore fantasy that entertains as it touches upon issues that still resonate today.
“This musical has a feverish energy, and biting commentary”
“funny, high energy, bold and brash, deliberately challenging”
“Music by Benjamin Velez, and lyrics by David Kamp, Velez, and Leguizamo have created genre-hopping song infused with salsa, jazz, hip-hop, and more. It's a fitting mix for a show about forced integration of diametrically opposed forces that the show doesn't fit any one musical style.”
“the best part of the show is the songs. Benjamin Velez's music is a rich mix of styles. The melodies please the ear and energize the action”
"Borderline" featured in The Day - at the O'Neill National Musical Theater Conference
Aryanna and I are so thrilled to be able to workshop “Borderline” at the O’Neill this summer, and had a great feature done about us and the show in the local paper! Check it out on their site HERE.
Thank you to everyone who made this show possible! Including our fabulous director Jaki Bradley, our incomparable music director David Gardos, our brilliant dramaturg Carrie Chapter, our incredible stage manager Lizzy Lee, and the O’Neill’s Alexander Gemignani and Lexy Leuszler for giving us the opportunity in the first place!
Kiss My Aztec reviews at Berkeley Rep!
I am on cloud nine and thrilled for our entire cast, crew, band, and creative team that our first ever iteration of this show, and my FIRST ever production, has been a critical success! Check out a few great write ups below:
Kiss My Aztec Photos!
Our Berkeley World Premiere is in Previews and Broadway World posted some kick ass photos from the production! Check them out in their article on Broadway World!
"KISS MY AZTEC" World Premiere Announced for Spring 2019!!
I'm so excited that this musical I've been working on for over 4 years with Book writer John Leguizamo and Co-lyricist David Kamp (previously "Pain In The Aztec") is finally making it to the stage! The incredible Tony Taccone is bringing our musical to Berkeley Repertory Theater for his final season and it's going to be lit! Check out the write up in Playbill and stay tuned for more updates.
"Pain in the Aztec" first reading!
Excited to share that our first reading of "Pain In the Aztec", produced by the Public Theater, was a success! With Book by John Leguizamo, Music by myself, Benjamin Velez, and Lyrics by John, myself, and David Kamp, this draft has been in development since 2014 and it was wonderful to hear it out loud for the first time!
Thanks to David Gardos, our incomparable Music Director, and our stellar cast: JOEL PEREZ, CARIDAD DE LA CRUZ, CHAD CARSTARPHEN, JESSE J. PEREZ, ELISEO ROMAN, MARIA ELENA RAMIREZ, SOL MARINA CRESPO, JUSTIN GREGORY LOPEZ, and our fabulous Director Tony Taccone!
Excited for what's next!
"Crazy Wonderful" @ the BMI Smoker
It was an honor to get to present "Crazy Wonderful" from Borderline at the March 8th BMI Smoker, performed by the fantastic Stephen Bogardus, with David Gardos on piano.
Congrats to everyone who presented, it was a fantastic concert, and thank you to BMI for giving me a chance to showcase the song! Check out the write up on Broadway World HERE.
First reading of STARBLASTERS @ Dixon Place, March 13th!
I'm incredibly excited to announce that our first ever reading of Starblasters will be Tuesday, March 13th at Dixon Place @ 7pm.
We've got an amazing team together and after 3+ years of writing this piece, it'll be amazing to finally hear it out loud.
Music & Lyrics by Benjamin Velez | Book by Katie Hathaway |
TEAM: Director Danny Goldstein | Music Director David Gardos | Produced by Aaron Sanko & Vicki Abeles
CAST: Alysha Umphress, Jeanna De Waal, Dan Domenech, Jon-Michael Reese, Lauren Villegas
"Prom Was a Promise" performed at the BMI Smoker!
I was honored to have "Prom Was a Promise" featured at the latest BMI Smoker concert November 17th, 2016! Thanks to David Gardos, Emily Kaplan, Joey Goldberg, Molly Heller, and of course Katie Hathaway for bringing it to life!
Check out the video below and listen to the demo along with other songs from Starblasters here.
STAR BLASTERS follows 5 friends in their late twenties who are spending the summer working at the same local theme park where they spent their summers in high school. Neil has just returned to work at the park for the first time since leaving for college and is immediately confronted by his ten-year-old feud with his ex-concessions colleague and former best friend, Freddie. Neil and Freddie were inseparable growing up, but after Senior Prom, the two stopped speaking and haven’t spoken since. What was all the bad blood about? Listen as each shares their side of the story…
AFTERLAND Reading at the York Theater - Directed by Mark Brokaw
We feel incredibly lucky to have had our first NYC reading of AFTERLAND at the York Theater February 11th, 2016. Thank you to everyone at the York for making it possible, thanks to our year-long residency there through the NEO program.
Check out the cast photo of our INCREDIBLE team, which included:
Director: Mark Brokaw
Music Director: David Gardos
Stage Manager: Sonja Thorson
CAST
Christy Altomare, Alex Boniello, Daniel Jenkins, Rebecca Luker, Jacob Ming-Trent, Alexandra Socha, Alysha Umphress, and Donald Webber Jr.
We were lucky enough to get a write up in PlayBill and Broadway World!