The creative team behind Millennials Are Killing Musicals will present an industry-only 29-hour reading presentation of the original musical on January 15, 2026 in Hollywood, in advance of the show’s world-premiere out-of-town tryout at The Colony Theatre in Burbank, with previews starting on April 30th, 2026.
Featuring a powerhouse lineup of Los Angeles and New York talent, the cast for the reading includes Aynsley Bubbico, Coby Getzug (Merrily We Roll Along), Mitchell Gerrard Johnson, John Krause (Hadestown), Diana Huey (The Little Mermaid), Emma Hunton (Wicked, Spring Awakening), Lana McKissack and Jennifer Leigh Warren (Little Shop of Horrors, Rent: Live). Whitney Kathleen Vigil will serve as understudy. Casting and full creative team for the spring production at The Colony Theatre will be announced at a later date.
Created by Nico Juber (book, music, lyrics), Millennials Are Killing Musicals features a contemporary pop-rock score and an entirely original story offering a fierce, funny look at identity in the age of social media. Brenda, a single millennial mom, just wants to do better “adulting” (like the seemingly perfect Jake’s mom at her daughter’s school) when her younger #influencer sister Katrina shows up eight months pregnant and completely unprepared for motherhood. The three women work to shed the Greek Chorus of social-media filters on their lives to achieve their dreams.
The reading will be directed by Tony Award nominee Kristin Hanggi (Rock of Ages), assistant directed by Cheryl Daro, with music supervision, orchestration and arrangements by Anthony Lucca (King of Pangea). Stage Management by Shawna Voragen. Tiffany Vega serves as DEI Consultant, and Shira Helena Gitlin serves as Gender Consultant. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA with General Management by Megan Dettmer and Grant A. Rice of DR Theatrical Management.
Cody Lassen serves as Executive Producer. The Producing team includes Literally The Best, Anant Das, Catherine Gray & Debra Smalley, Hanggilove Productions, Kelly Ann Winget, Julie Peterson Klein, Diana Greshtchuk, Belinda Moore & Faustina Frimpong, Take My Shot Productions, Raining Residuals and Jonathan Gitlen.
The upcoming production at The Colony Theatre, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Heather Provost, will mark the musical’s pre-New York world premiere, part of a seven-year journey that has included work with IAMA Theatre Company, New York Theatre Barn, and a limited Off-Broadway developmental run produced by Out of the Box Theatrics.
Attendance for the January 15 presentation is by private invitation only.
“Millennials Are Killing Musicals” coming to The Colony Theatre
The Colony Theatre in Burbank, CA (Heather Provost, Producing Artistic Director) announced today it will present the world premiere production of Millennials Are Killing Musicals in its 2026 season before the show heads to New York. The original musical comedy, with book, music, and lyrics by Nico Juber, will play a limited engagement from May 1–17.
The production will be directed by Tony Award-nominee Kristin Hanggi, best known for the Broadway and global smash hit Rock of Ages.Anthony Lucca(King of Pangea) will serve as music director, arranger, and orchestrator. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Design team and casting news will be announced later.
With a contemporary pop-rock score, this entirely original musical comedy offers a fierce, funny look at identity in the age of social media. Brenda, a single millennial mom, just wants to do better “adulting” (like the seemingly perfect Jake’s mom at her daughter’s school), when her younger #influencer sister Katrina shows up eight months pregnant and totally unprepared for motherhood. The three women work to shed the Greek Chorus of social media filters on their lives to achieve their dreams.
Said Provost, “The Colony Theatre is truly proud to champion new work, especially a New York-bound musical from one of LA’s own best and brightest. Millennials Are Killing Musicals is sharp, funny, and deeply human. It reflects the moment we’re all living in with humor, honesty, and heart, reminding us that great storytelling connects every generation.”
Said Hanggi, “This show asks what’s real in a world curated by algorithms and how we connect when we reveal our messy, brilliant, unfiltered humanity. Comedy is our way in. Millennials Are Killing Musicals is a love letter to imperfection and to women telling their stories on their own terms.”
Nico Juber (Book, Music, and Lyrics) is an award-winning musical writer named to the Women to Watch on Broadway list by the Broadway Women’s Fund. Millennials Are Killing Musicals has been supported by New York Theatre Barn’s New Works Series and mostlyNEWmusicals, has received an Off-Broadway developmental production with Out of the Box Theatrics, and had a workshop at IAMA Theatre Company earlier this year. The Off-Broadway cast album was released on the Yellow Sound Label and Brainstorm Records. She is the co-writer of the musical Winner (with Joe Barros), which was developed by New York Theatre Barn, The London Summer Music Theatre Academy, The Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed, and UC San Diego ArtPower/Blindspot Collective, and recently premiered at Monroe Township High School. A concept EP was released this year on Theatre Barn Records. Her sci-fi short musical Holowon one of the top awards in the 2020 NAMT Challenge and premiered at the Beck Center for the Arts (with Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre). Other collaborations include the viral Smirnoff Smash Tea Partay (with Rocky Paterra); Our Next Act (with Selena Seballo), winning the Drama League’s Light the Lights Songwriting Challenge and writing commissioned songs for 54 Below, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Ring of Keys, and the play Stormé. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, and Ring of Keys, and serves as Maestra Moms affinity group co-chair.
Kristin Hanggi (Director) is best known for directing the smash-hit Rock of Ages, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical. She developed and directed the original Los Angeles and Off-Broadway productions of the acclaimed pop opera bare. Her additional stage work includes Off-Broadway’s Accidentally Brave, Clueless (The New Group), It’s All Your Fault Tyler Price, and most recently Romy and Michele. She also directed Pussycat Dolls Live at the Roxy, featuring Christina Applegate, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, and Charlize Theron. Her film work includes the Steven Soderbergh-produced Accidentally Brave, Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List, Grantham & Rose, and the musical film Dear Dumb Diary, which she co-wrote. She also directed on Netflix’s musical series Julie & the Phantoms. In 2013, she received the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television Distinguished Alumni Award.
Anthony Lucca (Music Director, Arranger, and Orchestrator) is an award-winning music director, orchestrator, and arranger whose world premieres include King of Pangea (King’s Head Theatre), Bronco Billy (LA Drama Critics Circle Award), Mutt House (Kirk Douglas Theatre), Cult of Love (IAMA Theatre Company), Into Light, and numerous developmental workshops in Los Angeles, New York, and London. Regional credits include Calvin Berger (The Colony Theatre), The Sound of Music, Oliver, Cinderella, Something Rotten, and Mamma Mia (5-Star Theatricals), Evita (Palos Verdes Performing Arts), and Hairspray (5-Star Theatricals). He is an adjunct faculty member at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, where he directs the Musical Theatre Summer Conservatory.
The Colony Theatre Company began its distinguished history in 1975 and has evolved into a well-established, award-winning, nationally recognized theatre, renowned for the extremely high quality of its productions. It has received countless awards for excellence and has been listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac as one of the “25 Notable US Theater Companies.” The Colony continues to produce and program innovative, cutting edge shows and events appropriate for all ages while being a launching pad for Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, a performance destination for LA and Broadway’s brightest stars and productions, a space for top casting directors to cast, filmmakers to shoot, and the community to engage.
The Colony is located at 555 N. Third Street (between Cypress and Magnolia) in Burbank, 91502. Free onsite parking is available.
The Foundation for New American Musicals (FNAM) announced today the finalists for their annual ShowSearch 2025. On Saturday, November 22, FNAM will showcase the finalists’ original 10-minute musicals as they compete for cash-award scholarships through ShowSearch, a Southern California–wide program designed to discover emerging talent and support the development of new short musicals created by high school and college students.
This year’s ShowSearch finalists from the high school division features students from GirlsAcademic Leadership Academy: Audrey Becker, Julia Buss, Gemma Cates, SydneyGarcia, Elena Miles, Asha Miller, and Isla Sidtis. The college division finalists are N. Samuel Heard from Pepperdine University and Ian Pirotto from UCLA.
These five short musicals will be presented in a staged reading with direction by MichaelDonovan and musical direction by Kyle de Tarnowsky. ShowSearch 2025 features performances by Lauren Curet, Isabelle Harris, Rachel McLaughlan, Coby Rogers, HannahSedlacek, Spencer Williams, and Frankie Zabilka, also serving as the evening host. Event judges include Ebony Repertory Theatre Producing Artistic Director Wren T. Brown, ICT Artistic Director and Producer caryn desai, Ensemble Theatre Company Executive Artistic Director Scott DeVine, and The Colony Theatre Producing Artist Director Heather Provost. ShowSearch 2025 is produced by FNAM Board Member Christopher Sepulveda.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate this year’s remarkable finalists,” said FNAM Board President Michael Donovan. “Their talent, imagination, and passion for musical storytelling inspire us year after year. We hope the community will join us in championing these emerging artists as they take the stage and share their original works.”
Open to enrolled students ages 13 to 25 and free for all participants, FNAM’s nationally recognized program ShowSearch, is a juried competition in which applicants submit unedited 10-minute videos of original musicals in development. Submissions are evaluated on storytelling, musicality, and originality. Each selected finalist is selected and receives a month- long intensive mentorship with a leading musical theatre professional. Past mentors have included Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), Jeff Marx (Avenue Q), John Bucchino (A Catered Affair), Cinco Paul (Schmigadoon!), and Michele Brourman (The Land Before Time series), among others. All finalists receive cash awards, with additional prizes awarded to the top submission in each category.
Past ShowSearch alumni have gone on to successful careers in musical theatre as composers, writers, orchestrators, and conductors on Broadway and beyond, many citing the program as a formative step in their creative journey, including writers Nicholas Connors (Paper Valley) and Jimmy Marino (Homecoming).
ShowSearch 2025 will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at The ColonyTheatre (555 N. 3rd St, Burbank, CA 91502). Visit FNAM.us to reserve free tickets or for more information. The event is open to the public and will be followed by a reception with participants and members of the Southern California theatre community.
The Foundation for New American Musicals (FNAM), now in its 18th year, is dedicated to educating, mentoring, and showcasing emerging creators of original musicals for stage, screen, and new platforms. FNAM supports the creation of new content and provides a voice for the next generation of creators. Embracing four powerful disciplines — story, song, dance, and visuals – musicals have uniquely and memorably inspired deeper empathy and understanding across cultures, ethnicities, and generations. Today, musical theatre has earned a top spot in the cultural conversation. However, while there are many opportunities for performers and technical teams to learn and grow, there are very few programs that introduce musical theatre show writing to high school through college age students and develop promising story tellers, composers, and lyricists. The keystone of all FNAM programs is to provide opportunities for talented newcomers to create and showcase their art.
The Colony Theatre Scripts & Sips: Playreading Series presents “What Doesn’t Kill You Hurts You Longer,” by Steve Apostolina and directed by Michael Donovan, coming Sunday, November 16, at 3:00PM.
The Colony Theatre in Burbank has announced the second installment of its Scripts & Sips playreading series, What Doesn’t Kill You Hurts You Longer by Steve Apostolina, directed by 10-time Artios Award-winner Michael Donovan, who also directed the inaugural Scripts & Sips reading in November 2024 and The Colony’s smash hit The Wedding Singer this past summer. Scripts & Sips is a casual, fun, immersive afternoon, giving audience members a taste of the creative process of bringing new work to life. Enjoy themed cocktails and mocktails, complimentary light bites, and a post-show panel discussion with the writer, director, and cast.
The play: months before their 60th anniversary, a Burbank couple separates, dividing their home and saddling their perpetually rejected actor son with the impossible task of mediating in this comical battle over life, death, and the fervent pursuit of immortality. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA.
Colony Theatre Producing Artistic Director Heather Provost said, “I have been a fan of Steve Apostolina’s writing for a while now, and I am thrilled to have What Doesn’t Kill You Hurts You Longer on The Colony stage for our Scripts & Sips staged reading event. Steve’s work always has such a distinct voice. This play is a beautiful example of the remarkable gift he has in blending humor with humanity. I look forward to watching this piece grow and develop. At The Colony, we are dedicated to supporting work that engages, entertains, and sparks meaningful conversation, and I know this presentation will do just that.”
Steve Apostolina is a writer-actor-director and a longtime Burbank resident. As a playwright: Hold Up the Sun (semi-finalist at Premiere Stages 2025), Jar of Lightning (finalist at The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival), A Gentle Lift (produced by EDP), Killer (finalist at Ashland NPF 2023, semi-finalist at Premiere Stages 2023, and winner of the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition 2022). Other plays: Derelict in Fairville, Broken, Forever Bound (Ovation Award nomination), Flight of the Penguin (Drama-Logue Award and LA Weekly Award nomination), Embroiled (New Jersey Rep Festival finalist). Two-time finalist: Labute New Theatre Festival, Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival. After a successful run in LA starring French Stewart, Forever Bound subsequently had a reading in NYC for Williamstown Theatre Festival with Amanda Seyfried and Tommy Sadoski.
Michael Donovan is a casting director, producer, director, and teacher. He has cast over 1,000 theatre productions (including shows at The Colony) and is the recipient of 10 Artios Awards, presented by the Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. He has directed many productions, readings, and showcases. He is also President of the Board of the Foundation for New American Musicals.
Admission prices range from $13.00–$23.00 and tickets are available online at https://www.colonytheatre.org/scriptsandsips. Scripts & Sips is supported in part by a Community Arts Grant from the City of Burbank. The Colony Theatre is located at 555 N. Third Street in Burbank, 91502. Free parking is available.
