Overview:
After a surprising night with high school seniors gets a goody two-shoes sophomore (Ellen)
unfairly grounded, she decides to reach beyond the limited expectations her perfectionist parents have
for her— and seek out the "bad girl" behaviors they've accused her of.
At stake: independence, love, and the chance to go to an excellent college.
Synopsis & Songs
The synopsis along with staging information is
here.
Most of the songs from the show can be found
here.
You can also view a scene from the staged reading.
Here is short description and the link:
Mama Told Me—
Ellen's Father's talks (and sings) about his mother's aspirations for him.
Mama Told Me On YouTube
More About The Musical:
College/Bound (C/B) is a full-length show with twenty original songs in styles ranging
from jazz to "Broadway" to gospel. Though there
are over twenty-five distinct roles, the show can be comfortably performed with eight cast
members: four mezzo-sopranos or high altos, one tenor, two baritones, and one bass.
C/B has minimal staging requirements, allowing for a bare-bones set, with "street clothes" costuming.
That said, it allows for much more elaborate sets and costumes.
Though C/B is intended for adults and teens, it is "family friendly" with only mild euphemistic cursing ("Goldarnit"),
one instance of pot smoking, and the implication of a make-out session.
History Of College/Bound:
Marlena Merrin, the playwright and songwriter for C/B (and author of this website), produced a staged reading of C/B.
She had a wonderful cast of nine Boston-based singer-actors.
About eighty people saw the show and thirty-five of those provided anonymous feedback on forms available after the show.
The show received extremely positive remarks—which was very gratifying. Here are some quotes:
—Very entertaining. Definitely resonated emotionally. Loved the humor.
—Fun, lots to relate to. Such wonderful lyrics + harmonies.
—Very funny. I like how very deep and complicated emotions and dynamics come through the humor.
***
So many comments complimented the storyline and songs that I went forward with studio recordings of the songs (with most of the original cast returning). My sound engineers were Ben Camp and Nick Goldston. I also created a DVD (with the help of the videographer, Leroy McClauren).
If you are with a theater company or publisher, I'd be happy to send you any materials you'd like for a submission (script, synopsis, mp3s). See below for more info on staging and casting requirements.
Staging Requirements:
C/B covers approximately ten years. It can be set from the 1970s onward (but no earlier than the 1970s). Act I and Act II scenes take place in a kitchen and living room in New Jersey, and in a local high school (a classroom, a hallway, a girls bathroom, and the office of a guidance counselor).
Casting Requirements:
College/Bound can be comfortably performed with eight cast members: four mezzo-sopranos or high altos, one tenor, two baritones, and one bass. The show can also be done with a large cast, since it has over twenty-five distinct (and fun) roles, some not requiring singing.
Other Info:
College/Bound is a musical written and composed by Marlena Merrin, with piano arrangements by Mark Shilansky, Tim Ray, and Marlena Merrin, and with vocal arrangements by Marlena Merrin and Julia Poirer.
The music director for the staged reading was the wonderful Eve (Havah) Goldfarb. The director was Marlena Merrin.
About Marlena: Marlena is a playwright, songwriter, sometime actor, and sometime standup comic. In her alternate life, under a different name,
she's a analyst and designer of security distributed computing systems—which has much more to do with writing musicals than one might think!
About Eve: Eve is a music director of long experience and an accomplished acappella singer.