ICONIC COMPOSER AND LYRICIST STEPHEN SCHWARTZ HOSTS THE ASCAP FOUNDATION MUSICAL THEATRE FEST MAY 5 AND 6 AT THE WALLIS IN BEVERLY HILLS

Hit Broadway Composers Share Unheard Gems and Workshop New Musical Theatre Works with Aspiring Composers

LOS ANGELES, April 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The ASCAP Foundation announces programming for the 2025 ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Fest, hosted by legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Returning for a third year for two dazzling nights at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) in Beverly Hills, May 5-6, the Fest offers a rare glimpse into the process and craft of musical theatre with some of Broadway’s biggest composers.

The concert and workshop double bill are free and open to the public. Reservations are required for both nights and are available at TheWallis.org/Concert and TheWallis.org/Workshop.

On Monday, May 5, the Fest curtain raises on “Songs from the Cutting Room Floor,” a look at the unheard gems that didn’t make it into some of Broadway’s biggest shows. Schwartz, together with composers, lyricists and librettists Irene Sankoff & David Hein (Come From Away) and Karey Kirkpatrick (Something Rotten!, Mrs. Doubtfire), will deliver an evening of intimate performances and stories about spectacular songs that had to be sacrificed to create a perfect musical. Additional performers will be announced.

The evening is presented with support from the Gary Geld Musical Theatre Foundation.

On Tuesday, May 6, Schwartz hosts The ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre & Librettist Workshop, featuring a unique double bill of new musicals that gives audience members a sneak peek at what could be the next big ticket on Broadway. Composers will present excerpts from their new musicals and following each presentation, Schwartz will host a feedback session with the writers and other masters of the craft.

The Workshop will kick off with the creative team of Roslyn Catracchia and Peter Seibert, who will present an excerpt of their new musical Piney Needlesmith and the Road Less Traveled.

For the second show of the evening, Julian Hornik, Khiyon Hursey and Mark Sonnenblick will present selections from their new musical, WEEKEND.

Previous ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre 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 & Chad Beguelin (The Prom, Elf the Musical), Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich (Dear Edwina, Ever After) and Khiyon Hursey (Spirited, Sean’s Story). The evening is supported by the Kenward Elmslie Fund.

Reservations are required for both nights and are available at TheWallis.org/Concert and TheWallis.org/Workshop. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts is located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills CA 90210.

About The ASCAP Foundation
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, The ASCAP Foundation was founded in 1975 and is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education, talent development and humanitarian programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States. www.ascapfoundation.org

About the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) was lauded by Culture Vulture: “If you love expecting the unexpected in the performing arts, you have to love The Wallis.” Broadway legend Patti LuPone, who was The Wallis’ 2015/2016 Season Artistic Advisor, described the venue as “one of the best in the country, allowing for an unparalleled intimacy between [the artist] and the audience.”

Since its doors opened in 2013, The Wallis, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and international performers share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. Distinguished by eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its location in the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis has produced and presented nearly 500 theater, dance, music, film, cabaret, comedy, performance arts, and family entertainment programs, boasting nominations for 79 Ovation Awards and nine L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards, as well as six architectural awards.

The breathtaking 70,000-square-foot facility, celebrating the classic and the modern, was named after philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, who’s original $25-million-dollar donation was instrumental in transforming the beloved former 1934 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) into an arts complex. Designed by acclaimed architect Zoltan E. Pali (SPF: architects), the restored building features one of two sets of eight towering original WPA frescos, these by Charles Kassler, remaining in the entire California Federal Building system. The Wallis’ lobby, now known as Jim and Eleanor Randall Grand Hall, serves as the theater’s dramatic yet welcoming entryway to the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater; the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater; an inviting open-air plaza for family, community and other performances; and GRoW @ The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education, where learning opportunities for all ages and backgrounds abound. Together, these elements embrace both the region’s history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for Los Angeles area visitors and residents alike.

Daphna Nazarian is Chair of The Wallis’ Board of Directors and Robert van Leer is its Executive Director and CEO.

SOURCE ASCAP – American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers