2020-2021
A pandemic won't stop Josh from keepin' on truckin'! Josh is writing new music and musicals every day, and hopes to unveil it all in an epic cabaret when COVID is kicked to the curb. A new musical he is writing the music to, Langdon St. Ives, recently got a spotlight in an episode of the podcast One Million Musicals. Listen if you can, as we preview the song "Bring Back the Dead." Earlier last year, before the world shut down, he was able to preview the beginnings of this new musical with co-writer John Blaylock, and performed by Blaylock's class at California School of the Arts, and led by Broadway's Krysta Rodriguez. Also, look out for his two forthcoming collaborations with Kate Chadwick, a musical being shot virtually by the students of University of California at Irvine called Back Home, and an exciting (and shocking) new chapter to the Sissy S. Pitchfork musical legacy. STAY TUNED. AND STAY SAFE.
Summer 2019 --
Josh had his original musical The Alien Logs of Super Jewels get its staged premiere at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. BK Bradshaw, the musical's librettist, and the author of the novel on which it is based was in attendance, and Josh got to oversee orchestration and orchestra conducting duties as well as writing the score. Stay tuned for more announcements on this work! Josh also wrote a song for the 50th Anniversary of French Woods called "Every Summer". Josh returns to the Disney Wonder for the 2019 Holiday Season, starting November 8th and going until January 2020! See you next year!
Spring 2018 --
Josh was guest pianist for Misha Lambert's set for Noteworthy, a night celebrating female Musical Theatre/pop songwriters, organized by SHE NYC. He was also Floater Pianist aboard the Disney Cruise Line's Disney Wonder for the first time, and enjoyed it so much. He will be back December of 2018, so if you want to hear him play a couple holiday/Disney sets, come on down and book your cruises!
Winter 2017 --
Josh's work with lyricist Kate Chadwick will be exhibited in a concert at 54 Below on December 9th, 2017. Casting will be announced at a later date. Also, stay tuned for further info on Butterflies, the musical Chadwick and Freilich wrote together!
Summer 2017 --
Josh and Kate Chadwick's musical Butterfiles (formerly Turn Out) was given a reading at the Barrington Stage Company Musical Theatre Lab in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The reading was directed by Tony nominated choreographer Graciela Daniele, produced by Tony winner Bill Finn, and had a cast led by Tony winner Donna McKechnie, which also featured Amanda Savan, Morgan Weed, Maya Keleher, Amra-Faye Wright, with Barrington Stage Conservatory members Katie Schultz, Daniela Kaplan, and Harley Seger.
January-February 2017 --
Josh will be musical director for a concert benefitting The Actor's Temple entitled, A WING AND A PRAYER. The evening will be supervised by Daniel Schneider, and hosted by Lee Kasper. The evening will feature performances from Rebecca Kuznick, Lauren Chapman, Michael Linden, Michael Kushner, Isabella Kearney-Nurse, Tor Hyams and Lisa Rothhauser, Lauren Schorr, Madeline Rhodes, Evan Kremin, and Erica Hampton.
Summer 2016 --
Josh is returning to Pittsfield, Massachusetts for Barrington Stage Company's newest annual installment of "Songs By Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don't Know But Should," an evening of brand-new songs by young musical theatre composers and writers, hosted and curated by Tony winner William Finn. The shows will be June 10th and 11th at 8:00 pm at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. After, Josh will be coming back to French Woods for his 15th summer.
Winter 2015/Spring 2016 --
Josh is happy to announce that his musical "Carlotta," written with Anita Reyes, has been picked up for a 15-minute staged production by the Musical Theatre Factory. Offered to a public audience and a rotating panel of industry professionals, each creative team will have 5 hours to workshop an excerpt of their piece with an MTF cast. This is a unique opportunity to see new work on its feet and give supportive feedback to musicals in the making. The performance will be Monday, March 21st at the Abingdon Theatre Company on West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Josh is also happy to return to the Ardsley High School Drama Club, during which time the spring musical is William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Mike Tosto. Josh was also greatly involved in the preparation of new material for Finn's A New Brain as part of its production at New York City Center Encores! Off-Center last summer starring Jonathan Groff, and directed by its author James Lapine. He created additional arrangements for different moments in the show, and if you would like to hear the fruits of those labors (orchestrated by the wonderful Michael Starobin), the cast album just dropped this February on PS Classics. For more information, click this link http://www.psclassics.com/cd_anewbrain.html. In other news, Josh is also collaborating with Misha Lambert on a concert of her original music performed by her and her friends. He will be musical director and arranger for two evening performances on April 3rd. Librettist/lyricist Kate Chadwick and Josh are one of four teams selected to write a brand new 15-minute musical for the New York Satellite Program at the University of California Irvine. They will meet the cast in the end of March, write the show, then they’ll see it performed at the Royal Family Arts Centre in NYC on April 16th, 17th, and 18th. Also, keep your eyes peeled for news regarding another new musical on the way: "Turn Out", a ballet-centric song cycle with book and lyrics also by Chadwick.
September/October 2015 --
This timespan will see Josh working with old friends and new, as he prepares for his latest songbook offering. This show will have a variety of his songs, some old, and some brand-new, all sung by Rebecca Kuznick, and directed by Jenny Leon. The show happens on October 24th at the Duplex NYC at 9:30 pm. Clips from the show are available at this link https://www.youtube.com/user/RKuznick28/videos.
Summer 2015 --
This summer, Josh revisited NATASHA AND THE BASSLINE for another one-night-only performance at the Triad. Also, his musical COLOR WAR: THE SUMMER CAMP-Y MUSICAL, written with Bryan Plofsky and Leigh Cesiro, got picked up for a table reading at the Playlights Theatre Company in Queens.
March-May 2015 --
This month, Josh returned to Boston, Massachusetts to work with Emerson's senior musical theatre class of 2015, as he taught a masterclass of his work, using songs old and new. He also went back to his old stomping ground at Ardsley High School once again to play for the Drama Club's spring musical, this year A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum, directed by Flori Doyle. Josh also worked with author Melissa Bell and director Luke Tudball on original incidental music and sound design for an original play based on the life of Emma Goldman entitled Love, Sex, Anarchy. After being read in NYC, it will be performed as a staged reading at Corner Store Arts in Washington, DC. Stay tuned for upcoming news regarding Devil and the Deep, the adaptation of Treasure Island authored by Graham Russell, Melissa Bell, and Katie McGhie, and produced by Theatre East.
January 2015 --
Josh is musical director for two cabarets coming up in January: one celebrating Disney music at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on West 42nd Street on January 20th, and one with Natasha Edwards and her band NATASHA AND THE BASSLINE coming to the Triad.
November 2014 --
Josh recently finished musical arrangements and supervision for a workshop of the upcoming musical "Devil and the Deep," a reimagined adaptation of Treasure Island written by Melissa Bell and Air Supply's Graham Russell with Katie McGhie. The workshop was created under the auspices of Theatre East, who hope to create a fully-staged production in the Spring of 2015.
April-August 2014 --
Josh worked on a musical theater showcase with Jeff Blumenkrantz's music entitled Moving Right Along: The World of Jeff Blumenkrantz, at Josh's old alma mater, Manhattan School of Music. The show is directed by Carolyn Marlow, and performances were May 13th, 14th, and 15th at 7:30 at MSM's John C. Borden Auditorium. Josh was musical director for a cabaret at the Laurie Beechman Theatre celebrating the aspects of nerdery called "Un-Ironically Enthusiastic." The cabaret was produced by Big Thunder Productions, and will feature the talents of Verse Academy, Jeremy Kushnier, Beth Kirkpatrick, Leenya Rideout, Brent Black, and others. The concert was May 3rd, 2014, at 7 pm. Also in May, Josh was involved in a live preview of a musical adaptation of Treasure Island at a benefit for Theatre East. Treasure Island was adapted by Melissa Bell with brand new songs by Graham Russell (Air Supply, Of Eden) and Katie McGhie (Of Eden). Josh is thrilled to be involved with this project as musical director and arranger. The background vocals for the Theatre East benefit and the studio session were provided by Kate, Graham, and Josh's Musical Friends with Eric Stockton (Rocky, Soul Doctor) on guitar. The demo was recorded at Avatar Studios in Manhattan. Josh also had his music played for special events organized by the Long Island High School For the Arts, and Hoff-Barthelson Music School. He will also reunite with Music with Masters for their inaugural musical theatre production, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Performances will be June 12th-15th. After all that, Josh will return to French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts for 9 weeks.
January-March 2014 --
"Music Is My Friend: The Josh Freilich Songbook", the concert Josh performed at Lincoln Center Library was revised and remounted at 54 Below on January 8th. His work washeard at 54 Below again, on Wednesday, February 12th, as orchestrator for Jeff Blumenkrantz's song cycle Month Upon a Time. Tedd Firth will lead a 5-piece band, and the songs were sung by Blumenkrantz (Candide, Joseph, H2$, Damn Yankees), Michael McElroy (Rent, Tommy), Kenita Miller (Ragtime at Paper Mill, Merrily We Roll Along at Encores!), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party), and Kate Wetherhead (Legally Blonde, Ordinary Days, co-creator of Submissions Only). Josh also provided arrangements/musical design for a new musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, with songs by Air Supply's Graham Russell and book by Melissa Bell, as well as returning to his other old alma mater, Ardsley High School, for conducting and playing the Drama Club's production of RENT, directed by Flori Doyle. During March, he was also involved as rehearsal pianist/musical director for workshops of a new musical written by Oscar-winning composers Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez (Finding Nemo: The Musical, Winnie the Pooh, and Frozen). These workshops were supervised by director Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter and the Starcatcher, Here Lies Love), and choreographer Joshua Bergasse (Smash, On the Town).
October-December 2013 --
Josh made his Lincoln Center debut in late October with the Broadway's Future concert "Music Is My Friend: The Josh Freilich Songbook," in which he got to work with 12 of his closest and dearest friends. To see it, find the link to the Youtube playlist in the VIDEO section of this website. Soon after, Josh was working triple duties as keyboardist in the pit for Christ the King Regional High's winter production of A Christmas Carol and musical director/vocal arranger for a special youth production of Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (or The Slave of Duty), produced by Music with Masters in conjunction with The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. The one-night-only performance on January 2nd will feature various young performers in the Tri-State area from the age of 18 and under, directed and joined by members of the company, and conducted by NYGASP founder/artistic director Albert Bergeret. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Josh reunited with Brian Stokes Mitchell (after doing an arrangement of R&H's "Soliloquy" for him years ago), this time to write a customized orchestration of the song "Through Heaven's Eyes," written for him to sing in The Prince of Egypt by Stephen Schwartz. Stokes did a series of concerts in various locations in the United States with various orchestras (one of them the prestigious New York Philharmonic) performing Josh's orchestration, and was conducted by people ranging from the likes of Ted Sperling and Steven Reineke.
July 2013 --
After coming back from another six weeks at French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts (during which he played the camp premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning masterpiece IN THE HEIGHTS), Josh had his NYMF (New York Musical Theatre Festival) concert debut this past July when he SPLIT THE KEYS with recent NYU graduate Nikko Benson at New York's Signature Theatre, with a weekend-only tryout at William Finn's Cabaret at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Fellow lyricists included Sean Patterson, Sarah Underwood, Jake Brandman, Liz Suggs, Ty DeFoe, Seth Christenfeld, and, of course, William Finn and Nikko Benson. Thanks to Amanda Savan and Mary-Kate Morrissey who have been there since the beginning with along with Gideon Glick, as well as the wonderful performers who joined us for NYMF, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Mike Longo, Ben Roseberry, Mykal Kilgore, Ali Ewoldt, Danyel Fulton, Rachel Lee, Michael Linden, Luke Wygodny, the BSC Apprentices, and three of my oldest and closest friends, Elisabeth Cernadas, Remy Zaken, and Sammi Kramer. Thanks also must go to associate producer Megan Savage, lighting designer Kevin Hardy, stage manager Lisa Klages, producer/director Shakina Nayfack, and all-around guru/seer/mentor William Finn for their help in making all this work. To see it, find the link to the Youtube playlist in the VIDEO section of this website.
April 2013 --
In addition to playing in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Josh was also instrumental in working with the graduating class of the Emerson Musical Theatre program in Boston, MA, and taught a masterclass that showcased the students performing his original work.
March 2013 --
Josh was asked to be musical director for Ardsley High School's production of Once Upon a Mattress, and was recently hired as Keyboard 1 for Christ the King Musical Theatre Club's production of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in Queens.
November 2012 --
Josh was honored in an article in BroadwaySpotted.com as the "Musical Theatre Writer of the Week!" http://www.broadwayspotted.com/musical-theatre-writer-of-the-week-josh-freilich/
September 2012 --
Josh contributed songs to William Finn's annual Barrington Stages season-climactic revue Songs By Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don't Know But Should for the third year in a row. He even got to sing a couple of his songs from the stage. Josh also arranged and produced instrumental tracks for the performance troupe The New World Connection at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. This year's theme is Broadway Rocks!, the best rock musicals to ever rock the face of Broadway and the West End, like Footloose, HAIR, Godspell, Spring Awakening, The Who's Tommy, and others.
June-August 2012 --
Josh spent his 11th summer at French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts. He contributed orchestrations and arrangements for two French Woods premieres: Greenwood, a musical based on the French Woods experience written by Adam LeBow and Tor Hyams, and Forever Scrooge, a sequel to the original Dickens' A Christmas Carol story, written and composed by Terry Hammond. Both shows were directed by Lee Kasper. Josh was also instrumental in bringing his own show THE STAR CHILD to the stage for the first time (see below). THE STAR CHILD was directed by Ryan Jacobs.
March-June 2012 --
Josh played the Synthesizer book for a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in NYC, which took place in the rehearsal studio that was directly across from Second Stage, the theatre in which it had its NYC premiere in 2005. Thanks to the original orchestrator, Michael Starobin, as well as the smart people at Sinfonia and MTI, the synthesizer programming for the show Josh played was the originals heard in the show and on the cast album. Also in March, Josh returned to his high school alma mater at Ardsley to be the assistant musical director for a production of Little Shop Of Horrors. He played a self-arranged amalgamation of both keyboard books, based on the original Robert Billig/Robby Merkin arrangements from 30 years ago. During the course of April and June, Josh was involved in the arranging and assistant musical direction of Lost in Love, a new musical featuring the greatest hits of renowned Australian pop-rock duo Air Supply, and three brand-new songs written by the group's principal songwriter/guitarist Graham Russell. The show featured a who's who of talent from Constantine Maroulis (American Idol), Kristin Piacentile (The 47th Floor, DIVA!), William Blake, Lynn Craig, Andrea McArdle (Annie), Brian Golub, and a countless array of others. Industry readings were performed at Ripley Grier Studios and the Triad Theatre. This period of events also saw a surprise trip to Summit High School in New Jersey as guest musical director for a student-run showcase of scenes and songs from The Drowsy Chaperone, made possible through a close connection from French Woods. At the same time, a couple of states away, in Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania, collegiate all-musical theatre a-cappella group NoteWorthy performed Josh's arrangement of the song "I Believe" from the Tony-winning Broadway megahit The Book of Mormon.
STAR CHILD UPDATES:
As Little Shop Of Horrors was getting ready for its performances at Ardsley High School, Josh had his third reading of THE STAR CHILD, which reunited most of the original thesis cast from the year before, as part of the "Notes on a Page" series for the Emerging Artists Theatre. A month later, THE STAR CHILD was read once again, this time by a group of kids from Huron, Ohio, as part of the Caryl Crane Children's Theatre Festival for New Plays. Two months later, Josh, along with his collaborators Jenny Stafford (book) and Sarah Underwood (lyrics), pitched the idea for audiences at the Finger Lakes Theatre Festival as part of their inaugural series for new and upcoming musicals, "The Pitch." And finally, in August, THE STAR CHILD received its World Premiere production at the French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts in Hancock, NY. Rewrites are still going on, even as we speak!
September/October 2011 --
Josh orchestrated an Actors Equity showcase Off-Broadway for the first time! The show was entitled ODYSSEY: AN EPIC MUSICAL. The production was directed and written by Matt Britten, with music by Dimitri Landrain. It starred Josh A. Davis (White's Lies, My First Time), Colleen Zenk (As The World Turns), Emma Zaks (HAIR, Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods), Eddie Korbich (Assassins, The Little Mermaid, The Drowsy Chaperone), Janine DiVita (Grease, A Tale of Two Cities), and Colleen Ballinger (YouTube's Miranda Sings).
UPCOMING...
Josh is also hard at work on the new musicals CARLOTTA, with book and lyrics by Anita Reyes, while still revising THE STAR CHILD, with book by Jennifer Stafford and lyrics by Sarah Underwood. Also, he is writing a brand new show called COLOR WAR: THE MUSICAL, co-writing music and lyrics with Bryan Plofsky (who also wrote the book with Leigh Cesiro).
FREILICH AND BENSON "SPLIT THE KEYS" AT NYMF AND BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY - JULY 2013
July 22nd was "a wild night of wizards, relatives, gingerbread men, and other unlikely protagonists. Up-and-coming composers Josh Freilich and Nikko Benson shared an evening of new, irreverent tunes fresh from the inaugural All-Star Songwriters series as seen at William Finn's Cabaret at Barrington Stage Company.
The show featured lyrics by Benson, with Jake Brandman, Sam Chanse, Seth Christenfeld, T. DeFoe, Ben Halstead, Sean Patterson, Claire Tran, Liz Suggs, Sarah Underwood, and William Finn. It starred Elisabeth Cernadas, Ali Ewoldt, Danyel Fulton, Mykal Kilgore, Sammi Kramer, Rachel Lee, Michael Linden, Mike Longo, Mary Kate Morrissey, Ben Roseberry, Amanda Savan, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Luke Wygodny, and Remy Zaken, with Jane Bernhard, Jennifer Dillow, Michael Kushner, Kyle Patrick Scanlon, and Chloe Tiso. Lighting was designed by Kevin Hardy, Lisa Klages was stage manager, Megan Savage was associate producer, and Shakina Nayfack produced and directed the evening.
The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience. Now in its tenth year, the Festival is the largest musical theatre event in America. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 85 festival shows have gone on to productions on and off-Broadway, in 48 states, and more than 20 countries worldwide, and Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."
Read more about FREILICH & BENSON SPLIT THE KEYS Concert Set for NYMF, 7/22 broadwayworld.com, http://barringtonstageco.org/ai1ec_event/mr-finn-and-his-all-star-songwriters-take-1/?instance_id=, and
http://www.nymf.org/tickets/2013-events/freilich-benson-split-keys/ for bios on the performers and authors.
A pandemic won't stop Josh from keepin' on truckin'! Josh is writing new music and musicals every day, and hopes to unveil it all in an epic cabaret when COVID is kicked to the curb. A new musical he is writing the music to, Langdon St. Ives, recently got a spotlight in an episode of the podcast One Million Musicals. Listen if you can, as we preview the song "Bring Back the Dead." Earlier last year, before the world shut down, he was able to preview the beginnings of this new musical with co-writer John Blaylock, and performed by Blaylock's class at California School of the Arts, and led by Broadway's Krysta Rodriguez. Also, look out for his two forthcoming collaborations with Kate Chadwick, a musical being shot virtually by the students of University of California at Irvine called Back Home, and an exciting (and shocking) new chapter to the Sissy S. Pitchfork musical legacy. STAY TUNED. AND STAY SAFE.
Summer 2019 --
Josh had his original musical The Alien Logs of Super Jewels get its staged premiere at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. BK Bradshaw, the musical's librettist, and the author of the novel on which it is based was in attendance, and Josh got to oversee orchestration and orchestra conducting duties as well as writing the score. Stay tuned for more announcements on this work! Josh also wrote a song for the 50th Anniversary of French Woods called "Every Summer". Josh returns to the Disney Wonder for the 2019 Holiday Season, starting November 8th and going until January 2020! See you next year!
Spring 2018 --
Josh was guest pianist for Misha Lambert's set for Noteworthy, a night celebrating female Musical Theatre/pop songwriters, organized by SHE NYC. He was also Floater Pianist aboard the Disney Cruise Line's Disney Wonder for the first time, and enjoyed it so much. He will be back December of 2018, so if you want to hear him play a couple holiday/Disney sets, come on down and book your cruises!
Winter 2017 --
Josh's work with lyricist Kate Chadwick will be exhibited in a concert at 54 Below on December 9th, 2017. Casting will be announced at a later date. Also, stay tuned for further info on Butterflies, the musical Chadwick and Freilich wrote together!
Summer 2017 --
Josh and Kate Chadwick's musical Butterfiles (formerly Turn Out) was given a reading at the Barrington Stage Company Musical Theatre Lab in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The reading was directed by Tony nominated choreographer Graciela Daniele, produced by Tony winner Bill Finn, and had a cast led by Tony winner Donna McKechnie, which also featured Amanda Savan, Morgan Weed, Maya Keleher, Amra-Faye Wright, with Barrington Stage Conservatory members Katie Schultz, Daniela Kaplan, and Harley Seger.
January-February 2017 --
Josh will be musical director for a concert benefitting The Actor's Temple entitled, A WING AND A PRAYER. The evening will be supervised by Daniel Schneider, and hosted by Lee Kasper. The evening will feature performances from Rebecca Kuznick, Lauren Chapman, Michael Linden, Michael Kushner, Isabella Kearney-Nurse, Tor Hyams and Lisa Rothhauser, Lauren Schorr, Madeline Rhodes, Evan Kremin, and Erica Hampton.
Summer 2016 --
Josh is returning to Pittsfield, Massachusetts for Barrington Stage Company's newest annual installment of "Songs By Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don't Know But Should," an evening of brand-new songs by young musical theatre composers and writers, hosted and curated by Tony winner William Finn. The shows will be June 10th and 11th at 8:00 pm at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. After, Josh will be coming back to French Woods for his 15th summer.
Winter 2015/Spring 2016 --
Josh is happy to announce that his musical "Carlotta," written with Anita Reyes, has been picked up for a 15-minute staged production by the Musical Theatre Factory. Offered to a public audience and a rotating panel of industry professionals, each creative team will have 5 hours to workshop an excerpt of their piece with an MTF cast. This is a unique opportunity to see new work on its feet and give supportive feedback to musicals in the making. The performance will be Monday, March 21st at the Abingdon Theatre Company on West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Josh is also happy to return to the Ardsley High School Drama Club, during which time the spring musical is William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Mike Tosto. Josh was also greatly involved in the preparation of new material for Finn's A New Brain as part of its production at New York City Center Encores! Off-Center last summer starring Jonathan Groff, and directed by its author James Lapine. He created additional arrangements for different moments in the show, and if you would like to hear the fruits of those labors (orchestrated by the wonderful Michael Starobin), the cast album just dropped this February on PS Classics. For more information, click this link http://www.psclassics.com/cd_anewbrain.html. In other news, Josh is also collaborating with Misha Lambert on a concert of her original music performed by her and her friends. He will be musical director and arranger for two evening performances on April 3rd. Librettist/lyricist Kate Chadwick and Josh are one of four teams selected to write a brand new 15-minute musical for the New York Satellite Program at the University of California Irvine. They will meet the cast in the end of March, write the show, then they’ll see it performed at the Royal Family Arts Centre in NYC on April 16th, 17th, and 18th. Also, keep your eyes peeled for news regarding another new musical on the way: "Turn Out", a ballet-centric song cycle with book and lyrics also by Chadwick.
September/October 2015 --
This timespan will see Josh working with old friends and new, as he prepares for his latest songbook offering. This show will have a variety of his songs, some old, and some brand-new, all sung by Rebecca Kuznick, and directed by Jenny Leon. The show happens on October 24th at the Duplex NYC at 9:30 pm. Clips from the show are available at this link https://www.youtube.com/user/RKuznick28/videos.
Summer 2015 --
This summer, Josh revisited NATASHA AND THE BASSLINE for another one-night-only performance at the Triad. Also, his musical COLOR WAR: THE SUMMER CAMP-Y MUSICAL, written with Bryan Plofsky and Leigh Cesiro, got picked up for a table reading at the Playlights Theatre Company in Queens.
March-May 2015 --
This month, Josh returned to Boston, Massachusetts to work with Emerson's senior musical theatre class of 2015, as he taught a masterclass of his work, using songs old and new. He also went back to his old stomping ground at Ardsley High School once again to play for the Drama Club's spring musical, this year A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum, directed by Flori Doyle. Josh also worked with author Melissa Bell and director Luke Tudball on original incidental music and sound design for an original play based on the life of Emma Goldman entitled Love, Sex, Anarchy. After being read in NYC, it will be performed as a staged reading at Corner Store Arts in Washington, DC. Stay tuned for upcoming news regarding Devil and the Deep, the adaptation of Treasure Island authored by Graham Russell, Melissa Bell, and Katie McGhie, and produced by Theatre East.
January 2015 --
Josh is musical director for two cabarets coming up in January: one celebrating Disney music at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on West 42nd Street on January 20th, and one with Natasha Edwards and her band NATASHA AND THE BASSLINE coming to the Triad.
November 2014 --
Josh recently finished musical arrangements and supervision for a workshop of the upcoming musical "Devil and the Deep," a reimagined adaptation of Treasure Island written by Melissa Bell and Air Supply's Graham Russell with Katie McGhie. The workshop was created under the auspices of Theatre East, who hope to create a fully-staged production in the Spring of 2015.
April-August 2014 --
Josh worked on a musical theater showcase with Jeff Blumenkrantz's music entitled Moving Right Along: The World of Jeff Blumenkrantz, at Josh's old alma mater, Manhattan School of Music. The show is directed by Carolyn Marlow, and performances were May 13th, 14th, and 15th at 7:30 at MSM's John C. Borden Auditorium. Josh was musical director for a cabaret at the Laurie Beechman Theatre celebrating the aspects of nerdery called "Un-Ironically Enthusiastic." The cabaret was produced by Big Thunder Productions, and will feature the talents of Verse Academy, Jeremy Kushnier, Beth Kirkpatrick, Leenya Rideout, Brent Black, and others. The concert was May 3rd, 2014, at 7 pm. Also in May, Josh was involved in a live preview of a musical adaptation of Treasure Island at a benefit for Theatre East. Treasure Island was adapted by Melissa Bell with brand new songs by Graham Russell (Air Supply, Of Eden) and Katie McGhie (Of Eden). Josh is thrilled to be involved with this project as musical director and arranger. The background vocals for the Theatre East benefit and the studio session were provided by Kate, Graham, and Josh's Musical Friends with Eric Stockton (Rocky, Soul Doctor) on guitar. The demo was recorded at Avatar Studios in Manhattan. Josh also had his music played for special events organized by the Long Island High School For the Arts, and Hoff-Barthelson Music School. He will also reunite with Music with Masters for their inaugural musical theatre production, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Performances will be June 12th-15th. After all that, Josh will return to French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts for 9 weeks.
January-March 2014 --
"Music Is My Friend: The Josh Freilich Songbook", the concert Josh performed at Lincoln Center Library was revised and remounted at 54 Below on January 8th. His work washeard at 54 Below again, on Wednesday, February 12th, as orchestrator for Jeff Blumenkrantz's song cycle Month Upon a Time. Tedd Firth will lead a 5-piece band, and the songs were sung by Blumenkrantz (Candide, Joseph, H2$, Damn Yankees), Michael McElroy (Rent, Tommy), Kenita Miller (Ragtime at Paper Mill, Merrily We Roll Along at Encores!), Julia Murney (Wicked, The Wild Party), and Kate Wetherhead (Legally Blonde, Ordinary Days, co-creator of Submissions Only). Josh also provided arrangements/musical design for a new musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, with songs by Air Supply's Graham Russell and book by Melissa Bell, as well as returning to his other old alma mater, Ardsley High School, for conducting and playing the Drama Club's production of RENT, directed by Flori Doyle. During March, he was also involved as rehearsal pianist/musical director for workshops of a new musical written by Oscar-winning composers Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez (Finding Nemo: The Musical, Winnie the Pooh, and Frozen). These workshops were supervised by director Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter and the Starcatcher, Here Lies Love), and choreographer Joshua Bergasse (Smash, On the Town).
October-December 2013 --
Josh made his Lincoln Center debut in late October with the Broadway's Future concert "Music Is My Friend: The Josh Freilich Songbook," in which he got to work with 12 of his closest and dearest friends. To see it, find the link to the Youtube playlist in the VIDEO section of this website. Soon after, Josh was working triple duties as keyboardist in the pit for Christ the King Regional High's winter production of A Christmas Carol and musical director/vocal arranger for a special youth production of Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (or The Slave of Duty), produced by Music with Masters in conjunction with The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. The one-night-only performance on January 2nd will feature various young performers in the Tri-State area from the age of 18 and under, directed and joined by members of the company, and conducted by NYGASP founder/artistic director Albert Bergeret. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Josh reunited with Brian Stokes Mitchell (after doing an arrangement of R&H's "Soliloquy" for him years ago), this time to write a customized orchestration of the song "Through Heaven's Eyes," written for him to sing in The Prince of Egypt by Stephen Schwartz. Stokes did a series of concerts in various locations in the United States with various orchestras (one of them the prestigious New York Philharmonic) performing Josh's orchestration, and was conducted by people ranging from the likes of Ted Sperling and Steven Reineke.
July 2013 --
After coming back from another six weeks at French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts (during which he played the camp premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning masterpiece IN THE HEIGHTS), Josh had his NYMF (New York Musical Theatre Festival) concert debut this past July when he SPLIT THE KEYS with recent NYU graduate Nikko Benson at New York's Signature Theatre, with a weekend-only tryout at William Finn's Cabaret at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Fellow lyricists included Sean Patterson, Sarah Underwood, Jake Brandman, Liz Suggs, Ty DeFoe, Seth Christenfeld, and, of course, William Finn and Nikko Benson. Thanks to Amanda Savan and Mary-Kate Morrissey who have been there since the beginning with along with Gideon Glick, as well as the wonderful performers who joined us for NYMF, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Mike Longo, Ben Roseberry, Mykal Kilgore, Ali Ewoldt, Danyel Fulton, Rachel Lee, Michael Linden, Luke Wygodny, the BSC Apprentices, and three of my oldest and closest friends, Elisabeth Cernadas, Remy Zaken, and Sammi Kramer. Thanks also must go to associate producer Megan Savage, lighting designer Kevin Hardy, stage manager Lisa Klages, producer/director Shakina Nayfack, and all-around guru/seer/mentor William Finn for their help in making all this work. To see it, find the link to the Youtube playlist in the VIDEO section of this website.
April 2013 --
In addition to playing in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Josh was also instrumental in working with the graduating class of the Emerson Musical Theatre program in Boston, MA, and taught a masterclass that showcased the students performing his original work.
March 2013 --
Josh was asked to be musical director for Ardsley High School's production of Once Upon a Mattress, and was recently hired as Keyboard 1 for Christ the King Musical Theatre Club's production of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in Queens.
November 2012 --
Josh was honored in an article in BroadwaySpotted.com as the "Musical Theatre Writer of the Week!" http://www.broadwayspotted.com/musical-theatre-writer-of-the-week-josh-freilich/
September 2012 --
Josh contributed songs to William Finn's annual Barrington Stages season-climactic revue Songs By Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don't Know But Should for the third year in a row. He even got to sing a couple of his songs from the stage. Josh also arranged and produced instrumental tracks for the performance troupe The New World Connection at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. This year's theme is Broadway Rocks!, the best rock musicals to ever rock the face of Broadway and the West End, like Footloose, HAIR, Godspell, Spring Awakening, The Who's Tommy, and others.
June-August 2012 --
Josh spent his 11th summer at French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts. He contributed orchestrations and arrangements for two French Woods premieres: Greenwood, a musical based on the French Woods experience written by Adam LeBow and Tor Hyams, and Forever Scrooge, a sequel to the original Dickens' A Christmas Carol story, written and composed by Terry Hammond. Both shows were directed by Lee Kasper. Josh was also instrumental in bringing his own show THE STAR CHILD to the stage for the first time (see below). THE STAR CHILD was directed by Ryan Jacobs.
March-June 2012 --
Josh played the Synthesizer book for a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in NYC, which took place in the rehearsal studio that was directly across from Second Stage, the theatre in which it had its NYC premiere in 2005. Thanks to the original orchestrator, Michael Starobin, as well as the smart people at Sinfonia and MTI, the synthesizer programming for the show Josh played was the originals heard in the show and on the cast album. Also in March, Josh returned to his high school alma mater at Ardsley to be the assistant musical director for a production of Little Shop Of Horrors. He played a self-arranged amalgamation of both keyboard books, based on the original Robert Billig/Robby Merkin arrangements from 30 years ago. During the course of April and June, Josh was involved in the arranging and assistant musical direction of Lost in Love, a new musical featuring the greatest hits of renowned Australian pop-rock duo Air Supply, and three brand-new songs written by the group's principal songwriter/guitarist Graham Russell. The show featured a who's who of talent from Constantine Maroulis (American Idol), Kristin Piacentile (The 47th Floor, DIVA!), William Blake, Lynn Craig, Andrea McArdle (Annie), Brian Golub, and a countless array of others. Industry readings were performed at Ripley Grier Studios and the Triad Theatre. This period of events also saw a surprise trip to Summit High School in New Jersey as guest musical director for a student-run showcase of scenes and songs from The Drowsy Chaperone, made possible through a close connection from French Woods. At the same time, a couple of states away, in Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania, collegiate all-musical theatre a-cappella group NoteWorthy performed Josh's arrangement of the song "I Believe" from the Tony-winning Broadway megahit The Book of Mormon.
STAR CHILD UPDATES:
As Little Shop Of Horrors was getting ready for its performances at Ardsley High School, Josh had his third reading of THE STAR CHILD, which reunited most of the original thesis cast from the year before, as part of the "Notes on a Page" series for the Emerging Artists Theatre. A month later, THE STAR CHILD was read once again, this time by a group of kids from Huron, Ohio, as part of the Caryl Crane Children's Theatre Festival for New Plays. Two months later, Josh, along with his collaborators Jenny Stafford (book) and Sarah Underwood (lyrics), pitched the idea for audiences at the Finger Lakes Theatre Festival as part of their inaugural series for new and upcoming musicals, "The Pitch." And finally, in August, THE STAR CHILD received its World Premiere production at the French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts in Hancock, NY. Rewrites are still going on, even as we speak!
September/October 2011 --
Josh orchestrated an Actors Equity showcase Off-Broadway for the first time! The show was entitled ODYSSEY: AN EPIC MUSICAL. The production was directed and written by Matt Britten, with music by Dimitri Landrain. It starred Josh A. Davis (White's Lies, My First Time), Colleen Zenk (As The World Turns), Emma Zaks (HAIR, Legally Blonde: The Search for the Next Elle Woods), Eddie Korbich (Assassins, The Little Mermaid, The Drowsy Chaperone), Janine DiVita (Grease, A Tale of Two Cities), and Colleen Ballinger (YouTube's Miranda Sings).
UPCOMING...
Josh is also hard at work on the new musicals CARLOTTA, with book and lyrics by Anita Reyes, while still revising THE STAR CHILD, with book by Jennifer Stafford and lyrics by Sarah Underwood. Also, he is writing a brand new show called COLOR WAR: THE MUSICAL, co-writing music and lyrics with Bryan Plofsky (who also wrote the book with Leigh Cesiro).
FREILICH AND BENSON "SPLIT THE KEYS" AT NYMF AND BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY - JULY 2013
July 22nd was "a wild night of wizards, relatives, gingerbread men, and other unlikely protagonists. Up-and-coming composers Josh Freilich and Nikko Benson shared an evening of new, irreverent tunes fresh from the inaugural All-Star Songwriters series as seen at William Finn's Cabaret at Barrington Stage Company.
The show featured lyrics by Benson, with Jake Brandman, Sam Chanse, Seth Christenfeld, T. DeFoe, Ben Halstead, Sean Patterson, Claire Tran, Liz Suggs, Sarah Underwood, and William Finn. It starred Elisabeth Cernadas, Ali Ewoldt, Danyel Fulton, Mykal Kilgore, Sammi Kramer, Rachel Lee, Michael Linden, Mike Longo, Mary Kate Morrissey, Ben Roseberry, Amanda Savan, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Luke Wygodny, and Remy Zaken, with Jane Bernhard, Jennifer Dillow, Michael Kushner, Kyle Patrick Scanlon, and Chloe Tiso. Lighting was designed by Kevin Hardy, Lisa Klages was stage manager, Megan Savage was associate producer, and Shakina Nayfack produced and directed the evening.
The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience. Now in its tenth year, the Festival is the largest musical theatre event in America. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 85 festival shows have gone on to productions on and off-Broadway, in 48 states, and more than 20 countries worldwide, and Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."
Read more about FREILICH & BENSON SPLIT THE KEYS Concert Set for NYMF, 7/22 broadwayworld.com, http://barringtonstageco.org/ai1ec_event/mr-finn-and-his-all-star-songwriters-take-1/?instance_id=, and
http://www.nymf.org/tickets/2013-events/freilich-benson-split-keys/ for bios on the performers and authors.
