One of the best things I ever did at Northwestern was to get involved with Waa-Mu. Waa-Mu is a completely student-written musical developed through the course of the academic year under faculty direction and mentorship, co-produced by the university each spring. It purports to be the largest such show in America––and it probably is––but I doubt that anybody investigates each year to verify the claim. Regardless, if you want to learn about the process of writing or otherwise piecing together a new musical, I doubt there's a better place to do that anywhere in the world.
Our story this year centered around a family. CJ, a rising senior in high school, has spent her summer writing superhero stories to entertain and uplift her younger sister, Skylar, who's spent the summer bedridden with a mysterious illness. The stories become only more impactful to the both of them as they try to navigate the too-often cruel and chaotic world of high school. When Skylar discovers that CJ's friends on the school newspaper staff are the real-life inspiration for CJ's superheroes, the powers from the stories begin to slip into their lives––alternatively empowering and befuddling them. Meanwhile, their brother, Mike, hopes to make his mark on the football team. Compared to the bullying he endures from the team's quarterback, however, being benched for the third year in a row is the least of his concerns.
One particularly exciting element of the show was the soundtrack, which was easily Waa-Mu's most pop-influenced score in memory. This development owes to the contemporary subject matter, but more than that it's a clear indication of what we were listening to at the time. Almost every song in the score can be identified as either Hamilton-inspired or Dear Evan Hansen-inspired (with some Waitress thrown in for good measure). My own work is thoroughly in that vein. Over the course of the year, I deliberately experimented with mixing a contemporary pop idiom and conventional musical theatre songwriting. To judge whether I was remotely successful in achieving either, please find "Go It Alone" and "The Apology Song" on my YouTube page (linked above). These weren't my only contributions to the play, but they were my proudest.