Maxims for Musical Theatre Survival
Female Conductor
Artwork by DG Creative

The theatre is a Lie, in which we harpoon the imagination of the audience in creating the illusion that’s onstage. 

A man can play a goat, but we’re the ones who make him one.

When writing a musical adaptation of a former work from another medium, wrap the work in pillows and blankets every night to protect it, and in the morning throw it on the floor and stomp all over it. If you’re not willing to change it, you cannot succeed.

Borrowing is permitted in the arts, but only if you pay back with interest.

The art of writing is the art of rewriting.  

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Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston

is a composer, lyricist, author, and teacher, and moves easily between the worlds of theatre, film, and academia, writing concert music, Broadway shows, and holding teaching posts as a musicologist and music theorist.