SNIPPED!

SNIPPED! is the name of the original (non-cutting edge) Musical I’ve been working on. It was born in the middle of covid. And it hasn’t stopped.. #PandemicSilverLinings.

SNIPPED! is what happens to the penis of many-a-newborn baby boy soon after he emerges from his mother. You may be more familiar with the term  “circumcision.” But CIRCUMCISION! didn’t have as much of a ring to it. 😬

The story is about a Jewish Woman who gives birth to a baby boy after she believes she was having a girl, and the pressure from her family to give him a Bris — the traditional Jewish version of circumcision which welcomes the child into the world. It usually takes place in a home with spectators and friends. After the snip there’s typically a festive party. A lavish ‘spread’ is descended upon as the wailing baby is carried off.  😬😬

Full disclosure, we had originally called the show FORESKIN! But we were advised from a couple of reliable sources that investors might not be as enthusiatic about … FORESKIN!

Now, it’s not my MO to make creative changes because of OPO. (Other People’s Opinions). After all, I was told that radio might not play “Bitch” unless we changed the title. We never changed the title and radio played the bejesus out of “Bitch.”

But in this case, SNIPPED! actually grew on all 5 creators. It was just as funny and perhaps friendlier.

Jill Piwowar, Kimberly Arnold, Lucy Levinsohn, Adam Gorgoni and moi

Did you know there’s actually an anti-circumcision movement? (Howard Stern is all over it.) They call the members Intactivists. I kid you not. It’s a thing!

I had a daughter. So circumcision wasn’t a decision for me. Truth be told, if I had had a son, I probably would have had him circumcised without a second thought. But after going through this journey I don’t know If I’d make that same decision today.

It’s been the most enjoyable pivot going from penning pop songs to writing for musical theater. Eye opening. Humbling. Bandwidth expanding. We had to discard quite a few musical numbers because they didn’t ‘move the story forward.’ My bad.

Since Lucy brought me the script in a manilla envelope in 2021, she, Adam and I have been furiously working on songs. And now after 2 table readings in my living room and shortening the book from a 2-Act to a 1-Act we’re finally preparing for our first “Staged Reading” (in front of a bevy of musical theater ‘advisors’) with legitimate actors and singers who will bring our songs and story to life. We have a director. A casting director. A musical director. A Theater! We’ve come a long way.

Adam has disappeared on me. For weeks he’s been in the studio notating the charts for the musicians. Suddenly, I’ve found  myself …. umm, idle. Something I can’t remember being in decades.

I’m spending too much time working on my tan. I brought a broken clock in to be fixed. I found the source of the moths in our bedroom closet. I called ADT who talked me though resetting a bum alarm pad. I’m eating too many Gummies. I’m going absolutely nuts!

Layla reminds me this calm is short-lived so I should savor it. After the reading we’ll comb through notes and decide which ones resonate. It will be back to the drawing board — re-writing, re-structuring. The long and winding road of making a musical is not for the faint of heart. Or for those of us in a rush. My tan will fade soon enough.

A staged reading will give us a pretty good idea of how our Musical “plays,” as they say. It’s a test. Will they laugh? With they cry? (Hopefully a little of both.) Will they leave the theater happy that they came? We’re ready to find out.

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