The Screams of Kitty Genovese (Vocal Score)

Other Info: The Screams of Kitty Genovese (1999), with story and libretto David Simpatico is based on the true 1964 story of New Yorker Kitty Genovese who was stabbed to death outside her home while 38 neighbours watched from their windows. No one helped or called the police.  Will Todd and American writer David Simpatico slice through the silence of a city stricken with fear in the musical drama The Screams of Kitty Genovese.  A 12-person, single-set music drama, The Screams of Kitty Genovese uses a sung-through score blending various musical styles.

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New York Times wrote:
“hold the hand-wringing over the precipitous decline of the American musical theater, please.” Keep your eyes and ears open – The Screams of Kitty Genovese will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Screams Of Kitty Genovese was developed at Opera Lab and the Eugene O'Neill National Music Theatre Conferences between 1998 and 2000 and then workshopped as a full version at The ENO Works in 2000 and 2001.

In September 2001, the work was chosen for the National Alliance of Music Theatre Conference in New York City, and had its first full production in a student showcase at the Boston Conservatory in October 2001. A workshop performance took place at New York's Public Theater in November 2004, and several staged performances at the New York Music Theater Festival in September 2006.

The Screams Of Kitty Genovese has since been produced at The Sage Gateshead, by Tete a Tete at Riverside Studios in London and was part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010.

”In addition to being one of the most powerful operas of the last decade, The Screams of Kitty Genovese gave me hope for the renewal of musical theater.” Robert Brustein/ New Republic/ 2001

“So allow me to be among the first to shout from the rooftops in support of Todd and Simpatico's score. Alone of those I've been exposed to at NYMF this year, this one would not be inappropriately compared to the greats of the layered, theatrical-collage form . . . if it's any indication of what they're capable of, Todd and Simpatico could have glorious careers ahead of them.“ Matthew Murray/ Talkin' Broadway/ 2006

“What ultimately stays with you is the score. Though, mostly dissonant and unmelodic, it suits its material and makes for an intense and powerful experience” Julia Furay/ Curtain Up/ 2006

“The music (Will Todd) is exceptional in its evocation of what these people were thinking and feeling, reflecting all the tensions in every one of their lives." Oscar E Moore/ Talk Entertainment/ 2006

The Soundcloud clip above is the demo recording from Edinburgh in 2010 at the Fringe Festival; David Edwards directed the production, which featured Sarah Applewood, Darren Charles, Steve Devereaux, Ben Dunwell, Robert Irons, Waylon Jacobs, Claire Platt, Jessica Ridley, Caroline Sabiston, Susie Self, Bradley White-Dale, Sophie Tehrani. The production was produced by Staci Levine and Michael Nassar.

PLEASE NOTE ANY PUBLIC PRODUCTION OF THIS WORK MUST SECURE RIGHTS FROM THE PRODUCERS C/O TYALGUM PRESS.