Music / Theater
Breathe
“Martin’s technically complex and intensely melodic music, which at times recalls the work of William Finn or even Stephen Sondheim, is matched by thoughtful lyrics from Biello. Martin has forged a sophisticated score that’s not a pastiche of pop stylings but a unified and quite beautiful composition. A very likable and moving show.” —Chicago Tribune
“Breathe is a bold and deeply emotional piece that’s something like a combination of Stephen Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown. Split into seven distinct sections, the show focuses on the power, courage, wisdom, beauty and magic of gay life.” —Philadelphia Weekly
“Breathe is the must-see theatrical event of the season. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, bi-, male, female, young or old — Breathe goes beyond sexual orientation to reach into our humanity. One of the best musicals I’ve seen in years.” —Omaha Weekly Reader
The Cousins Grimm
“The Cousins Grimm is warm-hearted, sweet, and amusing … offers up some very likable tunes by Off-Broadway songwriters I have long admired.” —Chicago Tribune
“This delightful new musical unfolds as an ambitious rework of backstage Broadway musicals and a fresh–gay oriented take on the timeless Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Originality together with empathetic characters singing fun tunes makes for a light evening of musical comedy. I enjoyed this smart riff on fairy tales.” —Chicago Critic.com
“The Cousins Grimm begins with the song “Why Not A Fairytale?” and by the end the audience feels like singing along. A musical about playwrights creating a gay, musical version of the Grimm’s fairytales may sound ridiculous — and it is — but it is also fabulous. Amusing and poignant — even the most biting and edgy moments have a lot of heart. A lovely combination of satire and romance.” —NewCity Stage
Q — The Songs of Martin & Biello
“Q is a terrific little musical.” —Theatermania.com
“Q is a summer-friendly mix of poignant ballads and satirical sketches. Q has a big heart and some fine songs. Clearly, these talented fellows are capable of penning a major Broadway show.” —Chicago Tribune
“Q – Martin and Biello’s songbook — is a dazzling one to be sure. What remains constant throughout is Martin’s remarkable gift of crafting intricate and constantly surprising melodies, to which Biello tunes his sharp ear and fits them with perceptive lyrics that both examine and touch the soul.” —Gay Chicago Magazine
Theater Images
Christine Barbush, Seth Peterson, Robin Marcotte, and Jillian Louis in the 2004 Philadelphia production of Breathe
Annie Golden and Cameron Folmar at our Marry Harry reading, NYC, September 2011
Michael dances with inflatable dogs, set by Raymond Ercoli, early 1980’s
- Director Michael Bush at rehearsals for The Cousins Grimm reading at NYMF, 2007
The Chicago cast of Breathe – Karen Doerr, Andy Rabensteine, Paul Allessandro, Pamela Fox, and Michael Elder, Opening night 1999
Musical Director Fred Lassen with Dan at our Marry Harry reading, NYC, September 2011
Scott McPheeters and John Luna in Couch Dance from Biello and Martin’s He & He, Philadelphia Dance Projects, 2010
- Backstage before the first reading of The Cousins Grimm at the York Theatre, Jonathan Brody, Klea Blackhurst, Ann Harada, Jillian Louis, Randy Redd, and Heidi Blickenstaff, New York, 2007
Michael and Dan with pleasure activist Annie Sprinkle outside the Bailiwick, Chicago, 1999
Sheri Sanders rehearsing “Annie Sprinkle” at our In My Body work session, August 2012
Dan and Michael – songwriters, NYC, early 1990’s
- Dan performing with choreographer Edrie Ferdun, Temple University, 1984
Erin Dilly backstage at the NYMF reading of The Cousins Grimm, 2007
Jordi Wallen, Karina Croskrey, and members of the In My Body ensemble backstage at The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, January 2011
Harris Doran and Colin Hanlon in the reading of The Cousins Grimm at the O’Neill, 2008
Scott McPheeters and John Luna in Into the Light from He & He, Philadelphia Dance Projects, 2010
Michael and Dan with Marry Harry book writer Jennifer Robbins, New York Stage & Film, 2011
Howie Michael Smith and Jillian Louis at our Marry Harry reading, NYC, September 2011
Michael and Dan outside the 45th Street Theatre, New York after the reading of Grimms at NYMF
Michael and Dan backstage before Melanie Stewart’s The Birthday Party, Painted Bride, Philadelphia, 1983
Kelly Karcher and Javier Munoz rehearse “Holly & Hubby” at our In My Body work session, August 2012
Karina Croskrey, Jordi Wallen, and Eleonore Thomas sing In My Body at The Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, November 2010
Michael and Dan – promo shot for their musical X-Posed, San Francisco, 1985
Megan Sikora, Sheri Sanders, and Harris Doran celebrating at the pub at the O’Neill after The Cousins Grimm, 2008
Michael and Ishmael Houston-Jones – poster image for Two Men Dancing at The Glines’ First Gay American Arts Festival, New York, 1980
Michael performs Into the Light, NYC late 80’s / early 90’s
Pia Glenn poses with Michael Cooper and Michael-Ann Matticoli after our Marry Harry workshop at Foxwoods Rehearsal Studio, NYC, April 2012
The cast of Biello and Martin’s revue Q – Michael Newman, Nicholas Park, Gregg Pica, Aime Kelly, and Amy Acchione, Walnut Street Theatre 5, Philadelphia, 2008
Susan J. Jacks and Rose McGuire in Breathe, 1997
Musical Director Remy Kurs at our Marry Harry workshop, Foxwoods Studios, NYC, April 2012
Rikki Ercoli Hap Phillips, David Thomas, Brendan Fawcett, and Debi Glennon in The Mass from Biello’s How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Painted Bride, Philadelphia, 1983
- Michael and Dan perform Wash Me from Human Being, NYC, 1992
Michael and Dan with Marry Harry director Kent Nicholson, New York Stage & Film, 2011
The original Philadelphia cast of X-Posed – J. Mark Danley, Brendan Fawcett, Eric Singel, and Jay Holland, Walnut Street Theatre 5, 1984
April Woodall rehearses “Absolutely Present” at our In My Body work session, August 2012
Biello & Martin
Michael Biello (Lyricist) and Dan Martin (Composer) are longtime collaborators and life partners who have created a unique body of critically acclaimed work in musical theater.
Current projects include their musical comedy Marry Harry which will be produced at NYMF in July 2013 at The Alice Griffin Theatre/Signature Center (directed by Kent Nicholson). Marry Harry was workshopped in April 2012 by AMAS Musicals at Foxwoods Studio. A staged reading of Marry Harry was presented at New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Season at Vassar College in July 2011. They are also working on In My Body – a concept musical about body image.
Martin & Biello’s The Cousins Grimm was presented in Chicago in 2009 following a 2008 workshop at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, CT. and a 2007 developmental reading at NYMF (directed by Michael Bush). An animated short film Papa’s Prince – based on their musical version of the Frog Prince tale in The Cousins Grimm – is currently in production (directed by Blake McCarty).
Biello & Martin’s work has enjoyed success in Chicago, where Breathe won the 1999 After Dark Award for Outstanding New Work. Additional productions of Breathe include Omaha in 2003 (nominated for 8 TAG Awards), Philadelphia (2004), Richmond (2005), and Dallas (2009). In November 2012 they revisited Breathe at The York Theatre’s Developmental Reading Series (directed by Bill Castellino). Their revue Q – the Songs of Martin & Biello – premiered in Chicago in 2000 and was produced at the 2002 Philadelphia Fringe Festival where it was cited by Philadelphia Weekly for the Best Original Music of the 2002 Theater Season.
Martin & Biello’s musical theater work has also been presented in New York at American Opera Projects, New Dramatists, Musical Theater Works, The Century Center, HERE, and PS 122, among others; in Philadelphia at Annenberg’s Harold Prince Theatre, The Painted Bride, and the Walnut Street Theatre 5, among others; in Miami at City Theatre, in Washington DC at DCAC, in Provincetown MA at the UU Church, and in San Francisco at the People’s Theater Coalition.
Biello and Martin’s songs have been performed from LaMama to Lincoln Center, on ABC, PBS, and on a variety of recordings and have garnered various honors and awards including: Table 3 – performed by Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba at Lincoln Center as part of the 2001 Bound for Broadway concert; You Do Not Know Me – nominated for a 2000 GLAMA Award for Best Theatre Song; Clones in Love – winner of 1985’s Best Short at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival; and The Dance – a film of which has been screened worldwide and is in the permanent collection of MoMA. A recording of Table 3 by Tony nominee Erin Dilly is featured as part of the 2008 BMI Workshop Podcast/Songbook.
Additional career highlights include their dance/theater/music pieces of the late 1970s and early 1980s including Two Men Dancing and How I Spent My Summer Vacation; 1984′s musical X-posed; and a series of innovative performance-art musicals in the early and mid 1990′s including Homo Love Song and Human Being. Their avant-garde musical Claire (1996) enjoyed a sold out revival at the 2007 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. In 2010 Martin & Biello were commissioned by Philadelphia Dance Projects to re-envision and re-stage several of their pieces from the early 1980′s.
Biello and Martin live and work in Philadelphia and in New York, where they are members of The Dramatists Guild and the BMI/Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theater Workshop. In 2004 they were inducted into the GLBT Hall of Fame.
Martin and Biello’s theater work is represented by
Sarah L. Douglas
Abrams Artists Agency
275 Seventh Avenue, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10001
646-461-9376
sdouglas@dandkartists.com