The Latiné Musical Theatre Lab and California State University Fullerton's theatre department are developing The Boys and the Nuns, a new musical by Sandra Delgado and Michael McBride.
Supported by over $122,000 provided by the CSU Hispanic-Serving Institution Community Grants with financial support from Apple, the year-long development will include a 29-hour reading of the current script and score, directed by Jonny Martinez, on the campus of California State University Fullerton (April 24-May 5 with a May 6 presentation) and a full workshop of the show at California State Fullerton in the fall.
Inspired by true events, The Boys and the Nuns has a book by Delgado and music and lyrics by McBride. The musical is set in 1986 as a group of LGBTQ activists from Chicago’s “Boystown” have been fighting City Hall to pass the Gay Rights Ordinance since 1972. A group of Catholic Sisters band together with the activists while embroiled in their own fight for equal rights within the church. In the middle is Pablo, a musician searching for his place in the world.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the theatre department at Cal State Fullerton to develop Sandra and Michael’s exciting new musical,” says Latiné Musical Theatre Lab Founder and Executive Director Ryan Morales Green. “By partnering with institutions and grantors like this, we’re able to make a huge impact in the lives and careers of our storytellers as we continue on our mission to create space in the musical theatre industry for Latiné-written musicals.”
“We have the potential to truly impact how we as institutions meet the needs of tomorrow’s industries,” adds Erika D. Beck, president of California State University, Northridge, where the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub is based. “Today’s investment in innovative programming, with a special lens focused on educational equity for minoritized and underserved groups at HSIs—Latinx, Black, APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) and indigenous communities, ensures that we enable the potential of our students across our richly diverse community and elevate opportunities for all students to be leaders in their fields. With a bold call comes a bold vision, and I am proud to work with my CSU colleagues in leading the nation in this work.”
The Latiné Musical Theatre Lab develops and advocates for new Latiné-written works of musical theatre in order to change who gets to tell musical stories on stages across the country. Visit LatineMTLab.org.
