September 2009
Original music by Michael Shaieb, book and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Kevin Del Aguila for a two-act stage musical about middle-aged superheroes facing old foes and new midlife crises.
“Once upon a time, The Protagonists was a mighty group of superheroes bound against the forces of evil. Twenty years later, the powers of alcoholism, infidelity and super-egos have torn the group apart and left them all pining for their glory days. When an old nemesis re-emerges with a sinister new plan, can the middle-aged superheroes pull their dysfunctional lives together to save the world one last time? Stay-Tuned.”
The National Alliance for Musical Theatre featured a 45-minute presentation of The Protagonists starring Sutton Foster at the 25th Annual Festival of New Musicals with musical direction by Lynne Shankel & directed by Tony winner Christopher Gattelli.
MT Fest UK presented a semi-staged excerpt of The Protagonists at The Other Palace in London in February 2019.
Credits
EXCLUSIVE: Rachel York, Chris Sieber, Orfeh, John Tartaglia, Marc Kudisch Are Super Heroes in Protagonists!
by Kenneth Jones – December 2, 2010
playbill.com
Alice Ripley, Christopher Sieber, Douglas Sills, Marc Kudisch Lend Muscle to Reading of Super-Heroic Protagonists Musical
by Kenneth Jones – January 18, 2013
playbill.com
Sutton Foster, Bailey Ryon, Graham Rowat and More Join Casts of NAMT Festival of New Musicals
by Adam Hetrick – October 10, 2013
playbill.com
Tony Winner Sutton Foster Set to Be Astonishing at NAMT’s Festival of New Musicals
by Lindsay Champion – October 10, 2013
broadway.com
Meet the Writers of NAMT’s 25th Annual Festival of New Musicals, Kicking Off Tomorrow
by BWW News Desk – October 16, 2013
broadwayworld.com
Paul Taylor-Mills Launches MT FEST UK, A Festival Of New Musical Theatre At The Other Palace
by BWW News Desk – Dec. 14, 2018
broadwayworld.com
History
October 18, 2013
25th Annual Festival of New Musicals
The National Alliance for Musical Theatre
New World Stages, Stage 4
New York, NY
January 25, 2013
Industry staged reading
Chelsea Studios
New York, NY
Private developmental reading
Chelsea Studios
New York, NY
News
Cast Announced for Private Reading of "...The Protagonists"
The December 6th reading of Mike’s new musical The Astonishing Return of… The Protagonists! got picked up by Playbill.com:
A Big Week Ahead
A lot of research, planning, and work culminates this week with some exciting things. We’re changing notation programs, installing acoustics improvements in the studio, and completing vocal tracking of Mike’s demo with a visit from a Tony-winning Broadway star.
Eagle Woman Has Landed
Ms. Alice Ripley is joining our cast of superheroes as Eagle Woman this week in our recording studio for our demo of The Astonishing Return of… The Protagonists!.
Back in the Studio recording "The Protagonists" demo
Last year I started working with bookwriter/lyricist Kevin Del Aguila on a new musical called The Astonishing Return of… The Protagonists! about middle-aged superheroes trying to recapture past glories. This past week we’ve been in the studio recording demos of the first three songs, and the cast we’ve assembled is amazing and sounds fantastic.