Fall Springs is a semi-charming landlocked cash-strapped town that sits directly on top of America's largest reserve of cosmetic Essential Oils. And it has big dreams. But at what cost?
With increased oil extraction and new fracking techniques being recklessly implemented, the ground beneath Fall Springs is beginning to crumble. Streets are cracking and buckling. Road-signs, boulders, and the occasional bartender are being swallowed into the ground. And thatÕs just the beginning.
Only Eloise Bradley, nerdy teenage existential wallflower geology-buff daughter of single parent Mayor Robert Bradley seems to notice that a great catastrophe is imminent.
But will she be able to persuade her father and fellow townsfolk of the environmental dangers and escape town before it's too late?
Of course not.
Dramatic action sequences, parent/child angst, lost limbs, found souls, and a rocking, driving, passionate hook-filled score, Fall Springs takes the best of musical theatre and disaster films to forge a hilarious and heartfelt musical comedy about the consequences of pushing Nature too far and what happens when our routine lives become interrupted and we're forced to sacrifice to save what we love.
ELOISE BRADLEY
Our hero. 17. Thoughtful, whipsmart, wallflower, and in the throes of teenage existential crisis. She is fascinated by Science, an interest passed down from her now deceased mother. Eloise struggles to understand her place in the world and connect with her father. Will the disaster at Fall Springs help Eloise become the leader she was destined to be?
FELIX CUSHMAN, VERA MARIPOSA, COOPER MITFORD
Eloise's eclectic group of friends/bandmates, bonded together by their outsider status and love for music: Vera, the Pink-like jock lesbian Guitarist. Cooper, the unpredictable livewire drummer. And Felix, the conservative naysaying Bass player. All possess special skills that could come in handy when the Earth starts to liquefy underneath their feet. Will this disaster of Fall Springs jolt these kids out of their emo angst and into decisive action?
MAYOR BRADLEY
Eloise's father. Since the passing of his wife, the Mayor has put all of his energy into his job. He blames his wifeÕs obsession with science for her demise, and Eloise is too much of a reminder of his loss. Will the disaster of Fall Springs help the Mayor come to terms with his past and face the future with open eyes?
BEVERLY CUSHMAN
The C.E.O. of FSOD, The Fall Springs Oil Drilling Corp (and mother of FELIX). The richest woman in town, Beverly covets even more and advocates for cutting edge (risky) new drilling techniques. Will Beverly's greedy behavior leader her to riches or will nature punish her for taking too much?
ROBERTO MARIPOSA, VERONICA MITFORD
Members of the Town Council, and the parents of the rest of Eloise's band. Roberto and Veronica's passions seem so far away from their daily routines. Will the disaster of Fall Springs help them re-discover the fires in their soul?
NOLAND WOLANSKE
The town vagrant. Once an acclaimed employee of the USGS, Noland lost his mind after a terrible accident in a cave underneath Fall Springs that led to the death of Eloise's mother. Will the disaster of Fall Springs help Noland find that redemption he so desperately needs?
VARIOUS PEOPLE WHO DIE OR ARE DEAD
A bevy of Fall Springers who sadly don't make it.
THE GUYS WHO WROTE FALL SPRINGS
Nikos Tsakalakos is a New York based singer-songwriter and composer lyricist who the Berkshire Eagle calls "the next best thing in musical song-writing." His eco-conscious rock musical Fall Springs (written with Peter Sinn Nachtrieb) was featured in the 2017 NAMT Festival of New Musicals and is receiving its world premiere at Barrington Stage Company in August 2019, directed by Stephen Brackett. It has also been workshopped at Ars Nova, New Dramatists and Theatreworks Silicon Valley. His new folk-rock musical Into the Wild, based on Jon Krakauer's national best seller, received a private industry reading at Playwrights Horizons with La Vie Productions in February, directed by Lila Neugebauer, with a developmental production at Encore Musical Theatre Company in Michigan in 2017 and developmental support from Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Goodspeed, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, and Perseverance Theatre. His musical Pool Boy (written with Janet Allard) received a sold-out world premiere run at Barrington Stage Company in the summer of 2010, while a cabaret-style reimagining of the show was recently commissioned by Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. He is currently commissioned by New York Rep to write a docu-musical on the opioid epidemic. His songs and cabarets have been performed at New York staples such as Birdland, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, Zipper Factory and Lincoln Center while his band Saint Friday has headlined LA venues like The Troubadour, The Viper Room, The Roxy and The Whiskey. Awards and accomplishments include: 2015 Sundance Institute Fellow, Kleban Prize and Jonathan Larson Award Finalist, two-time recipient of the Barry Manilow scholarship for "writing lyrics that succeed and endure," a Triple R Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Artist, and an Ars Nova ANT Fest artist. His debut solo album, The First Snow, is now available on all major digital channels.
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, 6'6", is a San Francisco-based playwright whose works include boom (TCG's most produced play 2009-10), BOB, (2011 Humana Festival for New American Plays at Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Barrie and Bernice Stavis Award), T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common), Hunter Gatherers (2007 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, 2007 Will Glickman Prize), Colorado, and Litter: The True Story of the Framingham Dodecutuplets. His work has been seen off-Broadway and across the country including at Ars Nova, SPF, Woolly Mammoth, Seattle Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, San Diego Rep, and in the Bay Area at A.C.T., Encore Theatre, Killing My Lobster, Marin Theatre Company, Impact Theatre, and The Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Currently heÕs working on a commission through the National New Play Network and New Dramatists Full Stage USA program called The Totalitarians, as well as an original musical called Fall Springs: A Musical Disaster. Peter holds a degree in Theater and Biology from Brown and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Peter is a member of New Dramatists and is the Playwright in Residence at the Z Space Studio in San Francisco. He likes to promote himself online at www.peternachtrieb.com.
