Tony Winners and Nominees Gather for 'My Favorite Year' Workshop Development
Asolo Repertory Theatre is developing the musical My Favorite Year with a score by Tony Award-winning songwriters Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens in a workshop running through October 1 in New York. The production is directed by Josh Rhodes and features a cast of accomplished theater performers including Chris Hoch, Ben Levi Ross, and Julie Benko. The musical, with a book by Joseph Dougherty, is being refined during this workshop phase before potential further development.
Asolo Repertory Theatre has launched a workshop to develop the musical adaptation of My Favorite Year, bringing together established talent from Broadway. The creative team includes songwriters Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, who have previously won Tony Awards for their work, alongside director Josh Rhodes and book writer Joseph Dougherty. The workshop, running through early October in New York, features a cast of seasoned performers working to refine the production.
This development phase represents a common stage in musical theater creation, where creative teams test material, refine storytelling, and evaluate performance elements before committing to larger-scale production. The involvement of accomplished artists and the structured workshop format suggest the producers are taking a deliberate approach to bringing this adaptation to theatrical audiences.
The workshop model for developing musicals could shape audience expectations for theatrical innovation, as these processes often generate industry buzz that influences future programming decisions at theaters nationwide. If successful, this production may demonstrate audience appetite for adapted material in musical form, potentially affecting which properties receive theatrical investment. The involvement of Tony-winning creators may also attract theater professionals and patrons, though workshops themselves reach limited audiences compared to full productions.