Sentinels – a Play With Music

CPA Theatricals has created a play with music –
featuring SIX strong roles for females.

Written by Marilyn Campbell-Lowe
Music by Kim D. Sherman
Lyrics by Marilyn Campbell-Lowe and Kim D. Sherman

Story by Larry Little and Nicholas Reinhart

What do these monumental events have in common: the first Black woman to star at the Metropolitan Opera, the election of the first female leader of a Muslim country, and the discovery of polio vaccine? None of those would have been possible if not for THE SENTINELS: a secret all-female society operating out of a university in Milwaukee. This is their story.

Based on a concept by Larry Little and Nicholas Reinhart
and developed by groups of young women in Chicago.

Synopsis

A small, domed room, once an observatory, is tucked away on the top floor of a Milwaukee university’s legacy academic building. Mysterious graffiti, mathematical formulae, and cryptic phrases cover the walls. Unbeknownst to the rest of the university, this room has been the home of The Sentinels: a small, secret group of young college women who have pledged to make the world a better place and to assure that women will join men in powerful positions making global decisions.

For over six decades, their top-secret work has changed history, elevated women to power, and impacted business, government, science, and the arts. Now, with news that the building is being torn down to make way for a new parking lot, the final members of The Sentinels convene one last time to share their storied history.

How did this group start? What are those secret accomplishments in each generation? What can happen next? SENTINELS tells their story.

GITELMAN & GOOD Publishers

SENTINELS can be licensed for production at your theatre. To receive a free perusal script, click below.

Casting/Roles and Meet the Writers

Reviews

“imaginative, earnest, and certainly timely” – Talkin’ Broadway

“Inspiring!” – Chicago Theatre and Arts.com

“Strong and Vibrant” – Evanston Roundtable

Part of the Family of Musicals from CPA Theatricals





Mystery of Custodia – Q&A

OK, time to divulge some details about our new project.  I thought it would be best to put it in a Q&A.

How did you conceive the story?
I did zoom interviews with a bunch of students of all ages, gathered as groups within the various age ranges.  I started by asking them what genre they were excited about?  Drama, comedy, mystery, mockumentary, fantasy, etc.  By far, they chose mystery – and that sounded great to us.  So we went with it!  Once that category was decided, I asked a further series of questions:  What is mysterious in your school, your home, your church?  Who is mysterious?  Why is that person mysterious? What makes them mysterious?  What about your school could be a mystery?  From that came lots of hysterical circumstances, made-up people and places.  It was absolutely delightful to watch how excited the young people got, as they imagined scenarios, from scary to outrageous!

After that I gathered a team of theatre storytellers and together we spent one week to create the story of THE MYSTERY OF CUSTODIA.  And then I tossed the story to a wonderful team of composers and writers.  They turned the story into scenes, finding spots for songs, and writing everything up.  And that’s where we are now!

Where did you come up with Custodia?
A high school student very casually mentioned this name when she was talking about the mysterious place the janitors hang out.  I asked her to imagine what it looked like and she described a “murky lair” and that was all I needed to hear.

How is this show written differently than other musicals?
The show is comprised of segments or scenes.  Each scene is a monologue or solo – with no one else in the segment.  Each student films themselves in their own segment and then submits the video to the teacher who combines them into one video.

How will this be done “virtually?”
There is no need for in-person meetings.  The teachers can meet with students via zoom or one of the other video-call apps, offer direction to each student, then combine all of the videos.  Teachers can either post the video on youtube or vimeo or they can create a video and host it on their school website.

Make sense?  What other questions do you have?  I’d love to answer them. Truth is….. there may be questions we don’t know the answers to yet.  Let’s wait and find out.  Next time we talk about the pilot productions that will happen in July.

Larry Little
Producer