Graduate Musical Theatre Writing
How does your story sing?
Musical theatre is one of our oldest forms of expression. From religious ritual and campfire sing-along to grand opera and Broadway musical, the need to experience meaningful stories as a community—and through song—is powerful and primal. Musical theatre moves us, entertains us, shows us who we are, reminds us who we want to be, and has the capacity to change the world.
The Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program is built on this foundation. Our composers, lyricists, bookwriters and theatremakers are obsessed with how and why musical theatre works—and with what more it can be. What are the stories yet to be told, the people yet to be reached, the storytelling spaces yet to be explored? Visit any day and you’ll find us pursuing these questions in the new musicals, operas, and experimental music-theatre we create in every style and across all media: stage, screen, recorded audio, and emerging and nontraditional platforms.
Our two-year MFA emphasizes collaboration, entrepreneurship, arts-making as service, and the cultivation of a personal voice, reflecting the influence of our founding Master Teachers, including Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Sheldon Harnick, and Betty Comden and Adolph Green. We define musical theatre in the most expansive way imaginable. Our prize-winning graduates and faculty are recognized in the industry for pushing the boundaries of the form, their work spanning Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatres in the US, international stages, major opera houses, and television and film. And while the Program is a fixture of the New York theatre scene, our students and alumni hail from 42 countries across six continents, forming a network that is close-knit but breathtakingly global.
If you’re excited about the future of musical theatre—or have a vision for that future yourself—we invite you to explore our site and learn more about our application process.