Be Our Guest with Scott Eyerly (Pooch a new comedy musical)

Composer and librettist Scott Eyerly has won acclaim across a wide range of genres. From The House of the Seven Gables (praised by Opera News for its "maximum drama and melodically memorable set pieces") to Missa Brevis No. 2 (called by Choral Journal "a study in beauty and simplicity"), Eyerly brings to all his works a direct, American lyricism.  Eyerly notes, "I grew up singing hymns, but also show tunes. Then at college, I studied with composers from opposite corners of the ring, William Bolcom and Elliott Carter. In those days, after a lesson with Carter in the morning, I'd rush to rehearse songs for a theater revue that afternoon!  Later I taught musical theater courses at Juilliard, interviewing masters like Sondheim, Harnick, and Burton Lane. My love of musicals has always 'balanced' my love of the longhairs."  An active lecturer, Eyerly is on the faculty of The Juilliard School where he teaches sold-out courses on opera, musical theater and classical music. Since 2007 he has given popular talks at the Mahaiwe Theater in the Berkshires to introduce each Metropolitan Opera HD broadcast, a series which continues to grow and is now available online. Born in a suburb of Chicago, he and his wife live in New York City. POOCH is a zany musical set in present day Manhattan, based on real events. A once-proud classical music label has been taken over by a conglomerate that makes dog food. The head office installs a new C.E.O. who knows nothing about music. He hears that one classical artist is making a fortune – so he orders Samantha, his new Sales Director, to set up dinner with Puccini... who's been dead 100 years. Sam vows to meet the challenge – and expose her sexist boss. To do so, she enlists the help of Clark, a shy colleague so smitten he writes poetry about her. In their quest to prevail over corporate madness, Sam and Clark encounter snooping journalists, unexpected judo, a missing dog, and an oversupply of fake mustaches. All roads lead to the climax in a Village opera café, where Sam & Clark & C.E.O. sit down to… dinner with Puccini!