Sally Spectre the Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by David P. Johnson
A Multiple Award-Winning Musical
"As a composer, Johnson has full command of the musical idiom of horror and his score abounds with whole tone scales and glowering diminished sevenths. His songs are clever and musically sophisticated."
Trevor Thomas
Edge Southwest Editor
"The characters are funny and lovable and the music is exceptional. But the most outstanding element is the tale's point of view. Mr. Johnson has created a very original piece, a subject that hasn't been explored, as far as I know."
Janet Miller
Director/Choreographer
Choreographer of The Marvelous Wonderettes/NYC
"I think that Sally Spectre has the potential to be a work that could comfortably rub shoulders with other gothic fantasies like Neil Gaiman's Coraline, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas or The Addams Family.
Matt Atchity
"The production stills reminded us of Beetlejuice, and we wondered how writer David P. Johnson could turn a story about a little girl with a hatchet embedded in her skull into a musical. But as weird as it sounds, the storyline, the acting and the direction by Chelsea Sutton worked fantastically."
Christine N. Ziemba
LAist On Line
Bump? What Bump?
By David P. Johnson
Second Place Winner
2009 Ellen Idelson Awards
A very shy Samuel decides it's about time to do something about his physical abnormalities, and with a little prodding from his mother, makes an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon to discuss both the issue and his concerns. He finds Becca at the reception desk, or does she find him? Either way, after a failed robbery attempt, a brief discussion on Waiting for Godot and some good old fashioned trickery, the audience is left with a funny tongue in cheek one-act play about vanity and it's relevance in today's world.
"A story that is specific to the stage. I don't think it could work nearly as well in any other medium. Funny, surprising, and absurd, with a nod to both Samuel Beckett and The Marx Brothers."
Seth Hoffman*
*Seth Hoffman is a graduate of Darmouth College where he studied playwriting under Peter Parnell (Romance Language at the Taper, The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket w/Tom Hulce on PBS, episodes of the West Wing on NBC). Seth's original pilot, Virginia 12, was optioned by 20th Century Fox in2008. Seth also created, co-wrote, and co-produced a 6-episode web series for 60 Frames entitled Den of Thieves. He is currently Co-Producer on the new critically-acclaimed ABC drama Flash Forward and has written several episodes of the show. Prior to that, Seth spent three years writing for Fox's series Prison Break.
