Peter Charney
Theatre & Film Director
Bright and Brave: A New Musical
Dixon Place, 2019
written by Noah Silva, Jack Saleeby, & Peter Charney
directed by Peter Charney
choreography by Michael Perrsson
music direction by Jason Belanger
It is England, 1872, and a sense of longing has filled the halls of Eton College. Under the guidance of their controversially progressive tutor, best friends Regy and Chat have found themselves enraptured in what can only be the pure innocence of love. However, with the introduction of a new headmaster and the beginning of their adult lives around the corner, how their relationship will grow is uncertain. Inspired by their real journals, poems, and letters, Bright and Brave follows Regy and Chat through their lives as they struggle with societal pressures, grapple with who they are, and cope with what it means to love.
My collaborators and I began writing Bright and Brave in November 2015, and since then, we have had multiple staged readings, workshops, and a first production in November 2019 through a residency with Dixon Place. The song "Crossroads" was also featured in the New York Musical Festival's "Head and Heart" concert in the summer of 2019.
Bright and Brave is inspired by the real journals, poems, and letters of William Johnson Cory and Reginald Brett, as well as Morris B. Kaplan’s Sodom on the Thames. Much of the book and lyrics are directly drawn from the late 19th-century writings of these boys and their teacher.
Press/Reviews:
Photos by Tom Lawler/Peter Charney/Peter Yesley