121 Project
Musical development program
121 Project is a tailored musical development program led by Michael Heitzman.
The 121 Project is unique because the support we provide is specifically tailored to what each musical needs.
2025 Recipients Announced!
Built for This
Lauren Gunderson – Book
Kira Stone – Music & Lyrics
Built For This is an athletic, feminist, all-femme pop musical centering five fierce young gymnasts confronting inner demons required for top tier competition, as well as a real demon preying on their youth, ambition and vulnerability.
King of Harlem
David Gomez – Book, Music & Lyrics
John-Michael Lyles – Book, Music & Lyrics
King of Harlem takes place in 1929 and explores the forbidden gay love affair between Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prizefighter, and Federico Garcia Lorca, the celebrated Spanish poet who is studying abroad at Columbia University.
Legendary
Cheeyang Ng – Book, Music & Lyrics
In Chinese mythology, there exists a binary nature to the world, evident in creation myths and explanations of world order.
Lighthouse
Abs Wilson – Book, Lyrics & Story
Veronica Mansour – Music & Story
Lighthouse is a 6-women, fourth-wall-breaking pop country musical following our unreliable narrator Bus, an 18 year old girl who wants nothing more than to escape her small Minnesota town.
About the Process
Rather than just presenting readings, we work with you to find out your specific needs and provide the targeted development that will move your show forward.
Every musical is at different stages of development.
Some are at the early stages and need SPACE TO WRITE.
Some are looking for DRAMATURGICAL SUPPORT.
Some want to explore the PHYSICAL LANGUAGE of the piece.
Some need to workshop VOCAL ARRANGEMENTS.
Tell us what you need!
121 Project provides up to $10,000 of support based upon the specific needs of your project.
Applications are now closed.
COAL, written by Nicholas Connors, was a recipient of The 121 Project in ’23-24.
Nicholas had written book, music and lyrics but had never had the opportunity to sit back and hear the piece. For COAL, we gathered a group of phenomenal actors to read and sing through the show so Nicholas could take notes and process what changes he wanted to make as he moves into the next phase of development.
For one-night-only, the Lortel showcased excerpts from 5 new musicals in development, all recipients of support from the inaugural year of our 121 Project, a tailored artistic development program to help writers take their musicals to the next level. A 6-piece live band performed selections from Barnstormer by Cheryl L. Davis & Douglas J. Cohen, Coal by Nicholas Connors, Hart Island by Michelle Elliot & Danny Haengil Larsen, Little Duende by Georgina Escobar & Robi Hagar, and The Break by Christopher Dimond & Michael Kooman.
Michael Heitzman (Artistic Director of New Musical Development) is a longtime Lucille Lortel Theatre collaborator, and acclaimed writer and director. His re-imagined production of 42nd Street was at The Ordway and Drury Lane/Chicago (Jeff Award nominee, Best Director). Recent directing credits: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring David Archuleta (TCA), Beauty and the Beast (TCA, Ordway, PCLO, NSMT, La Mirada), Newsies, Big River, and Legally Blonde (Broadway Sacramento), SHREK and Disney’s The Little Mermaid (NSMT, IRNE Award nominee, Best Director), VICES (Jeff Award nominee, Best Director) As a writer, Michael received a Grammy nomination for co-writing “Throw That Girl Around” from the Broadway musical Swing! For TV, he co-wrote the comedy pilot “Scott Free,” developed Barwood Films and Grammnet, purchased by Paramount Pictures. He is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild, BMI, WGAe, and SDC.