121 Project
New Musical Development Program
Next Year in Connecticut!
Book & lyrics by Sarah Rossman
Music by Sequoia Sellinger
The Stablemans are not like other families. Life is a game of mental illness musical chairs, no one has boundaries, and the status quo is anything but static. Next Year in Connecticut! follows the Stablemans over the course of one dysfunctional, hilarious Passover seder. As the family powers through seder, Olive represses an eating disorder, Sonya challenges her OCD by participating at the communal table, and Clem grieves for her therapy dog, Lionel (who was run over that morning). Normal levels of Stableman dysfunction devolve into chaos when Mom’s suicidal psychotherapy patient, Billy, shows up at the front door. Ultimately, it is Billy who helps everyone appreciate that being part of a collective craziness is better than being crazy alone.
Sequoia Sellinger is a collaborative composer in musical theatre and opera based in NYC. She blends bold, unapologetic feminist themes with sharp, witty musical numbers to challenge and explore the societal structures that shape our world. Sequoia holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch. She is on the classical composition faculty at Purchase College Conservatory of Music. Sequoia’s work has been performed at Classic Stage Company, Ars Nova, Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, Green Room 42, College of the Atlantic, Dartmouth, The York Theatre, Musical Theatre Factory, and American Opera Projects. Original musicals include: “Next Year in Connecticut!” (sheNYC Arts 2025 selection, 2025 NAMT finalist, 2024 Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant, 2024 Finalist for Syracuse New Works New Voices, 2024 Finalist for Newport NewWorks Festival, “Earth First!” (Macdowell Fellowship, College of the Atlantic), and “Gravity of Me Gone” (Ars Nova ANT Fest). Her micro-opera “It’s Noon, Do You Know Where Your House Plants Are?” was premiered by American Opera Projects in May 2024. Alum of BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, Prospect Musical Theater Lab and New Dramatists Composer-Librettist Studio. Dramatists Guild and Maestra Member. www.sequoiasellinger.com
Sarah Rossman is an award-winning librettist, playwright, and performer based in NYC. As an artist across mediums, she strives to generate narratives about mental illness and trauma that combat stigma, validate individual experiences, and spark joy and laughter. She is passionate about communicating uncomfortable truths using humor and writing at the speed of thought. Her work has been performed at Classic Stage Company, Williamstown Theater Festival, the American Repertory Theater, Joe’s Pub, The Other Palace Theatre in London, 54 Below, and Symphony Space. At the 2025 sheNYC festival, she won Best Book of a Musical and Best Leading Actress. Her podcast episode “Intrusive Thot” was selected to premiere at Radiophrenia Festival in Glasgow. Sarah has a B.A. in Theatre, Dance, and Media from Harvard College and an M.F.A. from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is a lyricist in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and a member of the Dramatists Guild, Maestra, ASCAP, and SAG-AFTRA. Follow her at https://www.sarahrossman.com