121 Project
New Musical Development Program
Little Duende
Book & Lyrics by Georgina Escobar
Music & Lyrics by Robi Hager
In the land of Elflán, life and beauty flourish. We meet Adelita, an adventurous and curious young elf eager to find what lies beyond the horizon. When the evil spirit of La Mancha kidnaps her mother and destroys her home, Adelita is forced to travel north to the land of the Hadaseñas in hopes of being reunited with her again. Using fairy tales and mythological themes, Little Duende comments on real-world matters as it explores the border crisis, dual citizenship, and the consequences of a dark family secret.
Georgina Escobar (Book & Lyrics) is a frontera writer & maker of sci-femme, musicals, and other futurity stories. She is a MacDowell, Djerassi, Fornés, Clubbed Thumb, & La Mama Umbria Writer/Artist. The recipient of the Gotham & Variety Audio Honors award, National Darrell Ayers, the Kilroy’s List, & Outstanding Service to Women on the Border Award, her plays have been seen in the US, México, UK, Italy, Denmark & Sweden. She is an O’Neill NMTC Writer (LITTLE DUENDE 2021) & NPC Finalist (STONEHEART 2019). Her work has been performed & developed Off-B’way & regionally at INTAR, New York Children’s Theatre, JACK, Clubbed Thumb, Lincoln Center, Bushwick Starr, Two Rivers, Milagro, Aurora, & more. Her short film MONAH premiered at the Austin Film Festival 2022. Other book-writing credits include VINYL CAFE with Colleen Dauncey & Akiva Romer-Segal and DESAPARECIDAS with Jaime Lozano. Currently in development: Finding Frida (book) and Ritchie (book & lyrics). georginaescobar.com
Robi Hager (Music and Lyrics) is a Mexican-American musical theatre writer and performer living in Philadelphia. He appeared on Broadway in the 2007 Tony Award-winning musical SPRING AWAKENING, as well as HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, BYE BYE BIRDIE, and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. He toured the country with the 2015 Tony Award-winning musical FUN HOME and SPRING AWAKENING. As a composer, he wrote songs “Quiero Soñar” and “Maduros” along with friend Alex McCabe which appeared in films Top Five and Can You Ever Forgive Me. His musical LITTLE DUENDE was one of two musicals accepted for the 2021 NMTC at The O’Neill Center and was also featured as one of eight musicals in the 2021 NAMT festival in NYC. Robi returned to The O’Neill Center the following year for their 2022 NMTC, this time with his other musical SILUETAS, inspired by the art of Ana Mendieta. SILUETAS received a world-premiere production May 2024 at Power Street Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Robi is the composer and producer of LGBTQ musical BASIC WITCHES, which earned him a 2018 Barrymore Award nomination for best original score. He’s also been commissioned by the Arden Theatre Company to write a new children’s musical based on the legends of King Arthur.
For more information visit robihager.com