This is a Musical in process! I anticipate completing the music and having it performance ready no later than the end of 2024. [NOTE that due to unresolved copyright issues, its performance may be delayed until 2027.] It is based on a short play by the creator of Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne. I'm transforming it into a comic Musical in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan; it will be between two and two and a half hours long, in two acts.
I've already completed the two-act libretto, and have several songs completed.
The project's current status Currently the focus is on the completion of the Wordsworth "Ode" project; this project will continue upon the completion of the Ode's orchestration.
Sponsorship Opportunity! I estimate that it will take me at least four months' full time work to complete Act II, at which time the rehearsal process and orchestration can simultaneously begin. I'm seeking fiscal assistance to free me up to work exclusively on this project.
The completed portions of The Ugly Duckling
All the music scores and recordings of the music completed thus far are on this page.
You are undoubtedly familiar with the Andersen fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling. Fine. Now dismiss completely you preconceptions about A. A. Milne's play of the same name, as the only thing it has in common is the name, nothing more--no ducks anywhere; no water. Well, actually, there is a moat mentioned a couple of times, but really, no ducks.
It is however likely Milne stole the name, because his story is about someone who was an ugly child who grew up to be beautiful, but everyone around her still thought of her as ugly, more out of habit than anything else. (And a curse. Can't have a story of a princess and a prince without a curse.)
The king and queen devise a plan to get her married: when the prince arrives (he's one who has not yet heard of her ugliness reputation), they will substitute the beautiful maid in waiting as the princess, then have the princess wear a veil so as to be unrecognizable when they get married. As it turns out, the prince has the same quandary, but when the real princess and prince accidentally meet, they immediately fall in love and are glad to go through the deception for the sake of their royal parents; she hidden in a veil, he, in a suit of armor complete with a helmet with a downed visor.
That is basically where A. A. Milne's story ends.
It however sidesteps a very obvious question: what will the parents think when they discover they have been deceived? Will they allow the marriage to be finalized? In my version, that's how Act I ends. The second act involves additional complex treachery, scheming, economic collapses, unexpected interpersonal alliances, and an ultimate happy ending.
My expanded story subtly breaches perspectives on gender equality, income equality, and the embracing of diversity. It is also not without musical satire--my apologies in advance to lovers of Verdi, Mussorgsky, Rossini, and of course G&S.
During the 1980s I was active in Atlanta's Gilbert & Sullivan troupe, the "Southeastern Savoyards" more as a student of composition than as a performer: my minimal vocal, acting and stage expertise limited me to non-leading roles, although I did get to participate in one Pinafore production as assistant director, possibly as a means for helping to keep me from interfering too much with the actual performance. My real focus of interest: studying how Sullivan was a master of setting words, specifically English words, to music.
In 1985 I and a colleague in the troupe, Jeffrey Whitfield, decided to write our own G&S-styled operetta, he the librettist, I the composer. We took as our story idea the play "The Ugly Duckling," written by A. A. Milne, the same writer responsible for the Winnie the Pooh stories. Jeff wrote the lyrics to the opening number and the first song, which I set to music, but we both were sufficiently distracted by more mundane issues (finding sources of income to allow us to eat), and quietly dropped the project.
Jump to 2021, or rather, leap there! I finally have enough income to eat, and decided to renew the project. Though invited, Jeff quietly declined, so the remainder of the libretto after the first two songs became my responsibility.
The libretto has been completed, as have several songs. My goal is to have the music performance ready no later than the end of 2024, and the orchestration completed shortly thereafter. I am fortunate to have orchestrating assistance from Daniel Kim, a masters' student at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
This project has an international spin to it: The story is from a prominent British writer. The genre is based on the British Gilbert & Sullivan-styled comic operetta. The composer/librettist is a U.S. citizen. The work is being composed in China. Venues for the world premiere include Shenzhen, China, and...
By registering it as Creative Commons 
instead of a traditional copyright, this means anyone can perform any part or all of it for profit if desired, without having to pay royalties. The only legal requirement is that the original authorship is acknowledged, and any modifications for paid performances require my written permission.