New: Reading on September 12, 2005

Click here to open a flier for the reading. The page includes a cast list and all pertinent information about attending. We hope to see you there.

Early History

The musical comedy Choosing Helen began as a writing exercise: "Devise an outline for a musical in which you define a song for each step in the arc. Include all the standard types: an I-want song, an 11 o'clock number, a black moment, etc. It must be based on a story in the public domain."  With encouragement from other playwrights, John took the outline and turned it into a complete book with 16 songs. It had a reading in New York during February of 2003 as a "comedy with verses." The music was yet to come.

Brad joined the project in December 2003 and immediately began turning out music to complement John's lyrics. That work continues, with musical arrangements now to over three-quarters of the songs.

This website went live in July of 2004 as a way for our fans and supporters to chart the progress of this project.

Current News

John and Brad have finished a complete draft of the musical and are preparing for a reading so we can hear it performed live. See more details above. We've assembled a first-rate cast and artistic team that are bringing the characters of Helen, Paris, Aphrodite, and all the others to life. To get a taste before you attend the reading, you can download a few samples―both sheet music and audio files―on the Music page. Sample scenes are available on the Book page

We earlier recorded a few songs for a demo CD and may be adding to the collection after the reading. Contact the team through links on the Bios page to get your own copy of the CD when it's released.

Please check back now and then to learn about all the exciting developments as Choosing Helen progresses and hits the Big Time!

     Thanks for visiting,
     John & Brad