Like the Wind
Music by Elspeth Collard
Book & Lyrics by Sam Rosenblatt
Like the Wind is a new electronica-pop musical that explores the lives of Bennie and Cai, two queer teenagers running away from a conversion therapy facility in the summer of 2018. Loosely inspired by Bonnie and Clyde, Bennie and Cai choose to change the fate that society has set for them and break through the constraints of expectations and rules. With a queer, female writing team at the helm, Like the Wind explores themes of identity, forgiveness, and queerness in young people.
Like the Wind began as a five-minute musical commission from Shotgun Players in California. It was originally entitled, The People We're Meant to Be. The five-minute musical, featuring Alia Cuadros-Contreras as Cai and Mikey Friedman as Bennie, premiered in July of 2021. The show also received a public presentation through the New Musicals Lab at Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Virginia in July of 2021.
On December 19th and 20th, 2021, Like the Wind was presented as a staged reading at the Brick in Brooklyn, NY to two sold-out audiences. It featured Renee Kauffman as Cai, John Byrd as Bennie, Remy Thompson as Ash/Emma/Heather, Matthew Harper Stevenson as Dev/Isaac/Attendant, Sarah Allbrandt as Cai'sMother/Farrah/Adult Woman, and Diego Bly as Bennie's Father/Gideon/Adult Man. Alia Cuadros-Contreras and Kalonjee Gallimore were the swings for this presentation. Like the Wind was directed by Daniella Caggiano and music-directed by Rai Arsa Artha. Isabel Schwartzberg served as the stage manager. See clips from the show below (shot by Amanda Briskin-Wallace) and production photos from Jose Miranda.
"Like the Wind" from Like the Wind: An Electronica-Pop Musical
Music by Elspeth Collard, Book and Lyrics by Sam Rosenblatt Featuring Alia Cuadros-Contreras, Mark Aguirre, Kalonjee Gallimore, Sophie Tyler, Elena Ramos Pascullo, and Bern Tan
Filmed at SoHo Playhouse
The People We're Meant to Be: A Five-Minute Musical
Music by Elspeth Collard, Book and Lyrics by Sam Rosenblatt Featuring Alia Cuadros-Contreras and Mikey Friedman
Commissioned by Shotgun Players as part of their 3030 Vision Project
The Casts
John Byrd
Remy Thompson
Sarah Allbrandt
Renee Kauffman
Matthew Harper Stevenson
Diego Bly
Alia Cuadros-Contreras
Kalonjee Gallimore
Mikey Friedman
More Show Clips
"The Feelings in Me"
Featuring Alia Cuadros-Contreras
with Mads Witmer, and Lauryn Ciardullo
"Garden in the Sky"
Featuring Renee Kauffman
"With God As My Witness"
Featuring Nathan Fosbinder and Kaila Wooten
"Bennie and the Attendant"
Featuring John Byrd and Matthew Harper Stevenson