Music Theatre International is thrilled to join in celebrating our authors who took home the top musical honors at this year’s Lucile Lortel Awards.  Tony-Award nominated songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (A Christmas Story) and book writer Peter Duchan earned the Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical for the critically acclaimed Second Stage Theatre production of Dogfight which had its world premiere last summer.   Chris Gattelli also won the Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on the production.

Dogfight is based on the Warner Brothers film and screenplay by Bob Comfort and follows three young Marines on the eve of their deployment to Southeast Asia who have set out for a final night of debauchery, partying and even a little trouble.  When Corporal Eddie Birdlace meets Rose, an awkward and idealistic waitress he enlists to win a cruel bet with his fellow recruits, she rewrites the rules of the game and teaches him the power of compassion.

In addition to Dogfight, Pasek and Paul are the authors of A Christmas Story, the three-time Tony nominated musical that opened on Broadway last December at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Edges, and James and the Giant Peach (Goodspeed 2010).  Their original songs have also been featured on this season of the hit NBC show Smash.  The duo has won many awards including the 2007 Jonathan Larson Award, 2011 Sundance Institute Fellowship, 2011 ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award as well as many others and were even recently featured in Time Out magazine.  They both received BFAs from the University of Michigan in Musical Theatre.  Book writer Peter Duchan co-wrote and was the Associate Producer for the screenplay for Breaking Upwards as well as Unlocked which was an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. Duchan graduated from Northwestern University.

Dogfight’s cast recording of the 2012 Off-Broadway production was just released digitally by Ghostlight Records on April 30 and will hit shelves May 21.  To celebrate the recent release of the cast album, the authors and original cast are reuniting with a reunion concert on May 15 at 9:30 PM at Joe’s Pub.

Here are just some of the rave reviews that the 2012 production received:

"INTRIGUING & BRILLIANT! A PRODUCTION TO CELEBRATE."
- New York Magazine

"Dogfight is something special! Studded with impressive songs, an unexpected love affair, and a genuine and charming soul."
-Mark Kennedy, Associated Press

"An intimate little heart-breaker of beguiling freshness."
-Linda Winer, Newsday

"Easily the most delicate, surprising musically satisfying score since Spring Awakening. You gotta hear Dogfight sing!"
-David Cote, Time Out New York

"Poignant, funny and totally endearing."
-Rex Reed, New York Observer

"TERRIFIC! Definitely a hit! Go see it - twice!"
-David Richardson, WOR Radio

"Dogfight will win your heart!"
-Roma Torre, NY-1

"Intimate, intriguing and impressive!"
-Steven Suskin, Variety

Celebrate this magnificent new musical by getting your copy of the new album and signing up today for fast track notification for Dogfight so you can be among the first to find out when this award-winning title is available to license for your theatre.