| Edges | |
|---|---|
| Music | Justin Paul |
| Lyrics | Benj Pasek |
| Book | Benj Pasek Justin Paul |
| Productions | 2007 Albany, New York 2008 Toronto, Canada 2010 Sydney, Australia 2010 Philippines 2011 London, UK 2011 Cape Town, South Africa |
| Awards | Jonathan Larson Award |
Edges (sometimes produced as Edges: A Song Cycle) is a work of musical theatre by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. It is a song cycle about coming of age, growth and self-discovery[1] of people mostly in their 20s. Its most famous song, "Be My Friend", has come to be commonly known as the "Facebook song".[2]
Contents |
The musical was written by Pasek and Paul in 2005 when they were 19-year-old undergraduates in musical theatre at the University of Michigan.[3] They decided to write their own show after being unhappy with the roles they were assigned in musical theatre productions at the school.[4]
In 2006 the duo won a $20,000 Jonathan Larson Award, becoming the youngest to have ever won the award, which was established by the estate of Rent composer Jonathan Larson to encourage composers, lyricists, and bookwriters at the beginning of their careers.
After over 30 productions at colleges across the United States, the first professional production was at the Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, New York in 2007. Justin Paul was musical director for the production.[4][5] The show has now been done over 100 times across North America, Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa.
A 2008 Toronto production featured Sara Farb, Jordan Bell, Eric Craig and Gabi Epstein.[6]
In 2010, Edges was brought out to Australia by James Anthony Productions in Sydney to the Parade Theatre in Kensington.
A Philippine production ran for three weeks in July 2010 at the Ateneo de Manila University. It was staged by Ateneo Blue Repertory under the direction of Mahar Mangahas.
A production is planned to be performed at The Landor Theatre, London, UK from May 31st - 5th June 2011, the inaugural production of Notion Theatre Company, directed by Katherine Hare and with musical direction by Leigh Thompson.
The South African premiere production took place in June 2011, directed by Paul Griffiths with musical direction by Garth Tavares. The cast featured Roland Perold, Luella Holland, Shannyn Fourie and David Fick. The production will tour to the South African National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in July. [7]
Become
Monticello
Lying There
I Hmm You
Along The Way
Pretty Sweet Day
Perfect
Coasting
In Short
Dispensible
I Once Knew
I've Gotta Run
Part of a Painting
Ready To Be Loved
Breathing
Giant World
Boy With Dreams
Be My Friend
Caitlyn And Haley
Man of My Dreams
For samples of the music: [1] Also the official website of Pasek & Paul