NEW MUSICALS NETWORK are delighted to present their latest SNAPPY TITLE SPOTLIGHT event. One morning eight years ago actor/singer/songwriter TIM THOMAS awoke with a single thought in his head, “I will write musicals!” Quite where that concept sprang from is still a mystery even to Tim himself. But, fired up and eager to start, he flung himself into the task. Results rapidly followed and as the months passed plots developed, tunes spirited themselves out of the air, themes caught his imagination and four distinct shows took shape. His efforts were aided by the breadth of his experience. Over the years Tim had become a journeyman, an adept in the theatre working as an actor and singer but also as a writer of plays and cabaret. He had even had a band in the distant past called “Telltale” who had great success on the children’s TV show RAINBOW. Tim had written the lyrics and sung the show’s celebrated theme-song. So fortified with this background Tim was writing book, lyrics and music, always determined to be completely original and not to adapt other people’s work. The first musical to hit the stage was a poignant piece called SHELLSHOCK which had a brilliant two-week run at The Waterloo East Theatre.
As Tim found, creating musicals can be a very tough and solitary business. Why not gather a group of bright souls together to share the dream? Two years ago Tim met a bunch of scintillating, unusual talents, singers and instrumentalists who did not want to compromise, who wanted to aim high. Three of them, Amie Miller, Nic Chiappetta and Connor Going already knew each other from the Royal Academy of Music. Suzie Aries was queen of the cruise-ships. So, now there are now five in the band – AUTHENTIC BLUE.
They have a lot of laughs. They have dealt with all sorts of mishaps. They are very good friends. The group perform concerts, develop the shows, record Tim’s original stuff and they do covers. Material by the band is on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify etc., and they have performed in some wonderful venues. Working this way has liberated a lot of energies and, in the world of musicals, it is pretty unusual. As of today there are three musicals in development plus a couple of previously-produced works and you will hear songs from all of them.
