Coffee with Mark Schoenfeld writer of Brooklyn the Musical

Thinking about what it's like to have your musical on the Broadway stage? Or what it takes to be on Broadway? Well Mark Schoenfeld is happy to share his stories and advice with you, over a cup of coffee!

Born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bronx projects, Mark Schoenfeld fell on hard times and eventually became a street performer. Barri McPherson, a friend from his past, heard him singing on the street one day and invited him to come live in her home. Together, the two wrote the musical Brooklyn, which premiered on Broadway in September 2004. The musical played 28 previews and 283 regular performances before closing June 26, 2005.Brooklyn concerned a band of performers, who "tell a wondrous sidewalk fairy tale about a young girl searching for fame and the father she never knew. With just one clue to lead her, she lands in the city that bears her name, Brooklyn."

Using the play within a play structure, Brooklyn focuses on a group of five ragtag homeless musicians known as the City Weeds. The group periodically transforms a street corner under the foot of theBrooklyn Bridge into a stage where they present their play about a Parisian singer Brooklyn, named after the New York City borough from which her wayward father Taylor hailed. Orphaned when her depressed mother Faith hangs herself, the girl in quick succession is sent to live in a convent where she discovers her vocal talents, becomes a star, performs at Carnegie Hall, sets out in search of her father (who she discovers is a drug-addicted Vietnam War vet), and engages in a competition with local diva Paradice at Madison Square Garden.

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