Funny, sad, universal, specific, metaphoric... - Ron Leibman (Tony Award Winning Actor), The Baby Project
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The Baby Project is a lovely piece. Lori Ada Jaroslow is a gifted writer with a beautiful story. - Kristin Hanggi (Broadway Director), The Baby Project
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Enter a new generation of writers who see female stories as central, important to life, relatable to both men and women and, best of all, entertaining! - The Pasadena Weekly, The Baby Project
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Funny, sad, universal, specific, metaphoric... - Ron Leibman (Tony Award Winning Actor), The Baby Project 〰️ The Baby Project is a lovely piece. Lori Ada Jaroslow is a gifted writer with a beautiful story. - Kristin Hanggi (Broadway Director), The Baby Project 〰️ Enter a new generation of writers who see female stories as central, important to life, relatable to both men and women and, best of all, entertaining! - The Pasadena Weekly, The Baby Project 〰️
Lori is a playwright, and a lyricist and book writer for musical theatre and has written an abundance of personal narratives.
Her semi-autobiographical, full-length musical, The Baby Project (book and lyrics by Lori, music and lyrics by Fonda Feingold, and music by Noriko Olling and Angela Parrish), was workshopped at The Road Theatre in LA under the patronage of an NEA grant. It had twelve performances as part of the grant’s requirement. The Baby Project was also performed as a solo show at The Art House in Provincetown, MA, and subsequently had developmental readings and workshops with a full cast at The New York Music Festival, (2016) The Blank Theatre in LA, (2018), the LGBT center in LA and The Music Stand Series at the Whitefire Theatre in 2021.
Currently, Ms. Jaroslow is gearing up for a workshop of her musical, More Than All the Sky… (semi-finalist for the National Music Theatre Conference at The Eugene O’Neill theatre Center) book and lyrics by Lori, music and additional lyrics by Morgan Hollingsworth, which will be directed by Sean Daniels.
In 2020, Lori penned a short musical with Angela Parrish based on the renowned short story, The Lottery. She wrote an original musical with Robyn Kirmsse based on the lives of the late, beloved, Leslie Jordan and others for a 12-step convention in LA called The Courage to Change. Lori has written several original musicals for and with children and teens in innumerable schools and institutions in both NY and LA including the USDAN Center of Performing Arts, Stone Ridge Prep, Crossroads in NY, and Rodeph Sholom. She adapted two musicals for The Lucy Moses School of Theatre based on stories by Hans Christian Anderson and an original Irish Folk Tale, the Lord’s Lass with composer Brian Woodard. With Darryl Johnson, Lori co-created a musical theatre summer camp in LA, called Theatricamp that has been running for eleven years.
With Gemma Baker, (Mom, Two and a Half Men, Reba) Lori co-produced and curated a reading series of personal narratives at The Secret Rose Theatre in Los Angeles entitled Melt in Your Mouth that ran for two years.
Other projects in development: a story based on her two-minute death in 2023, a full length comedy about the day her father, actor, Jerry Jarrett died and a book about substitute teaching in Los Angeles. She sat on the Board of Directors at New Musicals Inc in Los Angeles for two years.
Lori is also a performer and VO actor and has performed in innumerable musicals on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at sea and in theatres and living rooms across the USA.
More Than All The Sky
book and lyrics by
Lori Ada Jaroslow
music by
Morgan Hollingsworth
additional lyrics by
Morgan Hollingsworth
Lenna Harris, 27 years old is living on the street trapped in the stranglehold of addiction. Through an ambient and cinematic indie-rock score, More Than all the Sky reveals how a family can be ravaged by drugs and alcohol. And while recovery from the disease of alcoholism is a grueling process, it is possible to live a sober life beyond one's wildest dreams.
The Baby Project
The Baby Project is a semi – autobiographical story about a woman named Dana Jacobson, a 41- year old single, queer, Jewish, New Yorker, who after being sober for three years recognizes that what she wants most in her life is to have her own family.
In order to individuate, she leaves her colorful family of origin in New York and goes as far across the country as she can to Los Angeles where there is sunshine, palm trees and a really good sperm bank.
As she careens through the world of medically assisted fertility she is forced to ponder the question - what exactly constitutes a family? While maneuvering her way through the foster care system, the LA public schools, HMO’s and LA traffic, Dana falls in love with her black, bass playing/poet, next door neighbor, Jackie.
Ultimately, Jackie breaks up with Dana because she feels that Dana is unaware of her own white privilege. Heartbroken, she moves forward with her dream of motherhood, which does come true, but in a way she hadn’t envisioned. In the end she adopts a pregnant 14 year -old Latina teen and Dana becomes a mom and a grandma simultaneously.
Ultimately The Baby Project gives voice to the ever – evolving face of the American family.
book by
Lori Ada Jaroslow
lyrics by
Lori Ada Jaroslow and Fonda Feingold
additional lyrics by
Angela Parrish
music by
Fonda Feingold, Noriko Olling and Angela Parrish
Why now?
The Baby Project has an all - female creative team and an all - female identifying cast of five with three of the actresses playing multiple roles.
The piece explores adoption, bi - racial relationships, foster care and socio – economic disparity.
History
Solo reading at The Art House in Provincetown.
The Road Theatre received an NEA grant to produce a workshop with 12 culminating public performances
Developmental workshop/reading at NYMF, NY
Developmental workshop/reading in the Living Room Series at The Blank Theatre, LA
Reading at Rockwell Table and Stage/ Foundation fo New American Musicals, LA
Developmental workshop/reading in The Music Stand Reading Series at The Whitefire Theatre 2022, LA
Sunrise… Sunset ~ a play in development
by
Lori Ada Jaroslow
“With the prospect of losing one parent, I dialed the other.
‘Hi Mom, I was going to come see you for Mother's day but Dad's not doing well so I need to stay here. Will you see him?’ I asked.
‘Nah…he doesn't want to see me.’ Alma yanked the phone out of my hand.
‘You listen to me, Sylvia. In the middle of the night Jerry say to me, 'When is Sylvia coming home? Will she be here for dinner?' You can not hate your husband more than I hated mine. He was a dog, but if that man were dying I would go see him in a second for my kids, because THEY love him. I would do that for them.’ Alma handed back the phone.
‘What does she charge, fifty an hour?’ asked Mom. ‘Should I come tomorrow?’"
Other Projects
Grease: Tell Me More, Tell Me More is a collection of memories and stories from over one hundred actors and musicians, including the creative team and crew who were part of the original Broadway production and in the many touring companies it spawned.
I have a few yarns in this book that harken back to when I was a drunken whore!
In The Hall is a musical theatre piece that was developed and written by me, Stephanie Taglianetti and five composers based on the written works of a wonderful group of students at Portola Middle School in Los Angeles. This project was hatched under the creative supervision of the extraordinary, late, Dr. Steph McClay.
composed and sung here by
Morgan Hollingsworth
“‘I love my father. My father’s never mean to me,’ says the kid with the big, toothy grin and a heart that leaps out of his smile.
‘That’s so cool. What does your Dad do?’
‘He writes for TV shows. Jokes are my favorite things. He writes on Passions and CSI.’
I tuck my hair behind my ears, pout my lips a little bit and cock my head coyly… primping for the autistic kid, all the while wondering if there’s a headshot in my car...”