Performing in the 2018 Green Show on Saturday, October 6
This is their second season at the OSF Green Show
A contemporary Native American musical about identity, home
and family.
SHAUN TAYLOR-CORBETT (Writer/Co-composer/Co-lyricist, “Darrell”)
No single moment was more influential in Shaun’s life than his trip with his mother to the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana at 15. So much of this story is based on that journey, and much like his friend Lin-Manuel Miranda did with In the Heights, Shaun would like to take the audience on a journey through his portrayal of the main character, Darrell. Shaun actually starred in the original production of In the Heights on Broadway and closed the show in the role of Sonny. He saw the power of music and it’s ability to convey themes of home, identity and culture to a wide audience. Inspired by so many great musicals from his past, including his stint as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, Juan in Altar Boyz, and Usnavi and Sonny in In the Heights, he and his mother decided to make a musical movie for Native people.
As writers, Shaun and Chris Wiseman have collaborated and written songs for European and American television for the last 10 years. Shaun also collaborated with Daniel Jones from Savage Garden on a concept demo in Australia while filming Hi-5, a hit musical show for children airing on Discovery Kids. In LA, Shaun has worked closely with Native Voices as an ensemble member - acting, directing, and writing to create new works by Native Americans for the stage, including Off the Rails and Distant Thunder. He is currently an acting company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Company, where he is developing the stage version of Distant Thunder. In 2018, he will doing Henry V and Love’s Labour’s Lost at OSF. In 2014 he was honored as an artist of distinction by the Association of American Indian Affairs for his work on Jersey Boys and Distant Thunder. Other Notable TV/Film: “Supremacy” with Danny Glover; Gamer’s Guild, Disney XD. Two national commercials. Favorite LA theater roles: Tye in Vieux Carre, and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at Theatricum Botanicum.
LYNNE TAYLOR-CORBETT (Writer) was nominated for two Tony Awards and Drama Desk Award for her direction and choreography of Broadway’s “Swing!” Off-Broadway, she directed and choreographed “Wanda’s World” for which she won the Callaway Award and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award. Her production of “My Vaudeville Man” garnered a Drama Desk Award nomination. “Cougar the Musical”, for which she was director and contributing writer, ran for almost two years and is licensed worldwide. Her adaptation of “The Lion King” is in its tenth year at Disney Hong Kong.
Ms. Taylor-Corbett’s film choreography can be seen in the classic “Footloose”, “My Blue Heaven” and “Bewitched” among others. She directed “Real to Reel” a film-live action event presented at the Edinburgh Festival and collaborated with special effects genius, Doug Trumbull, on a dance film commissioned by Sumitomo in Japan.
Ms. Taylor-Corbett has choreographed for numerous dance companies including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and New York City Ballet, most notably “Seven Deadly Sins” starring Patti LuPone. Her work has been filmed for “Live From Lincoln Center” and “Great Performances”. In keeping with her diverse artistic life, she wrote and directed “Hibari” based on the great Japanese icon, Hibari Misora, in 2015 and directed “Part of the Plan”, a musical with score by American icon Dan Fogelberg, in Nashville in 2016.
Her greatest joy, however, has been writing “Distant Thunder” with Shaun Taylor-Corbett. Having grown up among tribes in Denver, Colorado, it has been a lifelong dream to tell the story of contemporary life on the reservation and to portray characters that really exist. Ms. Taylor Corbett serves on the advisory board of the Association on American Indian Affairs.
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