TWIRL!

by Jacque Carnahan & Michael Radi

 

Log Line:

TWIRL! is a mother-daughter coming of age story set in the world of competitive baton twirling, based loosely on Michael’s family’s history with the sport.

 

Short Synopsis:

The day is here! Frankie’s cast is finally coming off, and the fiercely independent sixteen year-old tennis star is ready to return to the court. That is, until Frankie and her fix-it-all supermom Kathy discover that Frankie’s arm needs months of physical therapy to fully recover. But not just any old physical therapy - baton twirling! Frankie and Kathy, with the whole Cappella family in tow (“Team High Five”), are whisked into a world of sequins, athletics, team rivals, and production numbers led by the bold, brassy, soon-to-retire baton coach, Miss Yvette. Seduced by Miss Yvette’s flare and charm as Frankie’s arm heals and Kathy balances baton with family life, they surprisingly become a mother-daughter duo of twirling proteges. Falling in love with the sport and Miss Yvette’s competition team (“The Yvettes”), Frankie decides to leave tennis behind and twirl competitively. As Frankie rushes in to join the team, Miss Yvette announces she is sailing away in an early departure to pursue true love. Kathy finds herself dusting off her business and management skills to lead The Yvettes until Scottish baton coach, and sometimes synchronized swimmer, Lachlan can take the reins next year. With the local competition only two months away, the Yvettes must come together with their new teammate and interim leader to win against their rival competitors: The Starlights. After a disastrous showing at the local competition, Frankie and Kathy rally the team with all eyes on the big prize at States. Overcoming anxieties, family tensions, and a rival team sabotage, plus a surprise save-the-day moment from Frankie’s little sister, The Yvettes win the day. With trophy in tow, Frankie and Kathy lead The Yvettes and Team High Five to their next adventure where life is always best together, and even better when you twirl a baton. Sequins sparkle, music blares, and batons fly as everyone comes together, all a part of team TWIRL!

 

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Development History

  • Closed Reading (DGF Music Hall) - August 4th, 2024

  • Musical Theatre Writing Collective Salon Presentation - April 12th, 2025

 

Material Samples

Click here for Demos and a 10-page script sample!

Writers Jacque Carnahan and Michael Radi performing “Can-Do Kathy” from TWIRL! at the Musical Theatre Writing Collective Spring 2025 Salon!

 

Our Why

Collaboration, expression, possibility, magic, and joy have always been at the center of the art that Jacque and Michael have created together, even long before we set out to write a full length musical. When we met as fellow teaching artists in 2011, there was an immediate sense that authenticity, purpose, and theatricality through the lens of quality storytelling was of great importance to us both. And as we began to work more with one another, teaching young people in various capacities in addition to our professional work, this pull toward our shared values became even clearer. In TWIRL! we are creating a space for female performers to shine in a story that elevates real, positive relationships between mothers and daughters and between female teammates. Our one male main character, Gerry, is a caring husband and father who is perfectly comfortable taking a supporting role as we follow Kathy and Frankie on their combined journeys. And though we recognize that no family is perfect, we strive to show a positive and healthy family environment in which everyone learns to work through their struggles within the strength of a combined family unit.

For Jacque, passion, perseverance, and positivity are the pillars of her artistic work. She was blessed with amazing mentors who encouraged her to be whatever she wanted to be, and Jacque could always rely on art to give her a place to express all her larger-than-life emotions without judgment. This is why Jacque created a one woman show to inspire young artists to follow their dreams, and why she decided to produce Arts for Autism - a star-studded benefit concert that brings young people to NYC to perform alongside autistic performers and Broadway veterans for a cause. We certainly don’t always succeed, but Jacuqe believes that the more we focus on and elevate goodness, the more we can nudge the world in a positive direction through joy, hope, and love.

For Michael, as a gender non-conforming individual who grew up in a family filled with strong women and men who didn’t always adhere to strict gender roles, at the heart of every story he tells is a message of living authentically as yourself - no matter the bounds placed on you by the world you live in. At the end of the day, we have no choice but to live fully in authenticity. Bringing people together through a communal expression of the human experience and opening minds and hearts through stories is at the center of his work. Michael firmly believes that the best art is created through collaborations that share a deep sense of trust, purpose, and intention. TWIRL! may be a coming of age musical based loosely upon her own family’s history with the sport - and may feel relatively light on the surface - but our themes of both blood and chosen family, the strength of female relationships, and overcoming obstacles through coming together as a team, are universal, deeply resonant, and important.\

 

Writer Bios

Michael Radi (any/all) is a composer, lyricist, librettist, performer, vocal coach, musicaldirector, educator, content creator (Musical Theatre Writer Guy), and founder of theMusical Theatre Writing Collective, currently residing in New York City. Michaelgraduated from SUNY Geneseo with a B.A. in Theatre-English and is also an alumnus of the Lehman Engel BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. As a writer, they have written six full-length musical theatre pieces, including her original musicals The King’s Legacy and‘S Wonderful: An Evening with George Gershwin, which both received world premiere productions at the Bristol Valley Theater in Naples, NY (August 2019 and 2021respectively). The King’s Legacy has also been presented in Industry Reading format, both in fall of 2019 as part of the Dramatists Guild Friday Night Footlights and inNovember 2016, as well as part of the Emerging Artists Theater Festival in 2014, and i na workshop through the Random Access Theatre in 2013. Michael continues to collaborate on other projects as well, including a musical adaptation of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, which received its first workshop reading in October 2018.

 

Jacque Carnahan is a NYC-based actress, singer, writer, and producer originally hailing from sunny California. Jacque learned her first tap step (the Shuffle off to Buffalo!) at the age of three at her local YMCA. After performing in The Sound of Music at age nine, her heart was set on a career in the arts. At thirteen, she dreamed of attending Idyllwild Arts Academy, and with the help of her community, she raised over $40,000 to apply towards her tuition. Four inspiring years later, she traveled east to attend The Boston Conservatory and earned a BFA cum laude in Musical Theatre, which helped launch her career in NYC. Jacque's theatre credits include performances Off-Broadway at the Irish Repertory Theatre and the York Theatre, the National Tour of Cinderella, and regional appearances at The Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, and Baltimore Center Stage. More recently, Jacque has been focused on her one woman show and concert work at venues such as 54 Below, Green Room 42, and Alice Tully Hall. Jacque has had the privilege of working with creative forces such as Stephen Schwartz, Joseph Stein, Mark Lamos and Christopher Gattelli. Jacque has shared the stage with Broadway stars Alice Ripley, Laura Osnes, and Donna Lynne Champlin. Jacque is an avid educator and producer. As the Founding Artistic Director of educational organization Believe NYC, she produces events for arts students from all over the United States including her annual Arts for Autism Benefit Concert at the Gershwin Theatre which has raised $250,000. Through her producing efforts, Jacque has worked with Tony Award winners Kelli O'Hara, Stephanie J. Block, Adrienne Warren and Tony nominee Christopher Jackson.