Teen turns Shakespeare's ‘Shrew' into ‘Shrewsical'

Like so many high school juniors, Maria Coyne had a busy year. She starred in The Westminster Schools' production of “Oklahoma!” and sang with several groups. She sometimes arrived at school at 7 a.m. and didn’t leave till 9 p.m. She often skipped friends' invitations to hang out because there was something more keeping her busy.

“Sorry,” she’d say, “I’m busy writing a musical.”

After Maria wrote four songs for last year's production of "Cyrano de Bergerac," Westminster Players director and founder Eric Brannen wanted more than simple melodies for small groups. Music can lift the spirit of any show, and their next classic would be big: William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew."

With music, "there's an energy level and hipness to the dialog," Brannen says. "The language means so much more."

In Maria, he saw the school's first big chance at a student-composed musical. Knowing the academic demands of junior years, he approached Maria's parents to see if she'd be up for creating a "Shrewsical." Knowing their daughter, they quickly agreed.

So when Brannen debuted the performing arts schedule for this year, he announced a 1950s-styled "Shrew" -- featuring music by Maria Coyne.

"Her eyes go boingggg," recalls her dad, Shawn Coyne, sound effects and all. "She was thrilled."

Maria, 17, grew up playing violin and viola. In middle school, she turned to singing in choir, a cappella groups and stage shows. She “kind of” plays piano, using self-taught chords and combos to write songs for talent shows and "Cyrano."

But "Shrewsical" would be different. On stage, students were expected to perform straight Shakespeare with a contemporary look. Maria's music was intended to make the old romantic comedy more accessible.

To prepare, she read a lot of "No Fear Shakespeare" translations of the classic, and internalized 1950s pop tunes suggested by her dad. For months, her playlists were Bill Haley and His Comets, Chuck Berry and the "Grease" soundtrack. By January, she knew the actors and their vocal abilities, and more important, the formula to a radio-perfect 1950s tune.

So sing the guys in the opening number of the boys-versus-girls tale:
She can have the brains of Einstein, and degrees on her shelf,
She can even have opinions -- if she keeps 'em to herself.
She can have them all -- but just remember this one thing:
A man's home is his castle -- and baby, he's king!

And the girls reply:
Romeo's a nothing without Juliet,
And Ozzie would be nowhere without Harriet.
And when the Father chose to send His Son to earth,
It would seem that it was Mary who did most of the work!