This course is your backstage pass for each of our main-stage shows. Learn about the production history, dramaturgical context and more, led by the one and only Dr. Barrie Gelles!
November 11 – May 6
7:00pm – 8:30pm ET
An Online Class: See schedule below
About the Course:
Learn about the plays and musicals in Gallery Players’ 2025-2026 Season. This course will dedicate two sessions to each musical and one session to each play. We will discuss the production history of the play/musical, information about the co-creators, the dramaturgical context of the world of the play, and more. Each session will feature a multimedia seminar as well as a discussion.
The course materials will include scripts, archival photographs, video clips, supplemental readings, and more! Participants will be sent the scripts and links to cast albums prior to each session. There are no required assignments and no required readings- but the instructor will provide plenty of materials for those who want to do some voluntary homework!
About the Instructor:
Dr. Barrie Gelles is a theatre scholar, educator, director, and dramaturg with a PhD in Theatre and Performance. Barrie teaches musical theatre history, theatre history, acting, directing, and public speaking at many NYC colleges; she currently teaches at Baruch College, Marymount Manhattan College, and NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. She regularly presents her research at the annual conferences of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the American Society for Theatre Research.
Barrie directs new musicals, rarely produced musicals, and re-envisioned revivals of musicals wherein she uncovers a new story while remaining loyal to the original text. At Gallery Players she has directed The Baker’s Wife, Seussical, Marry Me a Little, A New Brain, Once Upon a Mattress, Little Women, and Metamorphoses. She also created and continues to curate Overtures, a new musical developmental reading series at the Gallery Players.
About the Schedule:
Sign up for individual classes, a la carte ($35).
Click to REGISTER
| Class Session | Class Topic |
| Tue, November 11 Class 3 |
Hand to God |
| Wed, March 11 Class 4 |
Intimate Apparel |
| Wed, April 29th Class 5 |
Jesus Christ Superstar Part I |
| Wed, May 6 Class 6 |
Jesus Christ Superstar Part II |
Note: We may adjust some of the class content based on student input.
“Gallery Players’s … classes, led by Barrie Gelles, are the most fun I had learning in years. Barrie is a phenomenal teacher and takes musical theater history very seriously. She leads every class with enthusiasm thus making class more than informative, but an absolute good time.” – Ayanna P.