Steve On Broadway (SOB)

GWTW Composer: Knowin' Somethin' 'Bout Birthin' Babies

GWTW Composer: Knowin' Somethin' 'Bout Birthin' Babies

As reported in June, the upcoming musical version of Margaret Mitchell's epic Gone With The Wind -- which will make its debut next April at London's New London Theatre -- will feature a book and score written by sociologist Margaret Martin.

Now that the tuner's official Web site is live, we finally learn more about who Martin is:

MARGARET MARTIN (Book, Music, Lyrics) earned a Doctorate in Public Health from U.C.L.A. in Community Health Science and a Masters degree in both Behavioral Science/Health Education and in Population and Family Health, also from U.C.L.A.’s School of Public Health. Dr. Martin is a specialist in maternal, child and family health and has delivered continuing education trainings for nurses throughout California. She has worked as a consultant for Parenting Magazine, and has conducted Leadership Trainings in community building for the American Public Health Association. She worked as an editor for Fisher Books, and is the author and illustrator of Pregnancy and Childbirth: The basic illustrated guide. Dr. Martin has delivered pregnancy and childbirth classes to expectant parents for more than thirty years and now trains community health-workers in how to deliver such classes.

Dr. Martin studied music theory at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. She is the Founder and President of The Harmony Project, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that provides musical instruments and ongoing tuition-free music education to nearly 300 children from low-income L.A.-area families (see www.harmony-project.org). Dr. Martin plans to establish Harmony Project programs in inner-cities throughout the country.

Dr. Martin supported herself from the age of fifteen. As a single mother, she identified closely with the challenges faced by Gone With the Wind’s young protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara. She also felt the filmed adaptation left considerably more within Margaret Mitchell’s epic tale to be explored. Dr. Martin developed Gone With the Wind for the musical theater on her own. She brought the project to Trevor Nunn after she had acquired the rights to the property from the Mitchell Trusts. Author of book, music and lyrics, Gone With the Wind is Dr. Martin’s first play. She is the mother of three children and lives in Los Angeles with her youngest son. She is currently at work on two new plays.

If all else fails, perhaps theatrical novice Martin will be able to better inform the musical version's Prissy on the fine art of birthing babies.

With thanks to regular reader BroadwayBaby.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Tickets go on sale September 30.
Related Stories:
Frankly My Dears... (July 1, 2007)
Gone With The Wind The Musical? (February 22, 2007)

Labels: Film, Gone With The Wind, London, Margaret Martin, Margaret Mitchell, Musical, Trevor Nunn

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, September 27, 2007