Weird! The Musical

Weird! The Musical – A New Original Anti-Bullying Musical About Never Letting Anyone Take Away Your Polka Dots.

Luisa changes everything about herself – including her colorful polka dot boots – to avoid being called weird. Will this work? What else could she possibly do?

Sam picks on kids at school sometimes, but she’s not really being mean…or is she? Caring people want to help Sam change. Will she let them?

When Jayla witnesses her friend being bullied, she is too scared to stand up for her. Then, someone dares her to take part in the bullying. Will she find the courage to do what’s right?

Weird! The Musical, based on The Weird! Series by Erin Frankel and Paula Heaphy, is an energetic family musical about anti-bullying with a powerful message. One story of bullying told from three different female character’s perspectives…one who is being bullied, a bystander, and the one using bullying behavior. Families and kids will enjoy seeing the pages of the books come to life on stage with Luisa, Sam, Jayla and their friends learning where their power comes from and how to use it.

Audiences will love Weird! The Musical, with soaring music and anti-bullying scenes that will speak to issues students face every day.

#weirdandlovinit

Weird! The Musical now STREAMING for SCHOOLS!

Music

Weird! The Musical (Samples)

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Cast Recording

Weird! The Musical (Original Studio Cast Recording)

Now available for streaming & download

The Studio Cast Recording features Natalie Weiss (Wicked, Les Misérables), three-time Grammy nominated Jody McBrayer from the group Avalon & Josh Batstone from Season 8 of The Voice. Download includes all tracks from the new original musical including Morning Routine, Enough Is Enough & Know Yourself! Be Yourself! sung by this incredibly talented cast.

Available to purchase on iTunes, Amazon Music & Google Music

Available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music & Pandora

Creators

Shawn Forster

Book, Music & Lyrics

Shawn Forster boasts a rich and multifaceted career in musical theatre, spanning directing, choreographing, and performing. As both a solo artist and a group member, Shawn has released several albums of original music. With over 30 years of experience, he has also dedicated himself to teaching musical theatre and social skills to students of all ages.

Weird! is a passion project that embodies Shawn’s greatest loves—singing, acting, dancing, and promoting kindness. His dedication to the arts has earned him numerous accolades, including awards for performing and directing. Most notably, Weird! The Musical was honored with the title of Best Original Script of the Decade at the CNY Regional BroadwayWorld Awards in 2020.

As the Executive Director of Peaceful Schools Productions, the artistic division of Peaceful Schools, Shawn has spearheaded groundbreaking work since its inception in 2013. He directed and performed in the first touring production of Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The Play for nine years and also helmed its first streaming film adaptation. Shawn is the co-creator and original cast member of Rise Up!, a touring character-education talk show for children, and Weird! The Musical, which earned five SALT (Syracuse Area Live Theatre) Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Director.

Shawn cherishes every step of his creative journey with Weird! and deeply values the collaborative efforts of this exceptional team. Excited for what lies ahead, he remains committed to inspiring and connecting audiences through the transformative power of theatre.

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Dani Ryan

Book, Music & Lyrics

A leading member of the Peaceful Schools team since 2001, Dani’s unique background experiences in performance education and theatre arts have helped shape the Peaceful Schools multi-sensory approach to engaging students as active participants in their social-emotional development.

A 1998 graduate of the Communications and Theatre departments of SUNY Oswego, Dani had her sights set on a career in Musical Theatre performance. Following graduation, she began work as a children’s theatre educator. Instructing children from ages 4-18 had an immense impact on her career goals and she began to develop an interest in the idea of working with children to improve social skills and build social competence. The idea of having a positive impact on youth development became a strong personal passion and Dani began to pursue opportunities to combine her talents with her passion for education. Peaceful Schools provided Dani the outlet she was looking for to develop and deliver social emotional programming for youth.

A 2-time Syracuse Area Live Theatre Award winner for Best Actress in a Musical, Dani has performed locally and regionally in dozens of productions and continues to perform through her work with Peaceful Schools Productions. Being on the writing team for Weird! gave her a chance to work on her passions and with her best friends. What could be better?

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Dave Reckess

Book & Lyrics

Dave’s life as a teacher began with his first job as a tennis instructor at age 16. In the years since, Dave has taught ecology to young children, led high school students on outdoor adventures, facilitated cooperation and dialogue among teens from global regions of conflict, and built caring classroom environments as an elementary school teacher. While the settings have changed, Dave’s commitment to providing kids with authentic, challenging, and enriching learning opportunities has remained constant.

Dave came to Peaceful Schools with a Master of Science in Teaching degree from the State University of New York at Cortland, and currently holds a New York State Teacher Certification, Grades 1-6. As a senior member of the Peaceful Schools Executive Team, Dave’s expertise focuses on social-emotional curriculum and Professional Development, Restorative Practices in schools, and implementation of the Community Schools model.

Dave’s acting debut came with Peaceful Schools Productions’ first official tour of Have You Filled A Bucket Today? The Play. Dave is thrilled to be a co-creator of Weird! The Musical.

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Lura Lunkenheimer

Producer

Lura is the President and CEO of Peaceful Schools, an educational consulting company serving New York State for over 25 years. With an Education Doctorate in Executive Leadership her studies have focused on school leadership development, management of school culture and climate, development of tiered supports focused on student social emotional development and structures to support teachers forming secure base relationships with students. Lura earned her Masters’ Degree in Counseling & Psychological Services, specializing in School Psychology, and her combined experiences uniquely qualify her to support the development and maintenance of pro-active and response systems of support for student in a k-12 setting. As an educator and staff development trainer she has expertise in youth development, social emotional learning, conflict resolution, restorative practices, multi-tiered systems of support including response to intervention and positive behavioral interventions and supports. Under her guidance Peaceful Schools has delivered a variety of education initiatives including initiatives related to school improvement, school climate design, school violence prevention education, after school and expanded learning time programs and development and management to build capacity in support of the community school model.

In addition to her work with Peaceful Schools, Lura has been involved with numerous organizations to benefit the safety and well-being of children, including work as a volunteer for The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as a committee chair for the Central New York Ride for Missing Children, as a founding member of the Central New York Out of School Time Network, and as a regional representative for New York State Network for Youth Success.

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