The Bedroom Window, produced by Em3entertainment, opens Aug. 20; plays Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Sept. 26. Tickets: $24.99-34.99. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles; 310.982.7670, tbwthemusical.com or odysseytheatre.com.

The opening of the new original musical, The Bedroom Window, The Musical, is the culmination of years of dreaming and hard work for the production’s three young writers.

When Daniel Mahler, Nanea Miyata and Brittany Morrison were students at a performing arts magnet, they never dreamed what started as an inside joke would one day end up on a stage. According to Miyata, the initial purpose of the project was to have something to keep the bonds between them strong after they all went off to separate colleges.

Christopher Higgins, Emily O'Brien, Jesse James Rice, Justin Mortelliti.

“We just thought it would be fun to do a show. And, to be totally frank, I don’t think any of us actually thought we would do it,” says Miyata. According to her, the initial inspiration for the show was a joke involving a friend of theirs. “There was a particular person we went to school with who reminded us of Peter Pan and Michael Jackson simultaneously,” she says. From this came the idea to write a show based on the themes of Peter Pan. “It’s come a long way since then but it’s definitely where we started.”

Theatergoers will see the show’s relationship to Peter Pan in its theme about growing up. Miyata says the show is “sort of like the anti-Peter Pan in the sense the whole idea of never growing up is unrealistic. The reality is you do; everyone needs to grow up.”

With this in mind, the three writers had the idea to flip the role of Hook on its head. “We knew we wanted to take Peter Pan and twist it in a way so whatever our Captain Hook character was, he was actually the good guy. And that’s the basic framework we knew we wanted from day one,” explains Miyata. She elaborates how these initial ideas gave shape to the production. “Actually in our show Peter Pan became Porter, an artist and that’s his Neverland. So that’s his world. And our Captain Hook character, James, Captain James Hook, is actually his older brother/father figure.”

Miyata continues, “They lost their parents at a young age where James was actually kind of on the brink of adulthood and Porter wasn’t; he was a kid. That’s sort of how the fatherly relationship came into play. And now they’re kind of these brothers at odds over just generally the way life should be led.”

Elissa Weinzimmer, the director, became involved in the project late in the writing process. “Elissa, truth be told, really had a huge impact on the revamp of our script,” says Miyata. “We had gotten to a point where, I mean, when you’re working on something like this you kind of lose all perspective on it and we were at the point where we were like we’re done! And Elissa looked at the script and she was like, ‘Ok, about 80 percent of this needs to be changed.’ Elissa really did kind of question us in a way we weren’t questioning ourselves.”

Nanea Miyata, Brittany Morrison, Daniel Mahler and Elissa Weinzimmer.

Weinzimmer elaborates on her influence in the writing process. “The script I read at that point didn’t really show me who the characters were really clearly. But when I sat down and talked to the three of them about the characters, they knew so clearly who these people were. And I was like, great! So now we just have to figure out the way to get that on the page and to the stage.”

One of the things Weinzimmer was initially impressed by was the show’s relatability to people of any age. “Growing up is the paradox of giving up control you can’t have and taking control where you need to take it,” she says.

Miyata agrees. “Whether or not you are there now, you’ve been there or you will be there or you’re going to be there again.”

On top of putting together a cohesive script, the production also required an original score. At first, Miyata was dubious about her ability to do so. “I didn’t think I could write enough music for a whole show.” The end result, however, proves otherwise.

Miyata was responsible for composing the show’s music, which she describes as “pop rock with a musical theatre edge.” Morrison, who collaborated with Miyata on the lyrics, describes the music as “amazing and catchy.”

Miyata and Morrison agree part of what makes the music so catchy is its simplicity. Morrison elaborates: “I don’t want to say simple in a bad way but I think that’s the appeal of the songs: they get stuck in your head and they’re great. This is a silly little example but I put it on in my car and my little 11 year old cousin just was like ‘Blast it!’ and she started dancing.”

All in all, what the creative team is most proud of is their success in producing a completely original production. “I think one thing we’re all really excited about is it’s a truly original piece,” says Miyata. “The thing that frustrates me as a theatergoer is the lack of original material. I mean if you look at the Tony Awards the past few years, the big things are revivals or shows that are like jukebox musicals. And that’s why we’re taking it this far and spending this money and driving ourselves insane and getting in totally over our heads to try to do a production of this scale, with very limited resources.”

Feature image of Christopher Higgins, Emily O’Brien, Justin Mortelliti, and Jesse James Rice by Ashlynne McLean.

Article by Samantha Mehlinger.