Initiatives For Songwriters

The Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals

Group of people performing on stage.

Program Details

In keeping with Johnny Mercer’s lifelong commitment to collaboration and nurturance of fellow songwriters, the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals debuted in 2013. It is a first-of-its-kind peer program dedicated solely to the creation of new musicals. In partnership with Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Connecticut, the JMF Writers Grove offers established and emerging writers the unique opportunity to write, share work, and receive feedback from dramaturgs and peers. JMF Board Member Jonathan Brielle is the founder and continues to serve as Producing Writer in Residence for the Writers Grove.

Over 300 writers have developed their work at the Grove and just a few of the musicals worked on in its first decade include: “A Strange Loop,” (2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), “The Lion,” “Passing Through,” “Private Gomer Jones,” “Darling Grenadine,” “Chasing Rainbows,” and “Himself and Nora.”