The new musical Costs of Living tells the story of two immigrant cab drivers who take opposite shifts off the same medallion. Its unlikely source material is the shocking true story of two Asian immigrants, a yellow cab, and a bloody attack with meat cleaver. Whaaaaat. True story.
I don't know how you hear about this story and think singing! But Timothy Huang has somehow turned this tale into a musical, and needs some help getting it to the stage. Check out this video with some background:
Here's some more information:
Inspired by a New York Times article, my new musical Costs of Living tells the story of two immigrant cab drivers who take opposite shifts off the same medallion. While the day shift driver (Eng) encounters successes, his night shift partner (Chin) continues to encounter obstacles until the two find themselves on opposite sides of an ever widening gap and in a dangerous escalation that leaves one dead and the other brutalized. It is, at its heart, a human story, an American story and a cautionary tale lending voice to the unspoken dangers of freedom without social consciousness or oversight. It is a story of love and country, resillience and responsibility, the price of freedom and the costs of living.They're asking folks to help out to make this musical happen. It's a work in progress, so funds would go towards producing staged readings to fine tune the project. As I write this, they're pretty close to the $5,000 goal, but every little bit helps. For further information, and to make a pledge, go to the Costs of Living RocketHub page here.
The last ten years of my career have been about finding ways to make the things that move me move other people. And with tremendous support and feedback from the Asian American community and the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop (where this project originated) I feel like Costs of Living has found a unique balance. It is a musical that isn't afraid to tell a story of social significance, or allow music to transcend language, but most of all it is unafraid to tell an American story employing people who look like me that isn't necessarily about people who look like me.
