This is Your Life: THE MUSICAL!

What is "This Is Your Life: The Musical?"

- This Is Your Life: The Musical takes your life and transforms it into a larger-than-life musical right before your eyes - without any script or any pre-planning whatsoever.

How long is a TIYL musical?

- Our basic package is for a 40-50 minute musical. We’ve been performing improvised musicals for a long time and have found that a 40-50 minute show generally feels complete. If you would like us to do something of a different length, just ask us. We're flexible.

Is everything really improvised?

- Absolutely. We’ve all undergone years of training in improvisation. Our cast members have trained with the Upright Citizens Brigade, the Annoyance Theater, the People’s Improv Theater, the Magnet Theater, Broadway’s Next Hit Musical and Improv Boston. It seems like magic to anyone watching it - and it is magical - but improvisation is a skill that is developed over time through rigorous training.

Is the music improvised too, or do you just fit in different words to a few different tunes?

- Everything is improvised - every note played by our pianist, every melody-line sung by our actors, every chord progression, and every lush harmony you hear in our shows, will be discovered in the moment by our improvisers. You know exactly as much about the songs you’re going to hear as we do.

Do you just substitute my name into your script? How personalized is it?

- Everything is completely improvised. Everything. There is no script! There is no plan other than to celebrate the life of our guest of honor through a series of scenes and songs based on the details of their life that we get from our interview. The whole musical is made up in the moment.

No way. Really?

-Yes!

How on Earth do you do that?

- Let’s just go with magic.

Where do you perform this personalized musical?

- We come to you. We can perform on the stage of a rented theater, or we can perform in your living room, or your workplace. And anywhere in between.

What’s the music like? What style?

- It can be anything our extremely versatile and talented pianist is inspired to play - broadway, rock and roll, blues, doo wop, salsa, jazz, opera, you name it. We don’t plan anything, so the music is inspired by the magic that is happening on stage.

What if my life isn’t that interesting?

- First of all, that’s impossible. You’re a living, breathing human being with hopes and dreams and fears and opinions and there is no one like you in the whole universe. It may not seem interesting to you, but we’ll find out what makes your story fascinating, and we’ll display it proudly.

Is your show family-friendly?

- It can be, depending on your needs. We are equally comfortable performing for mature audiences and all-ages audiences.

How many performers will turn up at my party?

- A standard TIYL Musical features 5 actors and one pianist.

Where am I going to get a piano?

- We can bring our own. If you have a piano already and you’re happy with us using it, we can do that instead.

Can I book TIYL for a surprise party?

- Of course! Our lips are sealed.

Can I book TIYL for a surprise show, at a party the guest-of-honor already knows about?

- Yes! We can even pretend to be party-guests or event staff and mill about inconspicuously. We can also set up our keyboard right before the performance while the guest-of-honor is distracted.

How do you get the information about my life?

- You are our main character. The inspiration for our show is taken from an interview we conduct at the start of your show. We don’t do any research about you beforehand, so the only information we use for your musical will be volunteered by you.

What about private information? Are you guys going to reveal something I want to keep secret?

- No. When we interview you, your friends and family will be there and we may ask them if there’s anything else about you that they’d like to see in your musical - but that’s all. Our show is about celebrating your life!

Can you do children’s parties?

- Yes!

What if my child is too young to have a story to tell?

- Everyone’s got a story. Even without a long history, we can have a lot of fun with the relationships your child has to family and friends - we can even take your child into the future, following his/her hopes and dreams, depending on what they share in the interview!

Can you do musicals for couples, rather than just one person?

- Yes! We love performing musicals at anniversary parties and weddings.

Can you do musicals for groups of people?

-Yes! We've all been trained at playing multiple characters in a show. The more the merrier.

My party doesn’t have any particular guest of honor, but we’d love to see an improvised musical - can you perform?

- Sure! We can do a show about anything.

Do you travel outside of New York City?

- We will travel anywhere, if our travel costs, room and board are paid for.

I saw your show and I loved it. How can I learn to do what you do?

- E-mail us. We teach classes, and private and individual workshops!

A musical all about me? How does that work?

This Is Your Life: The Musical takes your life and transforms it into a larger-than-life musical - without any script or any pre-planning whatsoever. We are a group of seasoned comedic improvisers who feel that life should be celebrated, and that jazz hands are ALWAYS appropriate.

At the top of the show, we conduct a brief interview with the guest of honor. From there we jump into a full show about their life, marriage, career, or whatever it is you're celebrating! We take their stories and make them the inspiration for a show in which every scene, every song, every note, every joke is completely improvised.

Did you steal a pack of gum when you were 7? Get ready for a song about it. Did you meet your partner while cave diving in New Zealand? We'll relive that moment with you (probably through some very creative dance moves). Whatever the occasion, we bring the Broadway to you, because after all, haven't we all had a moment that called for a kick-line?

At times touching, heart-warming, poignant and hilarious, a personalized musical is an unforgettable experience that you or your guest of honor will cherish forever, while your guests will thrill to the witty banter, memorable melodies and slick dance moves of our talented cast.

We're available for birthday parties, retirement parties, roasts, anniversaries, and corporate events as well - we can do a show about anyone and anything.

We are pretty portable! All we need is a plug so we can hook up our piano, and the space to play!