Back in early 2015, I had long been caring for my ailing mom. Around the same time, Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree was celebrating its 50th anniversary. With such a universal message, I couldn’t possibly be the only one who related to it.

That’s when it dawned on me. I could combine my personal journey with some of the adapted themes from the story to really express what I was going through—in the only way I knew how: artistically. I was determined to come up with an updated version that gave both characters a voice, in which the tree could first ask “Why?” instead of just continually give.

And turning it into a fairytale made perfect sense. A classic children’s story with adult lessons to serve them lifelong, paired with my lifelong passion for children’s theatre and my vast experience in puppets and mask design . . . The mythical characters immediately came to life in my mind, yet remained grounded in the reality all around me. 

Taking Wing started its journey as a 20-minute play called “Wings of Friendship.” After several revisions, it was ultimately accepted and performed at the New York New Works Theater Festival in the summer of 2016, where it made the semifinal round.

Confident we had a true gem on our hands, we proceeded with the original intention to develop it into a musical. After three more table readings, a full 90-minute festival staging of Taking Wing the musical was performed at the Duke Theatre in New York in the fall of 2017.

The following February, selected songs from the show were performed by Broadway professionals as part of a musical revue at 54 Below, as well as at Times Square’s Peace Day soon after. That spring, the fantastical costumes—complete with fiber-optic wings—were included as part of an event for New York’s 2018 Fashion Week.

Having some familiarity with virtual/augmented reality from my experience with producers on Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, we expanded plans to incorporate more special effects and VR/AR. I continued to learn all I could about the industry as a whole—from attending classes and seminars to conventions such as Digital Hollywood (in New York and L.A.) and VR/AR events, as well as children’s film festivals.

Over the next couple years, I met with several different technology companies, based domestically and abroad. With buzz building and connections catching on, I was offered the ultimate honor to head a panel discussion at Broadway Con in January 2020. What a dream come true! That rippled into several other interviews through 2021, including Emileena Pedigo’s “The Show Goes On” podcast, “Another Way,” “Thank you, Mr. Rogers,” and Tracy Swedlow’s “TelevisionNation.”

Through it all, the Taking Wing script has continued to evolve and improve, even during the Covid pandemic. Now a 90-minute drama without music, our wonderful collaborative team is ready to bring “The Land of Emimencia” into the fascinating world of fantastical fandom. . . . And with the wholehearted endorsement of the “Theatremakers Studio”—who honored us as Best Play of their 2021 reading series—we can’t wait to take full flight!

The enchanting virtual realm will serve as our “out-of-town tryout.” Then, as an established hit, Taking Wing will once again become the musical it was meant to be all along. The excitement around this project is pulsating—augmented reality, immersive reality, green screening, and video mapping are absolutely what’s next in the live entertainment world. So when it moves to Broadway, with supremely talented performers on stage, Taking Wing will be the first to blaze that trail . . . all the way to “Vroadway”!