Unearthing the music of Wilbur Weissman – a brilliant songwriter who faded into obscurity long before his time, The Forgotten Songbook will be presented in a world premiere season at Chapel Off Chapel from 25 – 27 July 2025.
When twenty-three-year-old historian and composer Emerson Hurley first encountered the music of Broadway composer Wilbur Weissman, he was astonished to find that almost no information about this once-famous songsmith was publicly available.
Once at the heart of Tin Pan Alley in the Thirties and Forties, it seemed that Weissman, like many of his contemporaries, had fallen into complete obscurity.
Leading a passion project combining his love of music and history, Hurley is thrilled to be bringing Weissman’s work to the stage for the first time in decades. Fans of classic musical theatre will adore this charming collection of forgotten tunes from Broadway’s Golden Age.
Alongside a new book, the product of painstaking research, and presented with humour and sensitivity, the music of The Forgotten Songbook makes a heart warming case for one overlooked artist’s reintegration into the musical theatre canon.
Directed by Mikey Halcrow, The Forgotten Songbook will be performed by veterans of Melbourne musical theatre, Karla Hillam and Jonathan Guthrie Jones, with Hurley on the piano.
The Forgotten Songbook
The Loft – Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran
Performance: 25 – 27 July 2025
Information and Bookings: www.chapeloffchapel.com.au
Image: Jonathan Guthrie Jones, Emerson Hurley and Karla Hillam – photo by Kris Wardhana