New musicals, plays, and youth theater.
Skyward Productions is a small theatre company that develops and stages work that has never been seen before — we seek out the inventive, the whimsical, the hilarious and the irreverent.
Productions
A sold-out rock parody, a family fable about light getting in, three ten-minute musicals for young performers — and the shows that got us here.
The Pumpkin Kid
Historic Elitch Theatre · 4600 W 37th Place, Denver
An orphan boy with a wagon of misshapen pumpkins stops to visit his cranky neighbors: a surly blacksmith, a disillusioned woodcarver, and a grief-stricken tailor. Each lends him a discarded tool — an old saw, a broken spoon, a twisted hat pin — and with these he carves something exquisite. What happens when those pumpkins are lit from within?
"Sometimes, a tiny pinhole is all it takes for the light to find its way in."
First presented at the SoHo Playhouse, New York City, 2023.
- Sat. Oct. 3, 202611am & 1pm
- Sun. Oct. 4, 20261pm
- Sat. Oct. 10, 202611am & 1pm
- Sun. Oct. 11, 20261pm
Maude Carpenter's The Thing
A rock concert parody · Audience Choice Award, Musical Theatre
When a severe snowstorm traps students at a private all-girls school, Maude Carpenter — an eccentric misfit — convinces the other girls to stage her unhinged rock-musical parody of John Carpenter's 1982 cult classic. What starts as a way to pass the time mutates into a loud, rebellious, theatrical uprising.
Original songs, electric guitars, and a live band featuring all-female pop punk band Battle Pussy.
"This was the best show I saw at fringe this year. Loved the music and songs. Great acting. Fun concept." — Katie B
Bijou and the ‘Bots
Book and lyrics by Jeff LaGreca · in association with Gentile Entertainment Group
“A Musical Fable”
A classic musical fable about a character named Bijou and a crew of ‘bots.
It didn’t begin as a play. LaGreca was hired to adapt an existing animation treatment into a full-scale live musical, working with the original composer to keep the score intact while writing an entirely new script, pacing, and staging structure for a live theatre space.
How it reached the stage
- Summer 2012Anthony Gentile and the Gentile Entertainment Group launch a public Kickstarter to finance a formal workshop production.
- Late fall 2012The first workshop is planned for New York City — the show’s blueprint, with creator Jeff LaGreca directing his own book and lyrics in front of a live audience.
- Oct. 2015Broadway actress Taylor Richardson (Annie, A Christmas Memory) joins the industry readings as Bijou, with young performers Analise Scarpaci (Matilda, A Christmas Story) and Zoe Wilson (Three Days to See) joining the cast.
Gargoyle Garden
A family musical · libretto by Jeff LeGreca, music by Allen Schulz
A creepy-cool musical for warped and wayward children. Poor little Edgar Allen Dinsmore — a boy who likes bugs, skulls, and rat jerky — doesn't fit in at school, so he spends his days on the roof with the gargoyles. Then a mysterious party invitation arrives, and he's not the only one on the guest list.
Successful Off Broadway run at 45 Bleecker Street Theater.
Minimum Wage
The BurgerBoy acappella musical · created by Charlie LaGreca & Jeff LaGreca
Employees of a Big Brother-style fast food chain must initiate the audience into the wonders of hamburgerology — learn the art of spatulary, debate the finer points of Post-Mustardism, and avoid the pitfalls of bathroom duty. It's "Fast Food Nation" as if it were performed by the Marx Brothers and Bobby McFerrin, sung entirely a cappella.
Born at the New York International Fringe Festival before opening Off Broadway at Theaters at 45 Bleecker Street, with songs by Sean Altman and the LaGreca Brothers, direction by Guy Stroman, and a cast — Jeff & Charlie LaGreca, Tony Daussat, Elena M. Schloss, and Bill Caleo — whose harmonies have turned up on Nickelodeon, the Food Network, Fox, and Comedy Central.
Jose Valdez: La Vida en Valor
A one-act play by Jeff LaGreca
The true story of Private First Class Jose F. Valdez — a ranch kid from Gobernador, New Mexico, who enlisted in 1944 and, on January 25, 1945, near Bennwihr station in France, volunteered to cover his patrol’s withdrawal under heavy fire. Wounded, he “delivered a protective screen of bullets” that let his comrades get clear. He died of his wounds three weeks later, aged 20, and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1946.
Commissioned by Valdez Elementary School in Denver, Colorado, and written to be staged for young audiences.
For young performers
Three original ten-minute musicals written for youth companies — short enough to mount in a classroom, big enough to fill a house.
The Cardboard Kingdom
Kids in a cardboard tent city pass the time with Greek myths — a Minotaur, two hungry strangers, a goat named Genevieve — until they are forced to leave their unsheltered community.
The Sound of Music and Zombies!
The hills are alive — with the undead. Nuns, note-reading, and a very large house full of guests who would very much like to come in.
Star Wars Jr., the Musical Parody
A galaxy far, far away, recast with the youngest crew in the house. Lightsabers, full choruses, and a rebel princess who leads the charge.
What we make
Three strands, one company: original musicals, new plays, and young people making their own work.
New Musicals
Original books, lyrics, and scores developed in the room — workshops, table reads, and staged readings with live musicians until the songs earn their place.
New Plays
Bold scripts from emerging and established writers, given a stage, a cast, and an audience while the work is still finding its shape.
Youth Theater
Young performers write, build, and star in their own work — real productions, real audiences, and a mentor beside them the whole way.
Bring The Pumpkin Kid to your stage
Licensing is open to schools and community theaters. This family-friendly fall fable comes with scripts, music, and support from the creators themselves.
Ask about licensingHelp new work take flight
Buy a ticket, enroll a young performer, or become a patron — every seat filled keeps new stories rising.
Join the audience