Brace Yourself: A Musical Apocalypse

Today’s the day! Holly is finally going to get her braces off! And Holly’s older sister, Amber, her sister’s girlfriend, Nell, and her best friend, Paul, all have big things going on, too! Oh, and scientists are going to blow up an incoming asteroid! But… that’s not as important right now!

Sadly, things don’t go quite as planned after the scientists’ attempt to stop a global apocalypse ends up bringing it about sooner. So Holly convinces Amber, Nell, and Paul to go on a quest to make it to her appointment so she can have her braces removed, and prove that life can go on as normal.

But normal is different now.

Through absurd trials and tribulations, Holly and her friends learn to come to terms with themselves and the realities of the end of the world.

"Brace Yourself: A Musical Apocalypse" was originally devised as a thesis project in New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch School of the Arts from July 2023 to May 2024. During that process, the show first had a staged reading of its first 45 minutes, followed by other workshop opportunities such as a two-day workshop directed by Zoë Adams and music directed by James Olmstead, a Winter Workshop with Jonathan Bernstein featuring Jen Colella as a performer, a collaboration with NYU’s New Studio on Broadway with director Kent Gash, and a week-long writing retreat at Goodspeed Opera House in Haddam, CT.

The program culminated in a staged reading of the full piece, as well as a performance of the song “Like You” at Joe’s Pub in June 2024.

Since then, "Brace Yourself" has gone on to be featured in cabaret performances at PinkFrog Cafe (Breaking Sound, December 2024) and 54 Below (A Night Of New Work By Tisch’s Musical Theatre Writing Program’s Latest Grads, March 2025). The show has also had two staged readings, one at The Tank (Limefest, August 2024) and the other at The Media Theatre in Philadelphia, PA (Theatre on the Verge, April 2025).