He’s the most famous man you’ve never heard of.
In the 1850s John Banvard did more to elevate fine arts than any single American artist before him. Banvard was the most famous living painter in the world and the first millionaire artist, world-renowned for his three-mile long moving panorama celebrating the majesty of the Mighty Mississippi. Today an examination of reference books will not turn up a single mention of his name. John Banvard, the greatest artist of his time, has been utterly obliterated by history. This musical tells his story.
Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes
*This show has no intermission

The 2017 New York Musical Festival, which runs July 10 through August 6, will bring audiences four full weeks of new musicals, concerts, readings, and panel discussions. We spoke with West Hyler (book) about his musical Georama, written with Matt Schatz (book/music/lyrics) and Jack Herrick (music/lyrics/arrangements) about the 19th century American artist John Banvard. What was the first musical that made you want to make musicals? Tommy. When I saw that, I realized musicals could be cool. They could capture the same energy of the tunes I danced to in my bedroom! Describe the sound of your musical, it’s like _____ meets ______. Big River meets Sunday in the Park with George. What spiked your interest in John Banvard? I read a short story in McSweeney’s about him, and thought his life perfectly captured the moment we were living in; he was an artist who was attacked and silenced by an ideologue more interested in alternative facts than the truth. Even though it was 1850 and he was fighting against PT Barnum, it seems ripped from today’s headlines. In your research what was the most fascinating piece of trivia you discovered about him? That he was the only American of his time who co …Read more