The Toucan Man

Words by Teresa Lotz
Music by Jesse Goldman

The Toucan Man is a jazz/folk music-theatre piece about Dane Whitlow, the Mayor of Newspork, who is in the midst of a hotly contested reelection campaign when he realizes that he is turning into a toucan. He faces his changing body and his changing relationship with the town of Newspork, his pregnant wife, Cici Thompson, a spunky science teacher with a rocking edge, his right-hand man and best friend, Greg Peters, and his not-so-beloved pet cat, Colette. As Dane becomes more “toucan,” he becomes drawn to a group of toucans at the Newspork zoo. He is forced to choose between a life with the humans he loves in a town he calls home and a life with the birds he looks and feels more and more like every day.

The Toucan Man received a professional reading, directed by Brandon Ivie, music directed by Daniel Sefik at New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program in April 2013. It is currently in development with an anticipated reading in Spring or Summer of 2014.