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The Hard Part of Musicals (Made Easy)
Learn proven strategies to regain clarity and momentum in your musical.
Class Description
IMPORTANT: Please note that this class runs on an accelerated schedule, meeting twice weekly (Mondays and Thursdays) over six weeks, for a total of ten sessions. Instructor: Daniel Lazour (The Lazours) Semester: Spring 2026 Sessions: 10 Sessions/6 Weeks New Students: $400 Returning PlayPenn or DGI Students: $350 Foundry or Entrepreneur Members: $320 DGI Certificate Students: $320 Have you written a killer opening number for your new musical, but you can’t figure out what comes next? Did your first act close brilliantly, but are you're now struggling to open act two? Getting unstuck when you’re not quite sure which direction to go can be a difficult process. Study with Daniel Lazour, a Richard Rodgers and Stephen Schwartz Award–winning musical theatre writer, member of The Lazours, and co-creator of "We Live in Cairo" (New York Theatre Workshop) and "Night Side Songs" (Lincoln Center Theater/Philadelphia Theatre Company), and learn new strategies and techniques to help get you past the sticking place and move your work into exciting directions. Week 1: Process, Practice and Where You Are Week 2: Creative Habits and Sustainability Week 3: Collaboration Week 4: How to Articulate the Work: Pitches and Synopses Week 5: Inspiration Beyond Musical Theatre Week 6: When Songs Stall Week 7: When Story Loses Momentum Week 8: When Character Isn’t Clear Week 9: Musical Perspective and Orchestration Week 10: Integration, Reflection, and Next Steps Daniel Lazour is a musical theater composer. Projects include: "We Live in Cairo" (American Repertory Theater/New York Theatre Workshop - Directed by Taibi Magar), "Night Side Songs" (LCT3 at Lincoln Center Theatre 2026 - Directed by Taibi Magar), a stage adaptation of the Ritesh Batra's film "The Lunchbox" (Berkeley Repertory Theater 2026 - Directed by Rachel Chavkin), and a movie musical "Challenger: An American Dream". He received a B.A. in music from Columbia University. He plays guitar, piano, and tin whistle and releases music regularly with his brother, Patrick under the name ofThe Lazours. @frereslazour
Enrollment Policies (Time Zones, Payment Plans, and Refunds)
ONLINE SCHEDULES & TIME ZONES: Most of our classes are offered online and open to participants worldwide. Our website automatically displays class start times based on your device’s current location, so you will always see the correct time no matter where you are. If you are traveling for work or personal reasons, please verify the local time shown on your device on this registration page before joining the class. For example, if a class begins at 7:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time (ET), it will appear as 4:00 PM PT when viewed from the U.S. West Coast, or 11:00 AM the next day if you are in Sydney, Australia. Many of our instructors are based in the U.S. Eastern Time (ET) zone, but not all. Once again, please double-check the local time shown on your device on this registration page before joining the class if you are traveling. IN-PERSON SCHEDULES & TIME ZONES: If the class is held in person, please note that the start time is based on the time zone of the city where the class takes place. If you book the class while traveling, be sure to use the class’s local time zone rather than the time zone of your current location. CLASS LINK: The hyperlink to join your respective online class(es) will be emailed to you separately from your class registration confirmation, closer to the first session. PAYMENT PLANS: PlayPenn believes that cost should never be a barrier to learning. Flexible payment plans are available, and we’re happy to work with students to find a solution that fits your needs. To inquire about setting up a payment plan, please email using the form on the Upcoming Class main page. REFUND POLICY: At PlayPenn, we are proud to collaborate with exceptional artists who generously make time in their busy schedules to teach our classes. In addition, to ensure a high-quality, personalized experience, we keep class sizes intentionally small. In order to offer a small-group class experience and pay our professional instructors consistently, please note all sales are final and tuition is not refundable. PlayPenn is not able to offer a voucher/credits towards a future purchase. Please consider this before making your purchase. Please visit our Refund Policy webpage to learn more about our other policies.
Class Schedule
Learn More About Your Instructor
Our teaching artists are all working professional writers—award-winning playwrights and musical theatre creators—who bring real-world experience, insight, and passion to every session.
Get to know our artists by clicking a name below to read their full bio.
