Musicals
Princess Ten Ten and the Dark Skies (Libretto & Co-Lyrics) - The first book in the Guardian Princess Alliance series is also the first to receive a stage adaptation! Co-produced by the GPA and University of California Riverside's Asian-American empowerment theater company "Model Minority," UCR described "Ten Ten" as "the first musical featuring the first pan-Asian gender non-conforming superheroine" princess. Ten Ten teaches children valuable lessons about being true to themselves, as well as the importance of clean energy and environmentalism. Workshopped at UCR in 2017 and again in 2018, with a full production planned for 2019. Music and Lyrics by Jackie Emerson (actress, The Hunger Games), additional lyrics by Jillie Mae Eddy. VISIT: http://guardianprincesses.org/
NBC article on the musical: "Stereotype-Defying Princess Project Expansion Takes Stories from Page to Stage" Featured on television on L.A.'s Kababayan Today.
Loch Lomond (Libretto & Lyrics)– The Highlander uprising of 1745. Two Scottish brothers are thrown into an English prison and faced with an impossible choice: at dawn, one of them will be put to death, the other sent home to their town near LOCH LOMOND... and the decision as to who will live and who will die is cruelly left in their own hands. Against the ticking clock, the brothers try to mend a lifetime of differences as they reconcile their desire for Scottish freedom with their love for the women and home left behind. Featured as a National
Alliance for Musical Theater (NAMT) "Show You Should Know" in 2016 & 2018. Loch Lomond had a 2016 workshop directed by Jeff Whiting (Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway) and will have a regional premiere at the Broadway Rose in Portland, Oregon in October 2020.
Between Gods and Kings (Book & Lyrics) - A punk-rock adaptation of Euripides' The Bacchae. Two long lost cousins, the unyielding king Pentheus and a vengeful god Dionysus, battle to hold power over their kingdom. The king's strong-willed mother, Agave, and the people of Thebes are caught in the crossfire of this epic battle. The weekly production unfolded immersively every Thursday night at BEDLAM BAR in the East Village during the Spring of 2019
as a site-specific piece. Conceived by Neil Douglas Reilly and Austin Ruffer. Music and Lyrics By Neil Douglas Reilly. Book and Lyrics by Austin Ruffer and Maggie Herskowitz. Interview with Neil and Maggie: "Ancient Greek Tragedy with Punk Rock Twist" comes to the East Village"
The Edelweiss Pirates (Book & Lyrics) - In Germany, 1939, the friendship between a member of the Hitler Youth and her Jewish best friend is tested as the laws restricting the freedom of the Jewish people become more and more severe. Finally driven to action by the tragic events of Kristallnacht, the girls join a group of teenagers who are determined to fight against the Nazis however they can. Commissioned by the Northeast Children's Theater Company and directed by Michael Berry ("Stuck," "Frontera"). Her work on the piece earned Herskowitz a scholarship from the CANDLES Foundation to tour Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland with a survivor of Dr. Mengele's twin experiments.
The Boy, The King, and The Flower (Book & Lyrics) – David is not like the other children. He’s kind and honest but he doesn’t fit in – so he spends most of his time talking to his flowers! When the King announces that he will choose an heir to the royal throne via a gardening competition, it seems like David’s proverbial green thumb will finally pay off. But when his flower refuses to grow for the first time ever, David has to make a difficult choice between doing what is easy and doing what is right. An excerpt from The Boy, The King, and The Flower was selected out of a large pool of submissions to be performed at the Off-Broadway 47th Street Theater as part of the 2014 Sound Bites festival.
Mina and the Monster (Book & Lyrics) - A folk Baltic-inspired score serves to tell the story of Mina Harker, the woman who uncovers the mystery of the vampire in the novel Dracula and ultimately leads the team of her friends to Dracula's destruction. Featuring a ten-person cast of actor-musicians each playing multiple roles, Mina and the Monster is an exciting new piece with music by Evan Rees (conductor/pianist Into the Woods West End & National Tour).
Musical Chairs (Libretto & Lyrics) - A stage-adaptation of the film Musical Chairs, notable (among other things) for being one of the first films to feature Laverne Cox ("Orange is the New Black") in a large role. Directed by Academy Award-nominee Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan), the film tells the story of two dancers from opposite sides of the tracks who must come together to explore a new art form after a tragic accident leaves one of them wheelchair-bound. A celebration of diversity and triumph over hardship, Musical Chairs sheds light on the fascinating and inspiring field of wheelchair dancing through a compelling love story. Music by Neil Douglas Reilly.
Film
The Un-Eff-Able Sam Bistritzky (Screenplay) - There are many things that set 22-year-old Samantha apart from her peers - her obsessive affection for her pet rodents, her non-stop fantasizing about her future Pulitzer Prize acceptance speeches, and - most cumbersome and isolating of all - her perpetual virginity. When she finds her writing career stalled due to an inability to write romance, Sam decides to handle the problem once and for all by sleeping with someone - anyone - to whom she's even remotely attracted. Considering that sexual attraction is a basic human instinct . . . it's a task that turns out to be shockingly hard, leading Sam on a series of misadventures that ultimately lead her to revelations about herself that she didn't even know she was looking for. Honorable mention at ZedFest and Elite Prize Winner in Filmmakers' International Screenwriting Awards.
Smile (Lyrics) - A sweet short film that illustrates a little girl's use of music to cope with her father's depression, Smile was a finalist in the Kansas City Women in Film & Television / KCFilmFest Screenplay Contest and the Nashville Film Festival and features three original songs with lyrics by Herskowitz. See teaser trailer here
Mullholand the Musical (Lyrics) - Scandals. Sex. Screenplays. It’s all part of the raucous world of the Hollywood elite as told by the screenplay by Sarah Phillips of Phileon Productions. Following in the tradition of cinema and modern musicals, Mulholland uses a combination of pop, rock, and pastiche music to tell the story of the most epic party ever to rock the hills.
Murray Ghost (Lyrics - "Stick Around") - A man's mysterious death becomes more mysterious when his spirit is unable to pass on to the next world, keeping him trapped in limbo. End credit song by Maggie Herskowitz, music by four-time Emmy award-winner Leonard Wolf.
Straight Plays
The Great Big Blue (Author) – Three generations struggle to come to terms with the matriarch's Alzheimer's disorder in this heartbreaking and funny exploration of memory and the role it plays in family relationship. Developed in part during a 2016 Drama League Residency.
A Happy Occasion (Author) – A hardened lawyer comes home to her Southern family and walks into a surprise baby shower at which she must deliver some unpleasant news. 2020 Los Angeles Workshop.
"The Maid and the Chorus Are Alive" in Alcestis: A Tragiquilt (Author & Actress - "Maid") – Alcestis: A Tragiquilt is an adaptation of Euripides's Alcestis, divided between half a dozen interdisciplinary artists who created everything from ballets to sound instillation to folk music. "The Maid and The Chorus Are Alive" retells a moment from the play in which the Chorus approaches the Maid to learn about the fate of her mistress, Alcestis. The one-act provides a surrealist take on this moment through a modern, comedic lens. Alcestis: A Tragiquilt was workshopped on Governor's Island courtesy of the Public Works Department Sanctuary City residency July 2017.
Wellness (Author) – A take on the Shakespeare classic "All's Well That Ends Well" set in a treatment center for teenage girls recovering from trauma. Semi-finalist in the American Shakespeare Center's Shakespeare's New Contemporaries competition.
Fitzwilliam Loves Lizzy (Author & Actress - "Lizzy") – An adaptation of Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" set in modern-day London. Produced at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre in 2013 with Herskowitz in the title role of Elizabeth Bennett.