Listen to the Cast Album
ABOUT
With book, music, and lyrics by Alex Wyse (Indoor Boys) and Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), this show follows two nobodies who dream of writing one hit song for everybody, but their day job composing jingles for commercials isn't the big break they hoped. That is, until they're plucked from obscurity by a world-famous pop star named Regina Comet (if destiny had a child, it would be her) who wants them to create an anthem for her supernova pipes... and her new perfume. They're so close to the big-time they can smell it, but following your passion doesn't always lead where you expect. Making a hit song can be a shit-show.
A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet opened its limited engagement at Off-Broadway's DR2 Theatre in September 2021. The creative team consisted of Marshall Pailet (Director), Drama Desk Award winner Stephanie Klemons (Choreography), Lucille Lortel Award nominee Wilson Chin (Scenic Design), Antonyo Award winner Sarita Fellows (Costume Design), Aja M. Jackson (Lighting Design), Twi McCallum (Sound Design), Alex Goldie Golden (Music Director), Hannah Woodward (Production Stage Manager) and was produced by Cody Lassen, Kate Cannova, Fever, Sue Gilad and Larry Rogowsky, Chaz Naor, Jamie deRoy/Luigi Caiola, Samantha Squeri, David Lipowicz, Brad Blume, Jo-Ann Dean, Wayne H. Holland, III, Jamie Joeyen-Waldorf, Robert Laurita, Benny Lumpkins Jr., Philip Makara, and Raindrop Valley.
"...a comical new work filled with heart and tunes that will be stuck in your head for days to come."
Kobi Kassal
Theatrely
FROM THE CREATORS
Our real-life friendship goes back over twenty years, and it’s impossible to count how many times we’ve jammed out at the piano or cracked ourselves up ’til dawn. And after so long in this business that made us feel like we had to constantly ask for permission, we realized we could say yes to ourselves and put our two-plus decades of jam sessions and cracking up to good use.
So we wrote about a women who was told she’d aged out, right when she was as talented and capable as she’d ever been. We wrote about two friends who have something to learn about showing up for each other. And we wrote about three people who felt burdened by permission, each in need of connection, each searching for their place in the world.
The show is our love letter to Barry Manilow, jingle writing, Jewish summer camps, khaki pants, astrophysics, magic, and the hottest vegan nightspot in the Meatpacking District.
But it also carries a deeper message about friendship, creativity, feminism, ageism, finding oneself, and embracing collaboration. And lasers. There are so many lasers.
ALEX WYSE
Book, Lyrics, & Music
Alex Wyse is the co-writer/star of off-Broadway’s A Commercial Jingle For Regina Comet, co-creator/star of the Emmy-nominated “Indoor Boys,” and co-director/writer of the feature film, Summoning Sylvia. As an actor, he has appeared on and off Broadway, on TV, and in film.
Some of his notable acting credits include Good Night Oscar, Waitress, Spring Awakening, "Iron Fist," "Masters of Sex," and "Bored to Death." He was also a co-producer on What the Constitution Means to Me. He received his BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University.
BEN FANKHAUSER
Book, Lyrics, & Music
Ben Fankhauser is an Actor, Writer, and Educator from Cleveland Ohio, and the co-creator/star of off-Broadway’s A Commercial Jingle For Regina Comet. On Broadway, he originated the role of Davey in Disney’s Newsies.
He has also performed in the first national tours of Spring Awakening, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and numerous regional theaters all over the country. Television credits include The Deuce, FBI: Most Wanted, and Indoor Boys. He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Ithaca College.
