ONE WAY
Music & BOOK by BEN BONNEMA
BOOK & Lyrics by CHRISTOPHER STASKEL
When Naomi becomes a finalist for the first one-way mission to Mars, she must choose: pursue her ambition or stay on Earth with the woman she loves.
With a soaring, contemporary score, One Way is a moving portrait of how our choices affect those closest to us.
Check out the show’s website: onewaymusical.com
The opening number of our show. We see Naomi applying for Fourth Planet, a global space agency that plans to put the first four-person crew on Mars as the start of a permanent human settlement. Amidst thousands of other applicants, Naomi considers the one thing she may not be able to give up: her partner, Elaine.
The second song in the show. Naomi has just found out that she’s a finalist for the first ever one-way Mars mission. The final interviews are in Norway, so Naomi tears off to find her passport. Elaine, knowing exactly where the passport is, pulls it out and considers sabotage.
When Sven, one of the other finalists, is asked if he’s prepared to leave his loved ones behind, we see him and his wife Ingrid discussing it honestly and practically. Only when they hash out the details of what his absence would mean, including missing his children’s life moments, does Sven reconsider.
Sven has resolved to withdraw his Fourth Planet application, unable to imagine life without his wife and children. He hands Naomi a copy of his letter, hoping that she, too, will drop out. The candidates contemplate the nebulous concept of “home.”
Halfway through the show, Naomi is offered a spot on Crew One and she accepts. She goes to the Arctic for an intense, months-long training simulation. To mimic conditions on Mars, an artificial 40-minute delay is placed on all incoming and outgoing messages. Elaine and Naomi try to make it work.
As the training simulation wears on and the day of the launch approaches, Elaine begins to let go as Naomi desperately holds on tighter. Home alone, Elaine struggles to fill her days.
The final number in the show. Naomi has been offered a spot on the first crew that's going to Mars and not coming back. Initially unsure if she can leave her partner, Naomi ultimately accepts the offer. She doesn't know how to say goodbye to Elaine, so instead they go outside and stargaze.
Developmental History
6 July 2015
A reading of the first act presented at The Musical Theatre Factory. Directed by Jorge Lopez. Music Direction by Heath Saunders. Dramaturgical Assistance by Natasha Sinha (LCT3).
30-31 May 2016
A reading at Playwrights Horizons via The Musical Theatre Factory's Developmental Residency Program. Directed by Kirsten Sanderson (First Daughter's Suite).
August 2017
We were selected from over 100 applications to receive a weeklong residency at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat in August 2017.
“From Page To Stage,” a new theatre festival at The Other Place theatre in London, selected “One Way” from over 300 applications to present thirty minutes of material in August 2017.
January-February 2018
Chris and Ben spent two weeks at the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, developing the show.
June 2019
Chris and Ben spent one week at the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriting Project at Northwestern University, writing and rewriting songs from the show
October 2019
“One Way” was presented as part of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 31st annual Festival of New Musicals, held October 24 and 25 at New World Stages (dir. Arpita Mukherjee).
Selections from the show were presented at the John F. Kennedy Center in D.C.
November 2020
“One Way” writers Ben Bonnema and Christopher Staskel were presented with the Fred Ebb Award for their work on the show.
May 2022
As part of the Fred Ebb Award, the Manhattan School of Music produced a five-week workshop of ONE WAY (directed by Shakina Nayfack), culminating in three public performances.