A theatrical film of a new musical
Book, lyrics, and music by Veronica Mansour '21
Directed by Matt Hawkins
An Old Family Recipe was developed in FTT's New Works Lab course, taught by Matt Hawkins, during the fall 2020 semester. The cast rehearsed on Zoom in January, in person (while masked and distanced) in February, and filmed during March and early April. Since University protocols prohibit unmasked indoor singing, all of the songs were recorded individually in the studio prior to filming.
An Old Family Recipe follows the story of Toni, a young woman struggling with depression and anxiety. When Toni’s grandmother dies, she is left with only uncertainty, especially when a recipe book is left on her doorstep. Toni must learn to navigate relationships in her life (both past and present) in order to discover who she really is, and the life she wants to lead. With the help of her therapist, her energetic coworkers, a quirky mailman, and her *cough* dead ancestors who show up at her door, Toni must learn how to make connections with people, making hard choices that move her toward the life she wants to lead when she most feels like running away. An Old Family Recipe is a musical about learning how to connect with people…about facing others when we’re at our worst, but more than that, about facing ourselves. How can we all, during the times when we feel the most alone, open our eyes to see what is right in front of us? How can we stop running away from what we have to offer, and move towards the people we have always had the potential to be?
