FOLLOW BOLEYN

BOLEYN is a new musical currently being developed in New York City. With music and lyrics by Jessy Tomsko and book by Steve Tomsko, it tells the story of Anne Boleyn - one of England's most famous (and infamous) queens, second wife to Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. 

While Anne Boleyn has been villainized in the past, we are presenting her in a new light, placing her as the protagonist in her own story, as a woman who was determined to control her own fate. She was a free-thinking, highly intelligent and powerful woman, far ahead of her time, and in the end she paid the ultimate price for exercising her strength and courage in a world ruled by men. Through the story, we experience the shift from Catholicism to the Church of England, as Henry’s love for Anne inspires him to take all measures possible to annul his marriage to Katherine. Through it all, Anne was an active player in her destiny, and her refusal to be a mistress was radical in a time when Kings were expected to have multiple mistresses, and it was not wise to say no to the King. Anne envisioned herself as a political force, and her interest in the King was driven by love, ambition, and radical ideas for a new way of governing. The nature of her tragic downfall set forth by Henry and his advisors -- the twisting of truth and propagandist lies for political gain -- is sadly not all too foreign from what we are experiencing today. 

We envision the musical coming to life as a meshing of past and present - a sort of "folky guitar meets harpsichord" blend that carries this 500 year old story through the centuries right into our present day. We as a team are now currently in the early development process of getting this show on its feet, having finally arrived at a full working draft after a three year writing process. Stay tuned for developments as we move forward!

JESSY TOMSKO (Composer, Lyricist)
Jessy is a composer, singer/songwriter, vocal coach, and music teacher in NYC. She has shared the stage with such notable artists as Dar Williams, Joan Osborne, Loudon Wainwright, James McCartney, and Edwin McCain, and she has independently released several full albums, EPs, and singles, all of which are available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, etc. Jessy has been a featured performer with Sesame Street’s Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, both live and in her digital series, she has been a soloist at Carnegie Hall, and in 2019 she was assistant music and vocal director on Sesame Street and Apple TV’s new series Helpsters. Jessy co-founded NYC semi-professional a cappella group The Lost Keys, and she was a featured vocalist on October Project's Book of Rounds, which was recorded at Yale University. B.M. Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Vocal Performance (Summa Cum Laude, Rider University Scholar). While at Westminster, she founded the school's first pop a cappella group The Deaftones, which still exists today. She created the concept for Boleyn, and is writing the music and lyrics. 

STEVE TOMSKO (Bookwriter)
Steve Tomsko has been a devoted writer and a dedicated student of history for most of his life, ever since his college days where he was immersed in Shakespeare and Hemingway. Though he has spent his working career as an Information Technology professional, he has never lost his desire nor his dedication to write and to learn and to bring those passions together in historical fiction. He has had short stories published in literary magazines, and continues to merge his writing aspirations and interest in history with a goal of leaving the “world of IT” far behind and living the dream of a being a successful writer.

MIA WALKER (Director)
Mia is an NYC-based writer/director/producer who works in multimedia from film and TV to theater and live arts. She was selected as TV Directing Fellow by the Drama League, for which she shadowed Director/Producer Tom Verica on the Shondaland/ABC show For The People, and Mia is currently developing a new musical digital series. Mia directed the short film Not Cool, which premiered at Soho Film Fest, and she is currently in pre-production for a short film she is directing called Pippi. Broadway/National Tour credits include: Associate Director, Jagged Little Pill (on Broadway); Tour Director, Finding Neverland and the recent National Tour of Pippin; Assistant Director on Waitress (Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. B.A. Harvard University, concentration in Film Studies and Production (Magna Cum Laude, John Harvard Scholar, Louis Sudler Prize Talent in the Arts for Directing, Women's Leadership Award, Carol Pforzheimer Fellowship). At Harvard, Mia founded On Harvard Time, the first student-run digital TV news station, that still exists today.

ADAM MICHAEL KAUFMAN (Orchestrator, Arranger, Music Director)
BROADWAY: Waitress (Associate Music Supervisor/keyboards), 13 The Musical (keyboards), Pippin (sub musician), Book Of Mormon (rehearsal pianist), BCEFA Gypsy Of The Year/Easter Bonnet Opening Number (Orchestrations), TV/FILM: From Broadway With Love PBS (co-orchestrator), The Last Five Years (rehearsal pianist). OFF-BROADWAY: Hamilton (rehearsal pianist), Piece Of My Heart (Associate Music Director), Foreverman (co-orchestrator. 2012 Outstanding Orchestrations NYMF), Normativity (Music Supervision/Orchestrations NYMF). CONCERTS/BENEFITS: You Gotta Believe (Orchestrations for Darren Criss & Seth Rudetsky), Carols For A Cure (Orchestrations/Vocal Arrangements for Sara Bareilles’ song, Love Is Christmas).