Celebrate the birth of the USA at Vintage Theatre on July 4th weekend

There’s no better weekend to tell a story about America finding its voice than Independence Day weekend itself. Celebrate July 4th weekend with Broadside the Musical at Vintage Theatre as this small Denver-based theatre troupe prepares to head to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Before the fireworks fade, step into Revolutionary Boston, where taverns buzz, broadsides fly, and a nation argues itself into existence.

Broadside is a messy breakup story set to music: Britain and America, once in harmony, fall out of sync in a war of words before the first musket is fired. In pre-Revolutionary Boston, broadsides were everywhere, sharp and fast, working like the first social memes, shaping public opinion overnight in taverns, streets, and meeting halls across the colonies.

Broadsides and Colonial Life in Boston

It’s the 1770's in Boston and you’re not watching history, you’re living it. The streets are alive with movement: merchants calling out prices, carriages rolling past, neighbors stopping mid-errand to talk. Everywhere you turn, broadsides are posted, tacked to tavern walls, nailed to posts, passed hand to hand, it's the original social media feed, spreading news, satire, and argument faster than any rider. Around you, colonists go about their daily lives; working, trading, debating, yet beneath it all runs a current of change, as ordinary moments quietly carry the weight of something much larger.

Broadside pinned at a colonial wash area

Before washing machines… before laundry rooms… there was the riverbank.

In Colonial America, washing clothes was often a communal task, with women gathering at local water sources like streams, rivers, or shared wells. They used flat stones and hard rock surfaces became the original washboards. Garments were soaked, scrubbed, beaten clean against the rocks, then rinsed in the flowing water.

You might find these gatherings near everyday community spaces, not far from places like Old South Meeting House, where practical work and social life overlapped. What could have been an isolating chore instead became something shared, stories exchanged, broadsides passed along, and friendships strengthened between the rhythm of scrubbing and rinsing. Hard work, certainly, but also a moment of connection.

Broadside tacked to a door of a local spinning bee

Before there were rallies in the streets, there were Spinning Bees.

In the 1760s and 1770s, as tensions with Britain grew, colonial communities gathered for these lively spinning competitions. They were part social event, part political statement with a broadside hung on the door. Women would bring their spinning wheels and raw flax or wool, competing to see who could spin the finest thread, the fastest skein, or the greatest quantity in a set time. Some events even recognized different categories: speed, strength of yarn, and overall quality. This wasn’t just craft, it was skill.

You might find a spinning bee on a village green, in a meeting house yard, or outside places like Old South Meeting House, where community and cause intertwined. These gatherings became popular for a simple, but powerful reason: they turned everyday work into collective action. By producing homespun cloth, colonists reduced reliance on British imports making spinning both a necessity and a quiet act of resistance. Add in a little friendly competition, a lot of conversation, and a shared purpose that turned into a movement.

Broadside near men playing the popular board game Nine Men’s Morris .

Before smartphones… there were boards, benches, and a handful of corn kernels.

In 1770, one of the most popular games you might stumble across in Colonial America was Nine Men’s Morris, a strategy game older than chess, simple to set up, but surprisingly cutthroat once play begins. No fancy pieces required: players often used whatever was on hand; corn kernels, pebbles, or carved scraps of wood placed carefully along the lines of a hand-drawn or carved board.

You could find a game unfolding almost anywhere: on a tavern table at the Green Dragon Tavern, scratched into a bench near Faneuil Hall, or even chalked onto a crate along the busy docks at Griffin’s Wharf. Between tankards and trade, neighbors and sometimes rivals would lean in, plotting moves, forming “mills,” and quietly competing for bragging rights.

It’s easy to imagine: the murmur of debate about liberty in the air… a broadside at the entrance and just below it, the quiet click of corn kernels sliding into place, strategy, rivalry, and community all playing out on a simple wooden board.

Broadside mounted on a horse drawn carriage

Before taxis… there were carriages.

In Colonial Boston, horse-drawn carriages served as a kind of early taxi system, but mostly for the wealthy. Known as chaises, coaches, or curricles, these rides offered speed, status, and a bit of comfort above the muddy, crowded streets. Hiring one wasn’t cheap, so most people walked, but for merchants, officials, or visiting elites, a carriage was the way to move through the city with purpose (and a little flair).

You might spot one rolling past Faneuil Hall or pulling up near Old South Meeting House with a broadside on back, wheels creaking, hooves striking the packed earth, as drivers navigated tight streets and busy markets. Not quite a taxi line, but close enough: if you had the means, you could hail a ride, sit back, and let someone else do the work; Colonial Boston style.

Broadside nailed to a pole on Griffin's Warf

Before the first shot… there was the dock.

Walk along Griffin’s Wharf in 1773 and you’d feel it. The tension, the anticipation, the low hum of something about to change. Moored nearby is the Dartmouth, heavy with East India Company tea, bound for London but caught in something far more complicated: a relationship between Britain and the colonies beginning to fracture.

Men gather in clusters, voices low but urgent; debating taxes, rights, and what “liberty” really means. The words travel fast here, from ship to shore, from whisper to argument, like the broadsides posted around town, the original social feed. Barrels, rope, salt air… and beneath it all, a sense that history is inching forward. Not with a bang just yet; but with conversation, conviction, and the quiet certainty that something has to give.

Broadside at Old South Meeting House

Before microphones… there was the meeting house.

Step inside Old South Meeting House in the early 1770s and you’d find it packed with merchants, laborers, artisans shoulder to shoulder in one of the largest indoor spaces in Boston. Originally a place of worship, it became something more: a civic gathering point where colonists came to debate, organize, and decide what came next.

They met there because they had to. The streets were too small, the moment too urgent. Notices spread by word of mouth and broadsides, calling people together to confront issues like taxation and trade. Inside, voices rose, arguments sharpened, and consensus, sometimes fragile, sometimes fierce began to form. It wasn’t quiet. It wasn’t orderly. But it was democracy in motion, built not in halls of power, but in a meeting house filled with people determined to be heard.

Broadside at Faneuil Hall open market

Before town squares… there was the market hall.

At Faneuil Hall in the 1770s, daily life unfolded in full view. The ground floor buzzed as an open-air market with vendors calling out prices, carts rolling in with goods, neighbors stopping to barter, gossip, and catch up. Above it, the meeting hall gathered the same community for speeches, debates, and decisions that would shape the future.

It was more than a building, it was the heartbeat of Boston. Commerce below, conversation above. You could buy your bread, hear the latest news, and stumble into a political debate all in the same visit. In a world before separation between public and private life, Faneuil Hall was both, where everyday routine and extraordinary moments met under one roof.

Method Composing: An approach to writing musicals

“Method Composing” is a process for writing musical theatre works, by stepping inside the world of the show before writing a single note. Inspired by Method Acting and its roots at the Actors’ Studio, the idea is simple: don’t compose about a world, compose from within it. The goal isn’t just authenticity in sound, but truth in experience. Music should feel like it belongs to the characters, the place, and the moment like it could exist even without the stage.

Eigg music ensemble with ceilidh band in Scotland

For Eigg the Musical, that meant building the score around the traditions of a ceilidh. The accordion became central, not as a stylistic choice, but as a cultural one. Writing in that style required learning how the music actually functions in a room full of dancers, how rhythm leads, how repetition invites participation, how community shapes sound. The result is a score that doesn’t imitate a ceilidh, it feels like one.

Organized Confusions performing for the New Horizons music festival

For BANNED, “Method Composing” meant stepping into the high-stakes, high-energy world of live pop performance. Learning to play in a pop band and competing in a music festival environment revealed a different musical language, one driven by immediacy, crowd response, and the pressure to win over an audience in real time. Arrangements had to hit fast, hooks had to land instantly, and performance carried as much weight as composition. That experience informed a score built on momentum, contrast, and the electric push-and-pull between performer and crowd.

April playing piano for the Women's Homelessness Initiative

With Absurd Hero, the process moved into lived community experience. Time spent working alongside the Women's Homelessness Initiative, playing piano in the evenings, taking requests, and listening, offered a different kind of musical insight. The songs in those spaces are raw, familiar, and deeply human. That shaped a score built on responsiveness and emotional truth rather than theatrical polish.

April Alsup in a fifer uniform in Denver Colorado

And for Broadside, “Method Composing” meant full immersion in the sound of the Revolution. By joining a fife and drum corps, learning and performing on piccolo, and marching in public events, the music became physical. Breath control, finger work, and endurance all informed the writing. Tempo came from footsteps, phrasing from movement, and melody from the sharp, carrying voice of the fife. It’s not just researched, it’s lived.

Across each project, the process stays the same: immerse, listen, participate. “Method Composing” isn’t the fastest way to write a musical, but it’s how April Alsup builds scores that don’t just support the story. They come from it.

Before the Feed, There Was Ink… Now There’s a QR Code

There’s something fitting about using modern tools to support one of the oldest art forms. Musical theatre has long relied on paper, scripts, sheet music, schedules, but today much of that process can live digitally without losing any of the magic. Our workflow has shifted to shared scripts, digital music files, and real-time rehearsal coordination. Updates happen instantly, performers always have the latest materials, and we avoid printing stacks that quickly become outdated. It’s not just more sustainable, it’s smoother, clearer, and better suited to the pace of a live production.

Broadside Playbill QR Code

That same thinking extends to the audience. Instead of printed programs, we use QR codes that open a dynamic, up-to-date playbill. With a quick scan, audiences can explore cast bios, creative teams, and behind-the-scenes context, all without a single sheet of paper. Less waste, more connection. It’s a small shift, but one that keeps theatre both timeless and forward-thinking.

Meet the cast of Broadside the Musical

Meet the cast of Broadside the Musical

Vintage Theatre Performance Dates:

July 3,4,5,17,18,19, TBD
Tickets at VintageTheatre.org
Box Office (303) 856-7830

ADAM JOHNSON - Joseph Warren
ANTIGONE BIDDLE - Mercy Otis Warren
COOPER KAMINSKY - General Thomas Gage
GUNNAR BETTIS - Paul Revere
HEATHER WESTENSKOW - Abigail Adams
JACOB FRYE - Robert Paine
KELLY MCALLISTER - John Adams
LIBBY SHULL - Sarah Revere
MADELYNN GUERRA - Sarah Bradlee Fulton
OLIVIA KISICKI - Margaret Gage
PATRICK BROWNSON - Governor Thomas Hutchinson
SONSHARAE TULL - Philiss Wheatley
TANNER KELLY - Sam Adams

Canvas Rebel Interview - Risk, Triumph and Failure

Here's a link to an interview that features me in Canvas Rebel. The online agency reached out with a link to a bunch of questions and ask me to answer them over the course of several weeks. There was some back and forth communications on the content and I'm grateful they had questions related to my new show Broadside. The timing seemed pretty good too since we have identified the cast now and are starting to put the show together for the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

FEATURE ARTICLE: Risk and Stories of Triumph and Failure

This article reflects on: risk, triumph, failures and offers some of my thoughts for people in the musical theatre community. The interview actually took place earlier this year, when we were working with Vintage Theatre on hosting the show to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Broadside Musical to debut at 2026 Edinburgh Fringe

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 14th, 2026 Contact: April Alsup Broadside the Musical info@broadsidemusical.com	Click HERE for PDF

DENVER, COLORADO – In the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, Boston was a city on edge; crowded meetings, boycotts, soldiers in the streets, and anger rising with every new decree. Broadsides put that conflict in public view, posted on walls and passed hand to hand.

“With Broadside, we’re bringing to life the original social media network,” said April Alsup, the musical's composer. “These broadsides were short, sharp, and meant to spread. They remind us that democracy has always depended on people daring to speak, print, and sing.”

Broadside the Musical steps into that world of ink and intrigue. Scenes move from a crowded print shop to a crowded tavern, from back rooms where informants trade whispers to packed townhall meetings. A loose spy network of shopkeepers, tradesmen, riders, and sailors carry coded messages through the city, blurring the line between news, rumor, and rebellion.

As the United States approaches the 250^th anniversary of independence, Broadside invites audiences to see America not as a finished story, but as a draft still being revised. The show celebrates the noisy, necessary tradition of free expression, reminding us that a nation grounded in liberty, equality, and freedom of speech is, by design, always up for debate.

Broadside will celebrate America's 250^th Anniversary at Vintage Theatre July 4^th weekend, with additional performances planned later in July. The Denver-based team then travels to Scotland to perform with other theatre troupes from around the world. The show will debut at Greenside at Riddles Court on August 7^th and runs through August 15^th, 2026.

"Undoubtedly one of the most charming venues at the Fringe" - The Guardian

Some famous faces have graced the halls at Riddles Court; including King James VI, who attended a state banquet there in 1598 and it was the residence of philosopher David Hume at the time of the show. It should come as no surprise that the building will become the venue for our new Musical’s debut. Tickets will be available on the Edinburgh festival fringe website.

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Please see these websites for more information:
alsup.org | broadsidemusical.com | greensidevenue.co.uk | edfringe.com

Absurd Hero nominated for multiple Broadway World Awards

Our Summer performance of Absurd Hero received a bunch of Broadway World Award nominations recently. The media outlet asks Denver theater goers to nominate their favorite shows for the year so you might say it's a "People's Choice" award; in any case, it's nice to be selected by your peers and we would appreciate your support. Here are the categories we've been nominated in: 

Musical: Absurd Hero 

Director: Kelly McAllister 

Choreography: Heather Westenskow 

Music Direction: Tanner Kelly 

Performer: Gunnar Bettis 

Supporting Performer: Antigone Biddle 

Ensemble: Absurd Hero 

 Here's the link if you'd like to vote: 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/denver/awards

Absurd Hero Prologue

When It’s Just You and the Ghost Light

Jeremy Bullmore once said brands are built the way birds build nests, little twigs and scraps gathered over time. That rings true. Branding isn’t one big move. It’s lots of tiny choices that quietly add up to something that feels inevitable. When I began shaping the identity for Broadside, it felt exactly like that. I didn’t start with colors or layouts, I started by trying to feel the world of the show. It was like stepping into a print shop after midnight: ink still tacky on metal plates, lantern light catching the edges, the hum of something dangerous and hopeful in the air. There was smoke, and whispers, and the sense that anyone who walked through the door might change history, or disappear.

Read Broadside's Creative Identity Manifesto

That feeling, that pulse, becomes the guide and the designs will follow. This show is not about historical wallpaper; it's about urgency and humanity and the grit it takes to tell the truth when the world would rather you didn’t. That’s really all a manifesto is. It’s not a dramatic proclamation. It’s just saying, here’s who we are and what we believe. It happens before the world starts chiming in with opinions, algorithms, and mood boards. Once you find that center, the rest isn’t easier… but it is clearer. And if you do it right, people start picking up those little scraps, the way Bullmore described, and suddenly there’s a nest, a home for the idea you’ve been building all along.

Here's a link to the Broadside Identity Manifesto

Introducing Broadside: A New Musical in the Making

A few years ago I started working on a new musical called "Broadside." It started with a simple idea, a fascination with how words and music once shaped a revolution and the spark to celebrate the 250th birthday of the country I love. Over time that spark grew into something much larger, and the project has quietly been gaining momentum ever since. In the past few months, I’ve had the joy of sitting down with the rhythm section to play through the songs for the first time, connected with key collaborators and even reviewed the libretto with historians and content experts to help keep the story grounded in the real events and people of the Revolutionary era. This process, these insights have been invaluable in shaping both the accuracy and emotional texture of the show.

Awaken the Revolution Within

Now that the songs are breathing, the script is finding its rhythm, and the spectacle of the show is truly emerging, it feels like the perfect time to begin sharing more. Over the last month, we've started exploring performance opportunities in Colorado and New England and have already been confirmed at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe (Aug 5th through 15th.) It's going to be an exciting Summer. Want to get involved? This website blog is a good place to keep in tune with our progress and any upcoming audition dates.

Here's a link to the website: https://www.broadsidemusical.com