Lauren Gundrum writes book and lyrics for musical theater. Lauren’s debut musical PharmaBro (with Joel Esher) ran off-Broadway in Summer 2017 and was nominated for an Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical. Her musical I Love My Family, But... (with Brandon Lambert) won Best New Musical in Ken Davenport’s Rave Festival, has been performed at The Duplex Cabaret, 54 Below, The Clemente, The York Theatre, The Seattle Rep, The Triad, and enjoyed its off-Broadway premiere at SoHo rep in Spring 2023.

Lauren is a member of the Dramatist Guild and the BMI-Lehman Musical Theatre Workshop. She has held residencies with Players Theatre and the Apples & Oranges Theatre Accelerator. Lauren’s work has been featured in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The NY Post, The NY Times, Broadway World, and The Bistro Awards among others. She is currently writing book and lyrics for an original musical inspired by the conservationist Jane Goodall (also with Brandon Lambert).

Original Musicals

I LOVE MY FAMILY, BUT…

“Inventive, funny, and satisfying. Delightfully off-kilter…filled with promise.” Gerry Geddes, Bistro Awards

SYNOPSIS

I LOVE MY FAMILY, BUT… (formerly titled JUST LAUGH) is a “delightfully off-kilter” (Bistro Awards) story about how your family is always there for you - in all the wrong ways! Join Timmy, his parents, and their fast-talking neighbor Claire on an 80-minute tour through life’s most important ups and downs: The birds and the bees talk. Funerals for pet fishes. Learning how to properly ask for a divorce. And everything in between. Hilarious, awkward, and full of heart, this new musical is for anyone who has ever thought “I love my family, but who are these people and why are they ruining my life?”

[2M, 2F, piano, 90 mins. no intermission]

More on our Youtube channel or at www.ilovemyfamilybut.com

HISTORY AND AWARDS

I LOVE MY FAMILY, BUT… premiered off-Broadway at SoHo Playhouse’s Huron Club in Spring 2023. It ran for 21 performances to sold-out houses.

It was developed at The Duplex Cabaret, 54 Below, The Clemente, The York Theatre, and The Triad. Songs from the show have been performed all over the country, including at the Seattle Rep’s New Voices Concert.

I LOVE MY FAMILY, BUT… first premiered in Ken Davenport’s inaugural Rave Festival in August 2019. It received the award for Best New Musical of the festival.

JANE

JANE is the incredible true story of Jane Goodall who leaves her home in the UK to study chimpanzees in Africa. Set in Gombe National Park in the 1960s, the musical follows 26-year-old Jane as she befriends the chimps, makes groundbreaking scientific discoveries that change the definition of man, and becomes a global thought-leader in conservation. But when the chimps start warring over territory, Jane is forced to choose between the animals she loves like family, and the safety of herself and her human family. Jane returns to the human world, but now as an advocate for millions of animals all around the planet. 

In the show, chimpanzees are portrayed with gorgeous War Horse-style puppetry. Ballet-inspired movement sequences dramatize Jane’s interactions with the chimps. With themes of naturalism, coming together with people and animals unlike ourselves, and the power of hope, Jane is the musical we need today.

[3M, 3F + flexible ensemble; 2 hours 15 minutes plus intermission]

PHARMABRO

Synopsis

PharmaBro is an *almost true* story about corporate greed, the American Dream gone wrong, and the Wu-Tang Clan stealing their one-of-a-kind album back from price-gouging, hoverboard-riding Martin “PharmaBro” Shkreli (yes, the guy that raised the price of Daraprim 5000% and has been called "the most hated man in America"). It was inspired by Shkreli’s real-life purchase of the album and a viral internet rumor that Wu-Tang was allowed one heist to rescue the album - if they worked with actor Bill Murray.

With the ghost of deceased Wu-Tang Clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard as his guide, Bill Murray teams up with Wu-Tang members RZA, GZA, and Ghostface Killah to execute “the musical heist you never knew you wanted but would DEFINITELY go see” (Yahoo Music).

PharmaBro features a cast of 6 with a flexible ensemble size. 

HISTORY and awards

PharmaBro premiered Off-Broadway with a 6-week, limited-engagement run at The Players Theatre in May and June, 2017. It was nominated for Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical of 2017-2018.

PharmaBro received its world premier as part of the 2016 Midtown International Theatre Festival and won two MITF Awards for Most Commercially Successful Production and Best Leading Actress. It was nominated for four additional awards, including Outstanding Playwright, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Lighting Design.

Press

GALLERY