THE NUTSHELL
Dear Evan Hansen sincerity meets PEN15 absurdity in MISTY MAKES IT BETTER, a seriously funny new musical about the high cost of being publicly “good.” With a compact cast of five, a biting, satirical book, and a pulse-forward indie-pop score built for repeat listens, the show skewers virtue signaling, identity politics, and the performance of allyship in the age of livestreams.
At its center is a knockout comic conceit: teenage Misty is played by an obviously middle-aged actress. The result is a theatrical high-wire act—equal parts hilarious and quietly devastating—that exposes the gap between who we think we are and how we’re seen. Spiky, provocative, and deeply human, MISTY MAKES IT BETTER lands laughs while sending audiences out buzzing—and debating—long after the curtain call.
THE PLOT
Misty Riggs crafts like nobody’s watching… because nobody is. A relentlessly upbeat teen with a glue gun and a dream, she livestreams her bedazzled DIY tutorials to an audience of zero—until one impulsive clapback at a school bully explodes online. Overnight, Misty has followers, a platform, and a brand-new sense of purpose: she’s going to use her voice for good!
Or so she thinks.
Despite the wary eye of her BFF (and only F) Alix, Misty appoints herself champion of the LGBTQ+ community, zeroing in on genderfluid classmate Jacey as the face of a campaign he never asked for. As Misty doubles down—curating, posting, and “advocating” at full volume—real life refuses to cooperate. Meanwhile, Alix and Jacey form a genuine connection that cuts through the noise, while Alix’s guidance-counselor mom finds her own boundaries tested in a messy entanglement with the school principal.
With her narrative slipping out of her control, Misty raises the stakes, convinced that one more push will prove she’s the hero she’s branded herself to be. What she can’t see is the line she’s crossing from helping… to using.
With a driving indie pop score and a story that builds to a cringe-comic crescendo, MISTY MAKES IT BETTER asks, When does “doing better” tip into doing harm? And when does allyship stop being about them and start being about you?
THE DEVELOPMENT
MISTY MAKES IT BETTER has been developed at the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, New York SongSpace, and Musical Theatre Factory under founding artistic director Shakina Nayfack.
Tony nominee Alex Brightman directed a 29-hour reading featuring Chris Dwan, Marcy Harriell, Gizel Jiménez, Drew McVety, and Jacey Powers, with musical direction by Paul Staroba. Drama Desk nominee Emilio Ramos directed a closed reading in late 2025.
SAMPLE THE SCORE
MISTY – Jill Abramovitz
ALIX – Gizel Jiménez
JACEY – Noah Virgile
COLLEEN – Maia Nkenge Wilson
PERRY – Brad Alexander
Guitar – Alex Petti & Lloyd Kikoler
I started out writing for downtown icons including Justin Vivian Bond, Candis Cayne, and Sherry Vine—artists who didn’t just perform authenticity, they demanded it. Time with them set my bar early: be bold, be specific, don’t flinch.
Then a few years ago, a headline stopped me cold: a student got suspended for wearing a protest T-shirt. It felt like a story built for our moment, but it was too on-the-nose to tell in a straightforward way. I decided to flip the lens. What if the person at the center wasn’t being silenced… but was speaking as loudly as possible? What if the intention looked righteous but the need underneath it was something messier, needier, more human?
Those questions became an obsession. The result was a play called LIKE A BILLION LIKES, which found some early success. But I sensed there was more to mine. The world of the story—fast-moving, image-driven, constantly recalibrating—called for a form that could match its velocity and contradiction. Music felt like the missing engine.
So I turned to the celebrated team of Brad Alexander and Jill Abramovitz. Brad (a Richard Rodgers Award winner) writes music that moves—and sticks. Jill is a razor-sharp lyricist and Broadway performer with an instinct for landing both the joke and the gut punch. Their propulsive indie-pop score mirrors the rush of going viral, and the crash that follows.
MISTY MAKES IT BETTER tunefully touches a live wire to one of the most charged questions of our time—who gets to speak for whom, and why?
It’s funny. It’s uncomfortable. It’s built to get people talking. And, we hope, to keep them listening, too.
A NOTE FROM THE BOOKWRITER
THE TEAM
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Jill Abramovitz | LYRICS
A contributing lyricist on Broadway’s IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU, Jill (she/her) is the English language translator of the award-winning musical BILLIE SCHWARTZ. She is the lyricist of TheatreworksUSA’s MARTHA SPEAKS (book by Kevin DelAguila, music by Brad Alexander), which toured nationally, and the lyricist/co-bookwriter of THE PACK with composer Aron Accurso and co-bookwriter Leah Napolin (Weston Playhouse New Musical Award, Jerry Bock Award, NAMT 2011 and Goodspeed’s Festival of New Artists 2012).
With Brad Alexander, she adapted the film BREAD AND ROSES, currently in development. Jill is a past Dramatist Guild Fellow, a Harrington Award winner in the BMI Workshop, and a past member of the Musical Theatre Factory writer’s workshop where she, Brad and Erik developed MISTY MAKES IT BETTER.
Jill is also a Broadway and TV actress, having recently appeared as Maxine/Juno in BEETLEJUICE, Susan Charles in CHICAGO MED (NBC) and Stevie in THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon). jillaonline.com
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Erik Forrest Jackson | BOOK
Erik’s (he/him) comic drama LIKE A BILLION LIKES is the winner of the Southwest Playwriting Competition and the Chesley/Bumbalo Playwriting Award. His musicals include the Goodspeed premiere of CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT, adapted from the Warner Bros. classic (co-book Patrick Pacheco, music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz), and BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO, featuring the songs of Neil Sedaka (co-book Ben Winters, arrangements by Tom Kitt).
New York premieres include: a comic adaptation of Stephen King’s CARRIE; DOLL, a twisted take on Ibsen’s A DOLL'S HOUSE; the comic thriller TELL-TALE (GLAAD nomination, Best Play of the Year); and the comedy CHARLIE! He adapted the beloved TV series CHEERS for a live stage event and authored the MUPPETS MEET THE CLASSICS humor series for Penguin Books and Disney. Residencies: Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Monson Arts, Chulitna Artists Residency, and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals.
Erik serves on the Advisory Board of the American Theatre Wing and the selection committee for the Clive Barnes Foundation Awards. erikforrestjackson.com
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Brad Alexander | MUSIC
Brad (he/him) wrote the music for SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS (book/lyrics by Adam Mathias), winner of the Richard Rodgers Award, BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award, and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. The production also received six Drama Desk nominations, including Outstanding Music.
His stage credits include DOG MAN: THE MUSICAL and CAT KID COMIC CLUB: THE MUSICAL (book/lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila)—New York Times Critic’s Picks based on Dav Pilkey’s bestselling books, now touring North America and Australia, with DOG MAN premiering in London in Summer 2026. Other theater credits include CLICK, CLACK, MOO (Drama Desk/Lortel noms). In development: BREAD AND ROSES (book/lyrics by Jill Abramovitz).
On screen, Brad served as Lead Composer for CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG and scored episodes of Emmy-winning PEG + CAT and WONDER PETS: IN THE CITY. Member: NAMT, DGA, SAG-AFTRA, BMI Workshop. bradalexander.com
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Emilio Ramos | DIRECTOR
Emilio Ramos (he/they) is an NYC-based theatre director and creative collaborator originally from Melbourne, Australia. Recent credits include LEGENDARY (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, MTFest UK, Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival) and the off-Broadway revival of SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE (Out of the Box Theatrics; 3 Drama Desk nominations incl. Outstanding Revival of a Musical).
Currently, he serves as the Associate Director for the Tony-winning Broadway hits MAYBE HAPPY ENDING and HADESTOWN; other AD credits include PARADE (NYCC/Broadway/U.S. Tour), VANYA (Off-Broadway, starring Andrew Scott), THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA (NYCC Encores!). Adjunct faculty, NYU Steinhardt; Theatrely31 Class of 2025. More at emilioramosonline.com.