MINORU:

Scrape the Sky

MINORU: Scrape the Sky tells the story of the man behind Manhattan’s Twin Towers: Minoru Yamasaki born in 1912 in Seattle, who designed the towers in the 1960s. 
We spotlight the sense of beauty of the brilliant architect who, while struggling with an inferiority complex as a Japanese-American, combined American and Japanese cultures into one of the most iconic and symbolic buildings of the United States.

This is a story about the little-known architect who designed the world famous Twin Towers.

Demos

Please contact us if you’d like to read the full libretto or the other songs.

Photo Book ( I Want Song)
Serenity and Delight ( A Love Duet)
Take Your Steps ( A Dance Number)
The Cannery (Ensemble Song)
Not Ready Yet

Details

Setting.

The act 1 is set in 1933 in Kyoto, Japan, and the act 2 is set in 1961 in New York.

Cast requirement.

It can be performed with 8 to 12 actors, half of whom are part of the Asian/Pacific Islanders community. Our musical really would enjoy diverse casting because Act 2 takes place in NYC, and shows the many cultures and designers that came together to create the Twin Towers’ blueprint.

Estimated run time.

1 hour 45 minutes.

Written by

Momo Akashi & Ben Ginsberg


  • Book writer & Lyricist

    Momo Akashi is a New York-based English and Japanese book writer, lyricist. She completed her master’s degree in Musical Theatre Writing at NYU Tisch. Momo recently wrote a full-length musical, MINORU: Scrape the Sky, about the architect of the World Trade Center; this work previewed in part at New York City’s Feinstein'/54 Below.

    Her original play about climate change, The Show Must Go On, was chosen for the Sixth Festival and premiered at Theatre 80 in New York. For her work, Momo has won the Shubert Foundation Scholarship and the Tisch Graduate Student Organization Grant Award.

  • Composer

    Ben Ginsberg is a Los Angeles-based composer, pianist, music director, and recent graduate of NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where he wrote the music for CITY OF HOPE (with Zoe Ray Prawda), RAMIN (with Thalia Ranjbar), and MINORU: Scrape the Sky (with Momo Akashi). He also composed for VIEW FROM THE MOON (with Stacey Weingarten and Richard Holland) at the Academy for New Musicals in North Hollywood. His original song “Heaven,” co-written and sung by George “Jorgie” Shkara, premiered on American Idol Season 17 in March 2019. In August 2021, his original song “Color of You” (lyrics by Jordan Toopes) was performed at The Composers’ Showcase in Las Vegas (produced by Keith Thompson). 

Contact: ma6226@nyu.edu

Contact: bsg9677@nyu.edu