Musical Theatre Writer, Educator, Performer, and Advocate.
My name is Kathleen, and I love telling stories and making music. Usually at the same time.
About Me
A WRITER
I earned my MFA at NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and have since written book and lyrics for multiple full-length musicals, including THE BRIDGE: A NEW MUSICAL EPIC (Book & Lyrics; Music with Frances Pollock), inspired by the true story of the woman who secretly built the Brooklyn Bridge. THE BRIDGE has been incubated with Midnight Oil Collective and was showcased at Yale University in Fall 2024, and it is currently being developed in a semester-long course at Syracuse University. As librettist of THE BRIDGE, I was also recently awarded a 2025 NYSCA Support for Artists Grant.
My other full-length musicals include TEN: THE STORY OF GRACE AND JOE (Book, Music, & Lyrics; Additional Music by Brad Kemp & Jessica Hunt), which tells the love story at the heart of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, and THE FORGETTING OF SNOW (Book & Lyrics; Music by Paulo K Tiról), which examines the epidemic of gun violence in America through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl. My songwriting and original musical works have been featured at NAMT (Songwriters' Cabaret), NYMF (Women of Note Concert), New York Theatre Barn (New Works Series), The Kraine Theater, The Rev (Pitch New Musicals), American Opera Project, Catwalk Art Institute, Yale University, Berklee College of Music, Syracuse University, Joe's Pub and 54 Below in New York, and The Sorting Room in Los Angeles.
AN EDUCATOR
I am an Assistant Professor of Musical Theater at Syracuse University’s Department of Drama, where I have taught all levels of musical theater performance and singing voice, as well as solo cabaret creation, workshopping new musicals, and collaborative musical theater writing. As a creative scholar, my primary research interest is new musical development in academia. I am the founder and Artistic Director of New Works/New Voices, SU Drama’s new musicals developmental initiative, and co-author (with Alisa Hauser, Assistant Professor of Music Theatre at Florida State University) of the upcoming book, Developing New Musicals in University Theatre Programs: A Practical Guide (Bloomsbury Publishing | Methuen Drama, 2026).
If you’d like to learn more about my research, you can check out my feature interview (“Getting Curious: New Musical Collaborations in Academia”) in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s (NAMT) newsletter.
A PERFORMER
I have been a performer on stages throughout the country, in New York, Chicago, and regionally, including spending three years as a founding member of the Chicago-based devised physical theater company, Theater Unspeakable.
AN ADVOCATE
I am passionate about elevating the voices of underrepresented writers and composers and supporting the creation of a more diverse, more vibrant musical theatre canon. In addition to my work with New Works/New Voices, I currently serve as the Directory Manager for MaestraMusic.org and in leadership roles with the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (Co-Chair, NAMT Festival Committee), and the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance (Co-Chair, MTEA New Works Subgroup), where I co-created the New Works Collaboration Catalog (NWCC).
The Bridge
Book & Lyrics by Kathleen Wrinn, Music by Frances Pollock & Kathleen Wrinn
Inspired by true events, THE BRIDGE is a new musical epic about two women who were never supposed to meet, and who together—imperfectly and at great cost—helped build one of the greatest engineering achievements in human history.
In recent years, history has begun to recognize Emily Warren Roebling: the woman who secretly took over as Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband, Washington Roebling, fell ill, and—against all odds—led the project to completion. But THE BRIDGE asks a question history hasn't yet thought to ask: if Emily was the woman behind Washington, who was the woman behind Emily? And behind her? And behind her? And so on, and so on, and so on.
THE BRIDGE is built on a simple conviction: that behind every great achievement in history, there were people in the shadows making it possible—people whose names were never written down, whose sacrifices were never acknowledged, whose stories were never told. This is their story.
Set in the fractured wake of the American Civil War, THE BRIDGE spans fourteen years and two cities divided by more than just a river, asking a question as urgent today as it was in 1869: Is it possible to move forward without leaving things—and people—behind?
THE BRIDGE Is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
2024 Showcase of The Bridge at Yale University. Featuring: Kathleen Wrinn (Emily Roebling), Katie Emerson (Maryann McMahon), Edwin Joseph (Washington Roebling), Jacob Stebly (Music Director/Pianist), and the performance company of The Bridge.
The Forgetting of Snow
Book & Lyrics by Kathleen Wrinn, Music by Paulo K Tiról
Part magic realism, part scathing satire, THE FORGETTING OF SNOW is a new musical that examines the epidemic of gun violence in America through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl.
Media
Take a peek at some live performances of my work.
“At the Inn,” Lyrics by Kathleen Wrinn, Music by Jonathan Fadner (feat. Ayme Olivo)
“It Could Be Anything,” Lyrics by Kathleen Wrinn, Music by Minhui Lee (feat. John Riddle, Gen Parton Shin, and Q Lim)
“Happy Birthday, Jesus,” Lyrics by Kathleen Wrinn, Music by Ross Baum (feat. Chris Nicolosi)
“Standing Out,” Lyrics by Kathleen Wrinn & Peter Hodgson, Music by Peter Hodgson (feat. Jelani Alladin, Alexandra Petrullo, Jake Glassman, and Mary Catherine Hughes)