BT (aka Brett) Ryback, Class of 2006 and undergraduate composition major, is appearing this fall in the Ahmanson Theater’s production of “The History Boys”, featuring a new American cast for Alan Bennet’s play. The play was a huge hit at Britain’s National Theatre and on Broadway last year — it was also made into a movie starring the original British cast. The show has received much acclaim from the press and Brett’s smiling face has been seen in the LA Times twice in the past month.

Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, B.T. Ryback is a Los Angeles based actor, composer, and playwright, whose work has been seen and heard across the country, all the way from Hawai’i to New York. His play “Weïrd” was the 2007 winner of the Tennessee Williams One-Act Competition, and his play “A Roz by Any Other Name” was a 2007 finalist. His musical “Quit India”, written with collaborator Ryan Scott Oliver, was also a finalist for the 2007 Richard Rodgers Award. He is a regular composer for Kidswrites, a program in Milwaukee that uses the uncorrected writing of inner-city students to create a musical theatre piece. He also served for five years as the composer/lyricist for Next Act Theatre’s Next Actors Summer Theatre for Youth. His arrangements were used in the musical “Cyclone”, which received its premiere at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in 2005 and was produced by Tony-award winner Scott Wise. He was also brought on to write a treatment for a Las Vegas show for singer Madonna entitled “Madonna’s Girlie Show Live”. He is currently completing a demo CD for an independent movie-musical called “Shoulder Pads”, written with collaborator Abe Sylvia. Brett holds a B.A. in music composition from UCLA, where he studied with acclaimed composer Paul Chihara, to whom he recently had the honor of acting as assistant in the composition of Atlanta Ballet’s world premiere of “The Great Gatsby.”

The show is closing soon so buy tickets for this terrific show. If you can’t make it, visit his website.