HI, MY NAME IS BEN is the true story of an ordinary man and his extraordinary life. From his tiny room in New York City, Bernhardt Wichmann III spoke to and changed the lives of those around him without saying a word. Using just his notepad and pen, Ben turned a neighborhood of strangers into a community of friends, before finally encountering a miracle of his own.
HI MY NAME IS BEN is a life-affirming true story that explores the meaning of community, the possibility of second chances, and the miraculous effects of stopping to listen.
In January 2017, Noisemaker became the first Scottish writing team to be selected for the prestigious Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, Connecticut. Over the two week residency, we constructed a first draft of HI MY NAME IS BEN.
Following this, Noisemaker partnered with Goodspeed Musicals and Dundee Rep to develop the show. This international collaboration led to a one-off concert performance in Dundee, Scotland, in 2018. Played any the renowned string orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, this was the first public performance of HI, MY NAME IS BEN. An extract from that concert can be seen on this page.
In 2019, the world premiere of HI, MY NAME IS BEN was presented at Goodspeed Musicals. This production marked the first transatlantic collaboration to be presented at the historic Norma Terris Theater and featured an award-winning cast including Adam Kaplan (Newsies, A Bronx Tale) and Barbara Walsh (Company, Nine, Falsettos).
HI, MY NAME IS BEN was then selected to be presented at NAMT’s 31st Annual Festival of New Musicals in 2019. The show was seen alongside seven other new, exceptional works at New World Stages in New York City. This also marked the first time Scottish writers had ever been invited to this prestigious Festival; a huge privilege for the both of us.
Now, HI MY NAME IS BEN is in development for its next production with Broadway producer, Robert Ahrens, and award-winning film and theatre company LD Entertainment, led by Mickey Liddell, at the helm.
If you would like to hear some of HI, MY NAME IS BEN then be sure to click here for some cast recordings.
For information on the show, have a look at some of the articles and links below:
Creative Scotland Article https://www.creativescotland.com/explore/read/stories/theatre/2019/hi-my-name-is-ben
Goodspeed Website
www.goodspeed.org/shows/hi-my-name-is-ben
Broadway World Cast Announcement
www.broadwayworld.com/article/Joel-Rooks-Barbara-Walsh-Adam-Kaplan-Among-Stars-of-Goodspeeds-HI-MY-NAME-IS-BEN-20190411
Middletown Press
https://www.middletownpress.com/entertainment/article/Extraordinary-true-story-inspires-musical-Hi-13845914.php
Playbill NAMT Announcement
http://www.playbill.com/article/michael-r-jacksons-musical-adaptation-of-horror-film-teeth-among-national-alliance-musical-theatre-festival-lineup
Dundee Rep “Meet The Writers” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_mSQjOTle8