Long Valley Playwright, 20, To Return To NYC Stage

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A Long Valley playwright is showing no signs of slowing down, as she is set to run her second show on a New York City stage this year.

Ella Villani, a Musical Theater Major and junior at Wilkes University, has been performing in theater and writing her own works since she was very young. Even as a third-grader, Villani would write original shows and try to convince her instructors to put them on stage.

The 20-year-old composer made her NYC stage debut in August with her song-cycle production of “Firsts,” a collection of original music about first-time experiences like first dates, break-ups, and more.

This time around, however, Villani will be returning to the Green Room 42 in Times Square to put on her newest musical “INDIGO.”

“INDIGO” began as a school project, but when Green Room 42 asked Villani to return, she turned it into what would become her second NYC production.

“('INDIGO') is definitely a little bit darker… There’s definitely a big shift; it’s a lot different than any of the stuff that was in ‘Firsts,'” Villani told Patch. “I was never really a big script writer, so I like this a lot because I get to work on my skills… It’s a lot more fleshed out, and a lot more plot-relevant (than ‘Firsts’).”

The plot of “INDIGO” revolves around Jamie, a college student with writer’s block who also happens to be fresh off a break-up. When a friend recommends an experimental generative AI writing program called InDiGO, Jamie hesitantly, but desperately, downloads the system. Sure enough, the expected convenience of InDiGO is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The musical is described as Villani’s “hate-letter to generative AI.”

“As a writer, I’m very much against generative AI and the use of it in the arts and creativity,” Villani said. “It’s never been something I’ve really liked, so I had to do a lot of research on it… How it works, how it talks to you… Because I've never really used it.”

Villani’s dislike for AI has a theatrical irony, given that she’ll be portraying the titular AI program in the musical.

The West Morris Central High School graduate says that as she was writing the musical, she began to fall in love with singing InDiGO's songs, and decided she wanted to play the character herself.

Joining Villani on stage are mostly college friends, with a couple of faces audiences may recognize from “Firsts.” The production also features three stringed instruments, which will be performing the music composed by Villani.

Villani added that there is a drastic lack of female and non-binary composers in Broadway’s upcoming season, and she hopes her role in "INDIGO's" production inspires that to change.

The playwright’s hope is that audiences learn that people can heal from something, and specifically mentions one of the show’s numbers, “Take Your Time.”

“Even if it takes a very long time, you can heal from something,” Villani said. “As well as, you can write something by yourself, you can figure it out.”

The show is set to kick off on Dec. 28 at 9:30 p.m. at Green Room 42, 570 10th Avenue. Tickets to the live performance and live-stream link access can be found online here.