LOVE IS DEAD
Book & Music by Brett Ryback
Book & Lyrics by Jeff Luppino-Esposito
Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran
NAMT 2025: 37th Annual Festival of New Musicals
A New Musical Comedy
Oct 23 - 24, 2025
Love Is Dead is a new musical rom-com about a heartbroken woman and a sexy ghost. Surprising, celebratory, and so ridiculous: it’s an epic night of theatre with only 3 actors, all about love and dating in the modern age.
It’s Halloween weekend. 31-year-old Jordan arrives in the Hudson Valley for a solo getaway -- sure, she’s recently single, but the REAL reason she needs to get out of the city is to work on an article for her dream job at a magazine run by her idol, Emily Winters. Nothing like a little fresh air and “me time” to ward off an existential crisis.
Instead, she meets Cody: a chronically laid-back, obnoxiously ATTRACTIVE ghost who haunts her rental. Cody staves off the boredom of his interminable existence by torturing the short-term renters who come his way. If Jordan is going to write, she must get rid of him.
However, as Jordan tries to uncover Cody's unfinished business, she comes to find that he died from heartbreak (well, heartbreak and accidental asphyxiation). What begins as a battle of wills blossoms into mutual affection and supernatural sexual experimentation between woman and ghost.
As Cody and Jordan become closer, Jordan gains the confidence to pitch her article directly to Emily Winters at a Halloween party back in New York City. But when she arrives, would you believe it doesn’t all go as planned?? The ensuing chaos pushes both Cody and Jordan on to the other side, setting them each free in different ways. It's a ridiculous comedy about love in the modern age for anyone who has ever found themselves falling in love with a very sexy ghost.