Moving Thomas Sullivan
Notre Dame’s Musical Theatre Laboratory
Written by Ben Warren Flynn ’27. Directed by Matt Hawkins. Presented by Notre Dame Department of Film, Television, & Theatre
Don’t miss the world premiere of the latest musical developed in Notre Dame’s New Works Lab, an initiative dedicated to teaching students the process of creating original work through the act of doing it themselves. Written by Ben Warren Flynn, Notre Dame class of 2027, Moving Thomas Sullivan finds a young man lost in a train station, plagued by the grief that keeps him stuck in place, while the people around him try to help him move forward.
Directed by Matt Hawkins, professor of the practice in Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, with music direction by Solomon Duane. As part of the project, students will also meet with Tom Kitt, the two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, two-time Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize winning-composer whose Broadway credits include Next to Normal, If/Then, and many more.
Credits
The Creative Team
Notre Dame’s New Works Lab is a cornerstone initiative that fosters a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment where students engage deeply with the lifecycle of new artistic work. Students use class time to develop and create an original theatrical production. Previous productions include Heart on Fire (2025), Dawn’s Early Light (2023), An Old Family Recipe (2021), and My Heart Says Go (2019), which is now a touring production with a studio recording album that features Broadway stars Javier Muñoz and Jessie Muller.
Writer Ben Warren Flynn is a singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland, and a senior at Notre Dame majoring in Film, Television, and Theatre, and minoring in Music and Musical Theatre.
Director Matt Hawkins is a writer, actor, fight choreographer, and movement director. He is professor of the practice for the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at Notre Dame, serving as the Director of Musical Theatre and the Founder and Creative Producer of the university’s New Works Lab.
Solomon Duane, Notre Dame class of 2024, is a writer and composer serving as the musical director for Moving Thomas Sullivan. Duane is also a New Works Lab alumnus whose own musical, Dawn’s Early Light, was produced at Notre Dame.
Tom Kitt
Tom Kitt is a two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, two-time Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize winning composer, arranger, and orchestrator whose Broadway credits include, Next to Normal; Almost Famous; Flying Over Sunset; If/Then; Bring It On, The Musical; High Fidelity, and many more. His work for the stage has also been seen Off Broadway at 2nd Stage and The Public Theater, and at some of the most prestigious regional theaters including The Old Globe, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, The Signature Theater, and ART.
Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre
Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre (FTT) offers a liberal arts approach to the study of performing arts — a unique mix of design and production, writing and performance, history and theory. In having film, television, and theatre in one department, FTT prepares students for real-world applications where artists frequently move between and among the different entertainment spheres.
Funding & Support
This is a partner program of the 2027 Notre Dame Arts Biennial, supported with funding from the Notre Dame Arts Initiative.
This project is also made possible with funding from the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
Musical Theatre at Notre Dame is supported in part by Irish on Broadway, Cocchia Family Endowment, and Lance and Debi Fussachia.
Images
- Preview thumbnail: Key art for Moving Thomas Sullivan. Courtesy of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre.
- 1. Tom Kitt. Photo by Jenny Anderson, courtesy of the artist.
- 2. Same as preview.