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2024 Election Coverage

William Donald Schaefer ... the musical?!

Boisterous Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer is the subject of the new musical "Do It Now!" as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, playing July 14-31 at Fells Point Corner Theatre. AP Photo/Bill Smith
BILL SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
/
AP
Boisterous Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer is the subject of the new musical "Do It Now!" as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, playing July 14-31 at Fells Point Corner Theatre. AP Photo/Bill Smith

Love him or hate him -- and people did both -- William Donald Schaefer, the unforgettable Mayor of Baltimore City, got stuff done. One of his persistent commands-- “Do It Now!”-- is the title of a new musical about his tenure as mayor. Yeah, you read that right.

We get a preview from Timoth David Copney, director and choreographer, and from Jonathan Jensen, who wrote and composed the songs that take audiences on the journey:

"Whatever his failures, whatever faults -- Baltimore -- intractable problems we still have, he was a giant figure in the history of this city and there’s no denying what he did during his time here.”

Links: "Do It Now!" performance info and tickets

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'