Two love stories between Chinese American and Polish American men haunt the same Montana ranch house — one century apart.
Written by Mel Hornyak (book, lyrics) and Elliot Valentine (book, music)

The Story: GHOST STORY is a supernatural Western romance musical. When a gay couple spends the summer in Montana, they haunt and are haunted by two cowboy lovers who lived there a hundred years earlier. Amid mountain wildfires, sun-bleached bones, and the timeless desire to rewrite history, this introspective chamber musical explores queer ancestry, immigrant identity, and masculinity in the American West.

The Motivation: Exploring history and the concept of “queer ancestors,” while confronting the fact that the queer history we know is often both sparse and negative. Sometimes all we know about the historical figures we claim as our queer ancestors are their worst days – when they were arrested, scrutinized, or accused based on their gender and sexual orientation. I wanted to write about trying to find solace within these stories without making the past seem wholly good or wholly bad.

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Awards

Finalist, Live and In Color New Musical Development Program, 2024

Open AIR Residency Recipient, Summer 2024

Semifinalist, Life and In Color New Musical Development Program, 2023

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Production History

July 2024 – Concert Reading
Historic Clark Chateau
OpenAIR Montana
Directed by Jackie Vetter

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A queer fantasy musical about love, revenge, and everything that comes in between
Written by Mel Hornyak (book, lyrics) and Elliot Valentine (book, lyrics, music)

The Story: In a fantastical royal palace, a group of young misfits plot to depose the king despite the unexpected romances and rekindled feuds that get in the way. As they navigate the trials of passion and duty, can they figure out how and who they love when the stakes have never been higher?

The Motivation: Writing a story about discovering queer and trans love, and trying to navigate and construct relationships around new, complex emotions under situations where one’s public and private lives are under constant scrutiny

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Production History

April 2022 – Staged Reading
Whitman Theatre
Princeton University Players
Directed by Solomon Bergquist

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A postapocalyptic immersive theatrical experience
Written by Mel Hornyak

The Story: A queer post-apocalyptic tragicomedy about a group of young adults trapped in their college theater during the zombie apocalypse. As their numbers dwindle, a group defects to put on their own show, faced by resistance from the former head of the Theatrical Board still trying to exert his authority on the increasingly fragmented remains of a close-knit clique. When one of the group is bitten by a zombie, they are faced with a terrible choice: is survival worth abandoning your found family?

The Motivation: Exploring how the tensions within a queer found family can replicate heteronormative family structures, and what it means to wield authority when an apocalyptic event makes the entire future unpredictable. Also, using spaces beyond the stage to create a story rooted in the physicality of the theatrical space and the process of making theatre.

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Production History

April 2023 – Student Production
Theatre Intime
Theatre Intime
Directed by Elliot Valentine and Aidan Iacobucci

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A dark academia horror musical
Written by Mel Hornyak (book, lyrics) and Elliot Valentine (book, lyrics, and music)

The Story: Three queer students of color are nominated for the prestigious Phaethon Prize during their senior year at an elite university. As they each try to prove their worthiness to a school uninterested in their success, they exceed their physical, mental, and moral limits, with horrific results.

The Motivation: Using the trappings of dark academia to explore and critique the unique pressures on marginalized students to succeed in institutions not built for them.

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Production History

November 2022 – Thesis Production
The Lewis Center for the Arts
The Berlind Theatre at the McCarter
Directed by Georgina Escobar

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