What if one of the strangest events in history was already basically a musical comedy?

On this episode of NEW@NAMT, host Jean-Paul Yovanoff and co-host Skye Cone Ivey sit down with writers Tyler Joseph Ellis, Jacob Ryan Smith and Daniel Mertzlufft to talk about The (Disaster) Marathon of 1904, their new musical inspired by the very real—and deeply unbelievable—marathon at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics. Told by Pheidippides, the ancient Greek runner whose legend gave the marathon its name, the show turns an already chaotic race into a story of epic and ridiculous proportions, packed with humor, heart and, naturally, “sole.”

The writers share how the musical began with a screenshot of a Tumblr post chronicling the bizarre events of the 1904 race, and how a project designed, in part, to make each other laugh grew into a full-scale new musical. They also dig into how comedy drives their writing process and why this particular piece of Olympic history felt almost too strange not to put onstage.

The conversation also gets into the practical question at the heart of any musical about a marathon: how do you actually stage all that running? Tyler, Jacob and Daniel talk about the theatrical possibilities of the piece, as well as their approach to casting—the musical’s nine male characters are intentionally written to be played by performers of various genders and vocal types.

NAMT Festival Consultant Braley Degenhart joins the conversation to talk about why the show stood out during this year’s Festival selection process and what she hopes lies ahead. The writers also trace the musical’s rapid development from New Musicals Lab at Christopher Newport University to a Broadway Shark Tank win, the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed and an industry reading through New Next Now.

An Olympic disaster. Nine runners. One gloriously ridiculous race.

The (Disaster) Marathon of 1904
Book by Tyler Joseph Ellis
Music & Lyrics by Jacob Ryan Smith & Daniel Mertzlufft

Learn more about the 38th Annual Festival of New Musicals, October 22–23, 2026 at New World Stages, at namt.org/festival.

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