BIO
Joe Slabe is a Calgary-based writer and composer with a Masters Degree in musical theatre from Goldsmiths College of the University of London. He has written and composed nine book musicals, most notably Crossing Swords, which won five awards at the 2013 New York Musical Festival, including Best Book and the Theatre for the American Musical Prize, and The Urban Jungle Book, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Tom Hendry Awards and won the Calgary Critics’ Award for most promising collaboration, which he shared with director, JP Thibodeau. In 2024, Joe's autobiographical musical, Buy Me a Drink, Joe was honoured with four Betty Mitchell Awards including Outstanding Composition, Outstanding Musical Direction and Outstanding Production of a Musical.
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Joe also loves working with other writers and has created and contributed songs to fifteen original musical theatre revues, most notably Alberta Kitchen Party, which won the 2022 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical and was presented by Alberta Theatre Projects. Other revues include Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)Connected Age, which won the 2014 Calgary Critics’ Award for Best Production of a Musical and was recently presented by Theatre Calgary as part of their tc UP CLOSE series, and the Naughty… but Nice! revues, which won the 2016 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical and have just concluded their tenth year of production.
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Joe mostly makes his living as a musical director, having MD'd over sixty shows, and has several Betty Mitchell Awards to his credit. He is the founding artistic director of Forte Musical Theatre Guild and received the 2004 Greg Bond Award for outstanding contributions to musical theatre in Calgary. His last name rhymes with “The Bay”.
Book Musicals by Joe:
Buy Me a Drink, Joe
Twelve Days (Coming December 2024)
Crossing Swords
The Urban Jungle Book
Maria Rasputin Presents
The Paper Bag Princess
Austentatious
If I Weren’t With You
’Twas the Night Before Christmas
Collaboratively Created Musical Theatre Revues:
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Alberta Kitchen Party
Twisted
but, this IS my day job...
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Musical Theatre Revues Created with JP Thibodeau:
Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)Connected Age
Lest We Forget
Naughty... but Nice: Xmas!
Naughty... but Nice: Nine LIVE!
Naughty... but Nice: Vaccin8!
Naughty... but Nice: Seven's on Screen!
Naughty… but Nice: Six in the City!
Naughty… but Nice: The Big V!
Naughty… but Nice: 4PLAY!
Naughty… but Nice: Third Time’s the Charm!
Naughty… but Nice: The Second Coming!
Naughty… but Nice!