NOMINATED FOR THREE BROADWAY WORLD REGIONAL AWARDS INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL!
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Selections From The Path to Catherine features 10 of the 25-song score and performances by Cailtin Kinnunen, Krystina Alabado, Sharona Wilkins, Sophie Oda and Zakiya Young.
Sheet Music now available!
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The Path to Catherine is an independent project created by two artists who believe this story deserves to be told. Musicals don’t appear overnight — it can take years of rewriting, fundraising, and sheer determination to bring one to life. Every download, share, or small donation helps us move a step closer to a full production.
If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation through our nonprofit sponsor, Fractured Atlas, you can do that here
March 26 - May 1 , 2022
The BrickHouse Theater
10950 Peachgrove St., North Hollywood, CA 91601
“"The story never holds for a moment, every minute packed with music and melodrama, capturing a remarkable moment in world history, now more relevant than ever…The songs written by Patricia Zehentmayr and Jan Roper are absolutely sublime."
- NoHo Arts District
"With Roper’s modern score, this original musical is a diamond in the rough. The songs are so well composed that it has serious potential as a mainstream musical…The music speaks and sings for itself!"
- StageRaw
“"New musical about Catherine the Great is a winner…The score and songs by book writer Patricia Zehentmayr and composer Jan Roper is haunting and beautiful at the same time, with songs that easily advance the story and some actually are hummable upon exiting."
- Queer Forty
“"Zehentmayr’s lyrics are clever and quick-witted, infused with plenty of sharp rhymes and pithy observations, and each are wonderfully matched by Roper’s often soaring melodies."
- Buck-ing Trends
The Path to Catherine is the true backstory of the teenage girl, Sophie, who will eventually become Catherine the Great, and the two women who shaped her.
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Princess Sophie, a prospective wife for Peter, heir to the Russian Empire, finds herself pulled between the desires of her mother, Princess Joanna, and Elizabeth, Empress of Russia. But her focus soon shifts from love to power, and she learns that greatness has a price; that price is family.
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The Path to Catherine features a cast of three women and a sung-through score with modern musical elements combining percussive grooves and soaring, emotional melodies bringing this untold, true, historic story into the 21st century.
Patricia is a versatile bookwriter, songwriter, and lyricist whose collaborative spirit bridges multiple musical landscapes. Her work reflects a rare artistic adaptability.
Notably, her musical theater piece "The Path to Catherine" garnered significant recognition, earning three Broadway World Regional Award nominations in 2022. Her theatrical portfolio includes provocative works like "Wanting Miss Julie," "Madwomen," and "The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice"- each demonstrating her ability to tackle complex narrative themes.
Patricia's creative journey continues to evolve. In 2023, she participated in the THEaterAccelerator think tank and is currently a semifinalist for the prestigious Pipeline Arts Foundation Award in 2025. Her pop music compositions have found homes with respected licensing companies including Koze Music, A Matter of Sync, and World Fusion Music Productions.
Her collaborations read like a who's who of musical innovation — from Rosie Flores, the Queen of Rockabilly, to John Axelrod, conductor of international orchestras. This breadth underscores Patricia's unique ability to navigate and excel across diverse musical genres.
For more information, visit www.patriciaz.com
Jan is a composer and music director based in Los Angeles, California. Her theater career started with the full-scale production of her own original rock opera, Jerusalem A.D. Another original work, City of Light, was chosen for the ASCAP Stephen Schwartz workshop and the sheNYC Festival, where it won Best Score. 54 Below in NYC called it a *new work to watch* after a sold out concert reading there. Another new work, América Tropical, won the 2020 Raise Your Voice playwright competition, and was a semi-finalist for the 2022 Eugene O'Neill National Musical Theatre Conference and the Jonathan Larson Grant. It has had 2 staged readings produced by McCoy-Rigby Entertainment and Musical Theater West, and a table reading by Latine Musical Lab in NYC. She stays busy as a faculty teacher at AMDA College of the Performing Arts, and a music director in the local theater and cabaret community of LA. She won the L.A. Scenie Award for Music Director of the Year for her accumulative work in 2019-20 and 2022-23.
For more information, visit www.janroper.com
If you’re a producer or theatermaker and would be interested in acquiring a perusal copy of the libretto, please contact us at pz@patriciaz.com.
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The current version of the show is a draft manuscript and is still subject to change.
