When playwright Darrah Cloud read Cara Hoffman’s novel “Be Safe I Love You,” about a young Iraq War veteran returning to upstate New York, she heard the beginnings of a musical.
“Music is at its heart,” Cloud said. “It’s about a young woman soldier who’s someone with a great musical talent who put it aside to enlist at 18. It’s a natural fit for a musical.”
That adaptation will receive a work-in-progress showing Nov. 8 at Ancram Center for the Arts as part of its Play Lab series. Cloud, of Pine Plains, wrote the book — the musical’s script — and will direct the presentation. Stephanie Salzman wrote the music and lyrics.
The story follows a woman who returns from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder to Watertown, on the Black River in northern New York. For Cloud and Salzman, its appeal lies partly in its exploration of economic necessity: The young woman enlists for a signing bonus that saves her family’s home.
“My favorite musicals are about working people,” Cloud said. “They’re always about the common man. This one’s about the common woman.”
Cloud met Hoffman when both taught at Goddard College.
“She writes about upstate New York,” Cloud said, “an epic place, often neglected.”
When Cloud began thinking about adapting the novel, she reached out to Salzman, with whom she had worked before. She wanted a score rooted in the story’s setting.
“Her music is relatable,” Cloud said. “I wasn’t hearing a usual musical. I was hearing rock and roll — what you might hear in an upstate bar.”
Salzman’s response after reading the novel was immediate: “We have to do this!”
“I love working with female protagonists who have an interior life,” Salzman said.
Cloud has experience bringing fiction to the musical stage. She previously adapted Willa Cather’s “O Pioneers!” with composer Kim D. Sherman. That production was filmed for PBS’ “American Playhouse,” with Mary McDonnell in the lead role.
For the new project, Cloud applied for a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
“It’s hard to work on something new without being paid,” she said.
The grant covers music directors, musicians, and actors. Once it came through, Cloud approached Ancram Center, where she had worked on two previous projects, about developing the musical there. The center agreed, providing additional support, including funding for a stage manager.
The Play Lab residency gives theater artists time, space, and resources to develop new work, culminating in a showing of the project in progress.
“Right now it’s piano and guitar — we imagine a small rock band,” Cloud said.
The cast includes local performers Dean Temple, of Millbrook, and singer Vaughn Fritts, of Pine Plains. Juliette Carbonnier, who plays the lead, is from New York City.
“I hope people get a clear sense of the story and a sense of what the main character is going through as a returning vet,” Cloud said. “And there’s some earworm music in there.”
The Nov. 8 presentation begins at 4 p.m. Tickets were $25, but the showing is sold out, and the waiting list is closed. An invitation-only dress rehearsal is scheduled for Nov. 7. To inquire about availability for that rehearsal, email info@ancramcenter.org.