Jeudi Cornejo Brealey says, “The past few years have been a great ride. I healed from cancer and came through with good health, renewed vigor, and enthusiasm. I had a body of work, 32 rarely heard 1920s and 1930s Tin Pan Alley tunes, featuring the talents of alums Yvette Holzwarth and Dan González (both Music MFA 16). After my recovery, during the lockdown I released 10 singles which served as the backbone for LOVE OUTSHINES THE MOON, a new developing musical I’ve written and co-produced with my husband Paul Hemstreet (Interschool MFA 1992). It’s a romance revival in this merry musical, where whole-hearted happiness, high jinks, and hilarity meet in a seaside resort. A dapper actor/would-be radio producer pitches to the Lux Soap company “A True Love Radio Road Show” program and while scouting for talent on a moonlit pleasure pier, falls for a pretty and plucky, lovelorn singer/diarist. Just starting out, they don’t have much, just grit and imagination, but love lights their way. She writes the initial episode based on their romance. He produces it and their story captivates the nation, making them the reality stars of the Jazz Age and catapulting them from radio theater onto the big screen and beyond. I feel an artistic stewardship to preserve this historic work and build on it for modern audiences. The music may be 100 years old, but the timeless emotions and humanity keep it fresh and familiar. Today, there are startling historic parallels which resonate in ways I could never have imagined when I began this project back in 2015. Back then, when framing the story for others, I had to explain what a pandemic was and how everyone living in that era was a survivor. Just like us. Now, more than ever, we seek the light and we’re all looking for a happy ending. I’ve been developing this project for eight years; to me, it’s a calling. At times the journey seemed circuitous, or off-track. Now I see that we’re right on time, for such a time as this. We spent 14 months developing this through a monthly residency in a mixed-use space, now we need to bring it to an actual theater. Would love to collaborate with other CalArtians. Follow me: https://jeudi.activehosted.com/f/3.”