big Famous
A new musical by Nicholas and Stephen Kaminski
About the authors:
Nicholas Kaminski (Book, Music and Lyrics) BroadwayWorld says that Nicholas “has a talent for catchy melodies and wry, self-deprecating lyrics that have the elegance of Bock & Harnick combined with the bawdiness of William Finn.” Currently living in Manhattan, Nicholas Kaminski is a writer, actor, and musician originally from New Jersey.
Nicholas has performed alongside virtually every kind of performer, from musical theater artists like Roger Bart (The Producers) and Andrea McArdle (Annie), acclaimed directors like B.T. McNicholl (Spamalot) and Norb Joerder (Camelot), Broadway music directors like Patrick Vaccariello (Cabaret) and Larry Pressgrove ([title of show]), rock bands like Jack's Mannequin, and legendary composers like Eric Whitacre (Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings). Nicholas is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and the Dramatists Guild.
Nicholas is the composer, lyricist, and book writer of his completely original musical, Starborn: A Disco Odyssey, which received a staged reading and cast recording at Surflight Theatre in 2018 and was performed at 54 Below in March 2020. He has also composed music for animated shorts, cabaret pieces, musical theatre shorts, and standalone albums.
Favorite credits: Music Direction: Cabaret (National Tour, AMD/Accordion/Synth), Bright Star (Surflight Theatre, MD/Piano/Accordion); Acting: Souvenir (Surflight Theatre, “Cosme McMoon”), House Hunters (HGTV, “Himself”), Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings (Carnegie Hall, Ensemble).
Nicholas holds his Bachelors of Arts in Music from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He is a private songwriting student of Mark Hollmann (Urinetown).
Stephen Kaminski (Music and Lyrics) Stephen Kaminski is a Grammy-nominated composer, arranger and music producer. He studied saxophone with Lenny Hambro (Glen Miller Orch) and studied arranging and orchestration with Frank Hunter (Al Hirt) while still in high school. His first job as Music Director was for the M.I.T. Production of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To the Forum while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston where he later graduated with a degree in Film Scoring.
Through writing and producing for Pyramid, Westwood, Auracle, Mibe, Premier and most recently, FineTune production music libraries, his wide variety of original music can be heard on all major television networks.
Stephen was on the team of talented composers for the FOX animated series The Shaman King. He also composes original music for live orchestras, as well as short films, advertising, gaming and has scored documentaries on the History Channel such as History In The Making.
Stephen arranged/composed the soundtrack music for the Jack Black movie The Polka King. Stephen was very excited to be the band leader for the pre-production recording session, playing saxophone, and working with actor Jack Black. The film premiered on Netflix in 2018 and is based on the rise-and-fall life of entertainer and friend Jan Lewan. Stephen was music director of the Jan Lewan Orchestra from 1988 until 2002. They were nominated for a Grammy from their self-titled CD in 1994. The character of “Pally” is based on Stephen’s time with Jan Lewan and his orchestra.
From the minds of Nicholas and Stephen Kaminski, Big Famous is the true story of larger-than-life Polka entertainer, Jan Lewan, a Polish immigrant who built a Polka music empire in the 1990s. While Jan dreams of bringing Polka music to the masses, his songwriter, Pally, has dreams of Broadway and worries that being known as a “Polka guy” will hurt his chances of a career as a “serious” musician. The empire comes crashing down when it’s discovered that Jan has been funding his endeavors with a Ponzi scheme that has been defrauding the elderly out of their life savings.
For a complete synopsis, character breakdown, demo and more, please see the electronic press kit here: