{"id":28052,"date":"2026-08-31T08:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T12:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=28052"},"modified":"2026-08-30T17:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T21:15:26","slug":"a-tricky-musical-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2026\/08\/31\/a-tricky-musical-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tricky Musical Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Calling Julia Segal\u2019s new musical \u201cmagical\u201d is far from hyperbolic. A combination of parlor-style magic and musical theater, Shelly Shazam <\/em>is a family affair, in more ways than one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The musical is based on a children\u2019s book of the same name, written by Abby Segal \u2014 Julia\u2019s younger sister \u2014 and published in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Front<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cMy sister is a professional magician and wrote Shelly Shazam! <\/em>as a kind of autobiographical story about a young girl who falls in love with magic,\u201d says Julia \u201920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the perfect subject matter for Julia, who had been itching to write her first full-length musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has always been passionate about music, serving as the music director for the Colgate Resolutions and for Hamilton Central School\u2019s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels <\/em>while studying theater and psychology. After graduation, she turned more seriously to songwriting, performing original songs at open mic nights around New York City. She has released four singles and an EP as half of the electronic pop duo Not the Ending. She also teaches private voice, theater, and piano lessons.

\u201cAt this point in my career, I\u2019m trying to prioritize what\u2019s going to launch me off the ground and what\u2019s going to make me happiest, which is why I turned back to musical theater,\u201d Julia says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With her sister\u2019s blessing, Julia devoted herself to adapting Shelly Shazam! <\/em>for the stage. Like the book, the musical follows Shelly, an 11-year-old girl who discovers real-life magic when a magician performs at her school. She explores this new passion and develops her skills, proving naysayers wrong and learning to trust her own voice along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Abby Segal (left) and Julia Segal (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Julia wrote the music and the script. Abby, who works at the Chicago Magic Lounge, provided insight on which tricks to include. Between songs, cards swish in and out of sight, ropes double and halve, and Abby interacts with the audience, seemingly reading their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want it to be a show that people of all generations can go to together,\u201d says Julia. \u201cI think the magic element appeals to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show\u2019s music has a contemporary sound, influenced by Julia\u2019s background in pop music and by kid-centric musicals like Matilda<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After testing out songs at cabarets across the city, in November 2025, Julia took a risk and emailed a detailed pitch to one of her dream venues: 54 Below, a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of the iconic Studio 54. The risk paid off, and Julia found herself with less than six months to prepare a concert version of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like a full-time job,\u201d says Julia. \u201cAfter the new year, every single day was insane because I decided to produce it as well as music direct it. I wanted to do everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything\u201d included casting. Julia put out an open casting call via Playbill and TikTok, receiving more than 350 self-taped auditions. She chose five performers of varying ages \u2014 as well as her second cousin, Ethan \u2014 to play Shelly, her classmates, the magician, and Shelly\u2019s dads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The open casting call also helped to build the show\u2019s digital footprint. Throughout the process, Julia turned to social media to spread the word and drive ticket sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 19, Shelly Shazam <\/em>debuted to a house full of friends and family at 54 Below. \u201cIt was one of the best days,\u201d says Julia, who also sang and played piano in the show. Now that the curtain has fallen on the 54 Below performance, Julia is thinking seriously about what\u2019s next for Shelly Shazam<\/em>. After revisions, she\u2019d love to do a staged reading and hopes to bring the show back onstage at a regional theater or through a university program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to take it off Broadway,\u201d says Julia, \u201cor on <\/em>Broadway.\u201d
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Julia Segal \u201920 wrote the script and music for her debut musical Shelly Shazam, based on a children’s book by her sister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1272,"featured_media":28054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[354,38,684,1941,4283,84,115],"coauthors":[2933],"class_list":["post-28052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alumni-spotlights","category-alumni-updates","tag-alumni","tag-arts","tag-author","tag-colgate-resolutions","tag-magic","tag-music","tag-theater"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-7is","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Julia-Abby-54-Below-1-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1272"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28052"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28261,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28052\/revisions\/28261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28052"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=28052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}