The Story Songs Mission Team Partner With Us

A New American Folk Musical

HIKE The Musical

A new musical about being lost in the desert and showing up when the system fails.

Coming Soon & Stay Updated

The Story

Not about finding yourself.
About showing up.

Jake has spent a decade selling transformation — dream vacations, breakthrough retreats, the curated promise of a better self. He's brilliant at it, and it's hollowing him out. When he finally quits and drives west to Zion, he discovers that the canyon doesn't care about his crisis.

Ellie doesn't run away from things. She runs a pawn shop in Virgin, Utah that has quietly become her community's lifeline — not because anyone asked her to, but because tomorrow someone needs help, and that's enough.

HIKE is the story of what happens when the philosophy of escape meets the philosophy of presence. Set against the red rock wilderness of southern Utah, it's a two-act folk-Americana musical about authenticity, service, and the difference between seeking meaning and making it.

2
Acts · ~2 hours 50 minutes
18
Songs · Folk-Americana Score
11
Years in Zion — lived, not researched
100%
Of proceeds to mission — homelessness + public lands

The Score

Songs from the trail

A folk-Americana score drawing from canyon quiet, gateway-town noise, and the distance between the two. Demos available upon request for producers and collaborators.

Act One · Opening
"Sell the Dream"
Jake in his element — the dazzling machinery of manufactured aspiration.
Demo Available
Act One
"No Words Will Do"
The moment the canyon actually stops him. Not performance — awe.
Demo Available
Act One · Ensemble
"Find Yourself (For $19.99)"
The Springdale gauntlet. Commodified authenticity as satirical spectacle.
Demo Available
Act One
"A Dark Sky"
Jake alone under the Milky Way, making the wrong conclusion feel completely right.
Demo Available
Act One · Duet
"Roots and Wings"
Jake and Ellie. The irreconcilable philosophies, named honestly and with full force.
Demo Available
Act One · Ellie's Song
"The Pawn Shop Waltz"
Ellie's quiet, devastating mission statement. Mutual aid as a way of life.
Demo Available
Act One
"Just Keep Hiking"
Motion as identity. The seductive logic of always moving forward.
In Development
Act Two
"Pawn Shop Gospel"
What Ellie has learned from ten years of showing up. The hardest kind of faith.
Demo Available
Act Two · Finale
"Tell the Story Right"
The synthesis. Not a happy ending — a real one.
In Development

Full libretto and demo recordings available to qualified producers & collaborators.
Contact us below.

The Mission

Art that does something

HIKE is structured as a mission-driven production. 100% of net proceeds support two causes that run through the DNA of this story.

End Homelessness

Written by the Senior Director of Communications at Switchpoint Community Resource Center — Utah's largest statewide homelessness and poverty services provider — HIKE isn't fiction about the unhoused. It's autobiography from inside the work. Proceeds support Switchpoint's Housing PLUS wraparound model, serving clients across 13 facilities statewide.

Protect Public Lands

Zion National Park isn't a backdrop. Eleven years working for its official nonprofit partner means every scene, every tension, every awe-struck silence in this show is lived experience. Proceeds support public lands conservation and the gateway communities that exist in their shadow — often forgotten, always essential.

"Tomorrow someone needs help.
That's enough."

— Ellie, Act One

The Creative Team

This story belongs to someone

Only someone who lived eleven years in a gateway community, then spent years inside homelessness services, could have written this musical without flinching.

ZA
Zack Almaguer
Book, Music & Lyrics

11 years communications director at Zion National Park's official nonprofit partner. Currently Senior Director of Communications at Switchpoint Community Resource Center. Songwriter, communications strategist, and the reason this musical exists.

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Composer / Arranger
Seeking

Demos exist. The score is written. We are seeking a classically trained composer or arranger to develop the full orchestral manuscript for regional and touring production.

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Director
Seeking

Looking for a director with regional theater experience who understands both the intimacy of folk storytelling and the physical demands of a landscape-driven production.

Interested in joining the creative team?

We're in active development and open to conversations with composers, directors, choreographers, and regional theater programs — particularly in the Utah / Southwest region. Demos and full libretto available under NDA.

Development

Where we are

2024
Conception & First Songs
Book structured. First six songs written and demoed. Core characters and thematic architecture locked.
Late 2024
Full Two-Act Structure Complete
Complete libretto outline. 18-song score mapped. Staging notes written for every scene. Runtime projected at approximately 2:50.
Early 2025
Demo Recordings
AI-assisted demos completed for core songs including "Pawn Shop Waltz," "A Dark Sky," "Find Yourself (For $19.99)," and "Roots and Wings." Producer and theater community feedback gathered.
2025
Composer Collaboration & NDA Framework
Seeking composing partner. Legal framework established for collaboration under working title "The Waltz Project."
2025–2026
Workshop Production
First staged reading / workshop with regional theater partner. Targeting Utah-based companies with proximity to source material.
2026+
Regional Premiere & Tour
World premiere in a venue with cultural proximity to the story. Touring model designed for regional and university productions.

Partner With Us

Bring HIKE to your stage

Whether you're a producer, a regional theater artistic director, a philanthropist aligned with our mission, or a university theater program — we want to hear from you. Full materials available upon request.

What partners receive

Full Materials
Complete libretto, song demos, staging notes, and production budget projections.
Production Rights
Regional and touring licensing available for aligned theater companies and venues.
Mission Alignment
Partner branding tied to homelessness and public lands causes. Investor recognition in all production materials.