
An Optimist’s Guide to the Dark Ages
AUG. 9, 2026, 2:00PM
Music by Michael Kooman
Book and Lyrics by Christopher Dimond
The Dark Ages: A time of plagues, pestilence, and poor personal hygiene.
But in the midst of the mud and the muck, Percival von Schmootz remains impossibly hopeful. In fact, he is the world’s one and only optimist, which does not go unnoticed by the jaded residents of his hometown, who are constantly irritated by his positive worldview.
When the Bubonic Plague wipes out the entirety of said hometown, Percival sets out on a quest to personally end the Dark Ages. His efforts meet with hilarious failure at every turn, until he ultimately learns what enlightenment truly means.
With the signature humor of Village favorites Kooman & Dimond (The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, The Break) and a ridiculously fun musical theater score, An Optimist’s Guide to the Dark Ages will have audiences walking out with a sunnier outlook—and an urge to wash their hands.
An Optimist’s Guide to the Dark Ages, formerly titled The Enlightenment of Percival Von Schmootz, was originally commissioned by the Canadian Music Theatre Project. It received further development from the American Music Theatre Project, Adirondack Theatre Festival, and the Bloomington Playwrights’ Project. The show will be presented in New York City as part of the Stagedoor Foundation’s inaugural New Next Now festival in early 2027.
MICHAEL KOOMAN and CHRISTOPHER DIMOND are an Emmy-nominated writing team for the stage and screen. They wrote more than 150 songs for Disney’s Vampirina, an animated musical TV series reaching over 100 million viewers in 115 countries.
Other television work includes Netflix’s Ridley Jones, Dead End: Paranormal Park, and Spirit Rangers.
Their other stage projects include Romantics Anonymous (Shakespeare’s Globe – written with Emma Rice), The Noteworthy Lif of Howard Barnes (Village Theater), The Break (Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals 2024), Finn (John F. Kennedy Center – written with Chris Nee), Orphie & The Book of Heroes (John F. Kennedy Center), Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court (Pittsburgh CLO), Dani Girl (Exit, Pursued by a Bear), Golden Gate (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Homemade Fusion (Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and Junior Claus (Orlando Repertory Theatre).
Michael and Chris have written songs for Patti Lupone, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patina Miller, Sara Ramirez, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Santino Fontana, Christopher Jackson, Skyler Astin, James Monroe Iglehart, Anna Camp, Jane Lynch, Henry Winkler, Rachel Bloom, Donald Faison, Alfred Molina, Taran Killam, and Wanda Sykes.
Awards and honors include the Fred Ebb Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, the Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award, the Samuel French Next Step Award, the Burton Lane Award, and the Harold Adamson Award. They are members of the Dramatists Guild and ASCAP, and are proud alumni of Carnegie Mellon University.
Their debut album, Out of Our Heads, and the world premiere recording of The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes are now available on Apple Music and Spotify.
Learn more at www.koomandimond.com @koomandimond