MSU graduate Rick Kunzi has something to look forward to in the Big Apple.

The theater graduate wrote and co-produced the rock-musical "BRUNCH," which hits the New York City stage in September 2008.

"BRUNCH" is a musical about a 20-something struggling actor in New York City. The basis of the story was partly influenced by Kunzi's personal experience as a young actor.

"Just like anybody else, I've had to wait tables and tend bars … you have to see firsthand what everyone is going through," he said. "It's been great to incorporate your real life into a project and make it entertainment for everyone."

"BRUNCH" is being workshopped in Southgate, Mich. A workshop is a regular performance with the full cast, crew, band and original compositions, but without the sets, said Adam Barnosky, Kunzi's manager and coproducer.

A workshop is considered "an intimate evening with the cast," Barnosky said. Kunzi spent the last two years performing in off-Broadway shows in New York City.

After awhile in the city, Kunzi realized many of the Broadway shows were adapted from books and movies, he said. It was then he decided to create a musical of his own.

"I was frustrated they were recycling these new types of material and, oddly enough, I got a call from Jim Rado, who wrote 'Hair,'" Kunzi said, adding that hearing how Rado developed his project has helped him with his own.

Before pursuing his acting career in New York City, Kunzi was a college student with plans to pursue an education degree. However, after taking advantage of the activities MSU offers, Kunzi became involved in the Department of Theater, he said.

Kunzi was a member of the MSU Men's Glee Club before he was cast as the lead in "Hair," with guest Broadway director Thom Sesma, which was performed at MSU in 2002. Kunzi considers that experience his first introduction to the theater department.

"MSU theater has always given the opportunity to the younger crowd," Kunzi said, adding that other theater schools focus on graduate theater students. "MSU was able to give undergraduates the opportunity to play a large part in the department."

After "Hair," Kunzi performed and starred in multiple shows at MSU, and he attributes much of his success in New York City to his experiences at MSU, Barnosky said.

Frank Rutledge, a theater professor, greatly influenced Kunzi as an undergraduate, Kunzi said.

"(Rutledge) definitely taught me to always keep myself in check, and to never get a big head and to always remember where I came from," he said.