Sam Melton

Sam Melton is a composer, lyricist, and playwright creating relatable stories about the unfamiliar. Their work reflects their identity as a butch lesbian, and their interests and expertise in environmental justice, civil engineering, flood management, and entomology. They design their work to inspire both laughter and discussion; through humor, relatable characters, and music, they entertain audiences while inviting them into new and unexpected worlds.

Sam is the Composer in the 2026 24 Hour Plays Nationals cohort. In July 2026, their new musical Bury Your Gays will premiere at the SheNYC Arts festival at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater (Off-Broadway). In December 2025, a concert of Bury Your Gays was performed at Bechdel Project in partnership with Ring of Keys; in June 2026, a second concert was featured in FRIGID’s Queerly Festival at Under St. Mark’s. In May 2026, their play with music, Jungle Restaurant, was featured in Soho Playhouse’s Lighthouse Series (Off-Broadway). Their musical Mangroves premiered at Princeton University in 2022, and their TYA musical The Woman Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge played to sold-out audiences at Princeton Summer Theater in 2023.