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Festival Show Update: Gun & Powder

January 10, 2020

Last month, we checked in with Angelica Chéri and Ross Baum about their 2018 Festival show Gun & Powder. The show is about to have its world premiere at Signature Theatre in Virginia
What did you discover about Gun & Powder after presenting it in the 2018 Festival, and what work have you done on the show since then?
Through our NAMT presentation we were able to hone in on the collective identity of our ensemble. Our initial approach had been to assemble a group of people who appeared to have some stake in the history of Mary & Martha Clarke, but they weren’t clearly defined. After the NAMT Festival, we chose to solidify our ensemble as a core group of ancestors, called the “Kinfolk,” ostensibly having a conversation around the family dinner table, letting the audience in on their intimate shared narrative. In January 2019 we spent two wonderful weeks at the Johnny Mercer Colony at Goodspeed, crafting these rewrites in preparation for our Signature production.
What have you been doing to prepare for the world premiere production, and what has your partnership with Signature looked like?
In addition to the Mercer Colony, we spent time working together in New York and Los Angeles—our two respective coasts—writing new songs, connecting ensemble moments with our new framework, fleshing out character arcs and incorporating other notes from our growing team of collaborators. Our partnership with Signature has been really exciting so far—they have been very supportive of our vision and helped us to assemble a dream cast and creative team. They’ve also included us in key conversations around marketing and context for the prominent messages of the show.
Tell us a little bit about the creative team that’s been put together for this world premiere, and what you are most looking forward to in the rehearsal process.
We have the brilliant Robert O’Hara (Slave Play, Bootycandy) as our director with choreography by Byron Easley (Slave Play), music direction by Darryl Ivey (Shuffle Along), set design by Jason Sherwood (Emmy winner for RENT: Live), costume design by Dede Ayite (Secret Life Of Bees, American Son), lighting design by Alex Jainchill (BLKS), and orchestrations by Tony-nominee John Clancy (Mean Girls, Fun Home) and Scott Wasserman (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen).

We are most excited to see Gun & Powder come to life because we know it is going to be nothing like the versions we have envisioned in our heads for the past five years, especially with a creative team of such amazing artists. We are also thrilled to see what our fabulous cast is going to bring to the story because we will undoubtedly discover so much from this group of smart, talented actors. We are eager to see how the show will morph and grow in the bodies of living, breathing human beings.
What do you hope is next for the show, and how can NAMT members who are interested in its future development get involved now?
Our ultimate goal is to take the show to Broadway, and we have begun to assemble a powerful producing and general management team—some of whom we met directly through the NAMT Festival!—to help chart the journey. We would welcome the support of NAMT members who are interested in our show. Feel free to get in touch!
Why should people plan a visit to the DC area to check out the world premiere?
We were so delightfully overwhelmed by the outpouring of positive feedback from the NAMT community after our presentation and we would love the opportunity to share the full story with you all!

For more information about Gun & Powder, and to purchase tickets to the upcoming production, please visit the Signature Theatre website.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Americano!

December 4, 2019

Next, we spoke with Michael Barnard, Producing Artistic Director, and Vincent VanVleet, Managing Director, at NAMT member The Phoenix Theatre Company about their upcoming new musical Americano!, written by Barnard, Jonathan Rosenberg and Carrie Rodriguez. The musical is set to open at the end of January.
Americano! is based on the real life story of DREAMer Tony Valdovinos. His parents move the family from Mexico to the U.S. looking for a safer and more prosperous future when Tony is only two—but they never share their undocumented status with him. He is shocked to be turned down by the Marines as an illegal immigrant when he tries to enlist on his 18th birthday. Americano! traces Tony’s search for identity as he struggles to fit into a world where the only home he has ever known is suddenly ripped away.
What is The Phoenix Theatre Company’s history with new works, and how does this production of Americano! fit into your overall commitment to new works development?
The Phoenix Theatre Company has a long history of new work development, as well as a growing Festival of New American Theatre—recent world premieres include Lucky Star, Unbeatable, Dream a Little Dream, Love Makes the World Go ‘Round, When You Wish, Cookin’s a Drag and Sisters in Law. Five years ago, we made a serious commitment to increasing the tempo of new work development, and we are thrilled to say we have not only met, but exceeded expectations. Americano! was created entirely within our new work development program, and will have its world premiere on our Mainstage on January 31, 2020, as part of our 100th anniversary season. It is a human story about a DREAMer and his family—a young man devoted to this country and seeking his place in America. It comes at a very relevant time.

Tell us a little bit about the genesis of this project and what inspired The Phoenix Theatre Company to develop the project through to full production.
The spark for Americano! was struck during a chance conversation at a wedding almost five years ago. Jason Rose, owner of a prominent Scottsdale public relations, public affairs and events firm, approached us (Producing Artistic Director Michael Barnard and Managing Director Vincent VanVleet) with his vision for the project. Michael co-authored the book with Jonathan Rosenberg, whose most recent musical, 33 1/3 – House of Dreams, broke box office records at the San Diego Repertory Theatre earlier this year. Recommendations led to an amazing partnership with critically acclaimed, award-winning Austin singer/songwriter Carrie Rodriguez. Sergio Mendoza is our arranger, a native of the Arizona border town of Nogales and the founder of indie rock band Calexico and Orkesta Mendoza. The project is a collaboration with Jason Rose and Quixote Productions, and Broadway producer Ken Davenport has signed on as Executive Producer.
Americano! is a story for these times and all times, designed to challenge preconceived notions and remind us that America’s strength has always been that we are a nation of immigrants. It is a magical alchemy of robust storytelling and driving Latin score—a hot new production with broad public appeal, humanizing the people at the heart of this hot-button controversy.
What makes The Phoenix Theatre Company the perfect place to produce this show now?
At a time of great divide within our country, Americano! could not be more relevant or align more perfectly with our mission to inspire hope and understanding. We have high hopes for this production—we could see it going to other regional theatres, possibly as a tour, and ultimately launching as a commercial production in New York.
New works programs like ours are crucial to achieving gender parity in the American theatre canon—something we are working consciously to achieve. Americano! showcases the talent of an amazing female composer and lyricist—Carrie Rodriguez. It’s incredibly important for us to reflect the complexity of the human experience and the vitality of our collective community if we want American theatre to attract new audiences. Carrie melds fiery fiddle playing, electrifying vocals and a fresh interpretation of new and classic songs with an “Ameri-Chicana” attitude. Her sound is a Texas-bred twist on Mexican Ranchera songs, creating music for a culturally blended world. She has been profiled in many publications, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Times of London and The New Yorker.
Why should everyone book their flights to Arizona to catch this show?
The show is ripped right out of today’s headlines and Arizona sits at ground zero. This is a stellar cast and creative team, and we’ve birthed something truly new and remarkable that is a true expression of our shared experience. Get ready to be moved, because in the end we are all dreamers.

For more information about Americano!, and purchase tickets to the production, visit The Phoenix Theatre Company’s website.

NAMT News

Festival Show Update: The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes

December 3, 2019

This month we caught up with Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond about their 2014 Festival show The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes. The show recently had its world premiere at Village Theatre, and released a cast album, which is now available for purchase. In addition to …Howard Barnes, the pair also penned the 2011 Festival show Dani Girl.
What was the post Festival response to The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes when you presented the show in 2014?
Oh, you know, people were rioting in the streets, starting political revolutions and such. It was like The Rite of Spring, if The Rite of Spring were an abbreviated, 45-minute musical. 🙂
Seriously though, we had a lot of fantastic responses to the Festival presentation. We learned a ton about the show by presenting it in that manner, and the experience generated a number of opportunities for both the show itself, and for our broader careers. In fact, one of the reasons we ended up getting hired to write the songs for VAMPIRINA is because two Disney executives saw that presentation.
…Howard Barnes had its world premiere at Village Theatre last year—how did the production go, and what was the most exciting part of getting to put the show on its feet?
The Village production was the culmination of the eight-year journey we’ve gone on with this show, and it was absolutely thrilling. It’s a show for a big cast and Village gave us all the resources we needed to make this show come to life. Plus, we had an absolutely fantastic team to collaborate with. It was a complete joy to be in the room from beginning to end.
It’s always thrilling to watch a show come to life on stage, but for us the most exciting part is how much the show itself grows through the process. We learned a ton during the production process, and the show improved immensely as a result.
One of our favorite parts of the process are the challenging rewrites that have to happen as a show moves from the page to the stage. For instance, in tech we discovered that we had a 30-second scene change that needed to be covered right after the second song. We had a day to write something that felt necessary and fun and that didn’t just mark time. It ended up being one of our favorite moments of the show, and it all came out as a result of the process of being in production and learning what the show needs in order to be fully realized on stage. (It’s the last half of track two on the album, if you’d care to listen further…)

You have a cast album that dropped this Fall! Why did you make the decision to produce the album, and what did the production process look like?
At a certain point during rehearsals, we were like “Uhm…we need to preserve this. It’s too much fun.” So we did just that: the day after closing we went in the studio, while the energy was still fresh, and birthed this cast album. We were blown away by the talent and artistry of the actors and musicians from Seattle, and we’re happy to have captured for posterity them on this recording.
Why should everyone get their cast album now?
Because Lord knows we’re paying our rent with the .0067 cents per play we get on Spotify.
But really, particularly for NAMT members and writers, this is the kind of show with an enormous number of theatre “easter eggs” in it. (True theatre nerds may want to look out for our favorite, a reference to a certain line from The Sound of Music about what Maria “caahn’t face”).
It’s a show that both celebrates and makes fun of theatre, in addition to being the journey of a man coming to terms with his vulnerability and finding the music and joy in his life. I think we can all use a little more of that these days…
How can members interested in …Howard Barnes’ next steps get involved with the show now?
Anyone interested in the show can reach out to us directly at koomandimond@gmail.com.
You can purchase The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes’ soundtrack here, and for more information on the show, please visit Kooman and Dimond’s website.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: The Ballad of Klook and Vinette

May 1, 2019

Last month, we chatted with Dave Steakley, the producing artistic director at NAMT member ZACH Theatre. ZACH is about to open a production of 2017 Festival show The Ballad of Klook and Vinette, formerly known as Klook’s Last Stand, written by Ché Walker, Anoushka Lucas and Omar Leyfook. Dave told us a little about what to expect from the upcoming production, and why everyone should make their way to Texas and check it out.
Tender, funny and incredibly moving, this contemporary new love story will grab you from the inside out. Klook and Vinette are two lost souls trying to find themselves in one another. Against all odds and with the past at their heels, together they make a tentative stab at happiness. This is a seductive musical about inevitability and the thrill of falling in love.