In a few days, Newport will welcome dozens of Broadway-level musical theater actors, musicians and industry professionals who will spend the next two weeks workshopping three new musicals.
It’s all part of the Newport NewWorks Musical Theater Festival. The productions will debut in two weeks, and they’re expected to sell out – so we’re giving you this early preview of the festival while tickets are still available.
Afternoon host Mareva Lindo spoke with Newport NewWorks’ co-artistic directors, Jeanne Hagerty, a theater and film producer, and Peilin Chou, an Academy Award-nominated producer.
Interview highlights:
The inspiration for the festival:
Peilin Chou: Being both in Newport and being both in love with Newport and both feeling how wonderfully creative the energy is there, and with the cultural backdrop of the jazz festival, the folk festival, classical music festival, film festival, we just thought there was such an opportunity because there was no theater festival, and it just felt like the town needed it, and we stepped up to the cause. We always share this witchy part of the story. We call it the witchy part of the story because the home that I bought in Middletown, Rhode Island, I did not know till after I purchased it, was formerly owned by George Wein, who's the founder of the Jazz and Folk Festival, and we conceived the idea in my house. So we like to say the walls were talking to us, and really creating this festival was destiny.
On how the three works are selected:
Jeanne Hagerty: We had an open submission process, and we received over 400 applications. And we had people help us, but we read through all of them and looked at all of them very closely, and together decided the three that we thought that would really fit our festival.
Chou: One: is it a story we feel needs to be in the world, needs to be told right now? Is it relevant and universal in that way? And also, is it a show that maybe wouldn't have the opportunity otherwise to explore in such an in-depth process of two weeks in residence? We do support these shows with Broadway-level actors, directors, music director, stage manager, musicians. You know the whole gamut of resources that you may need to put your show up on its feet. The public presentation is a staged reading at music stands, but it really feels like a very full experience of the piece.
“A Live Worth Living” is one of three musicals that are part of the festival
Hagerty: (It’s) a musical about a high school boy who goes into residential treatment. And you know his process, told through the eyes of a 16-year-old, is really interesting, and I think it's really timely, and it's also really funny. The writer has a really great sense of humor.
Chou: His background is stand-up, so he has infused that into the piece.
Hagerty: Yeah, and it really allows you to sort of step into his shoes and see it through his point of view, and it's a really serious subject. So the humor really helps you to understand it from the audience point of view without feeling too heavy.
Chou: One of the reasons that we chose it, the writer Jeffrey Chen, it’s based on his own experiences in high school, being in residential treatment. He's currently 23, I think. So it wasn't that long ago, and I think that his voice, there's such an authenticity to it that can only be found by someone who went through that themselves, and his goal is to shine a light on residential treatment and the stigma that there is against it, and just really tell the story of people going through that and the colorful characters and the amazing connections he made there and the people that helped him. And it really is like Jean said, a serious story, but also ultimately a really funny one, but uplifting as well.
How the works change from the start of the process to the performance at the end:
Chou: Last year, we can say the shows that we started with and the shows that were shown in public presentation at the end of the two weeks, were completely different shows, night and day, in so many ways. And I think that's what's most exciting about coming to a public presentation for Newport New Works is that you are really in the room where it happens. The show that you're seeing that night was not the same the day before, and it will not be the same the day after. You are the one and only audience that is ever going to see that version of the show because the moment that it ends, the feedback from the audience is taken into account, and the experience of the public presentation and the rewriting continues on as part of the journey of the show. Because when an audience laughs or doesn't laugh or holds its breath or exhales. The energy in the room, it really impacts how the show evolves from that moment forward. And additionally, after the show, every attendee is sent a link to a questionnaire, and we solicit the feedback of all the audience members. And the creative team has that and uses that in their consideration with the shows moving forward. So it's really meaningful to be in the audience. I think for the creative teams and also for audience members.
On what people may take away from coming to the performances:
Hagerty: I hope that they understand the process of making musicals a little bit better, I hope that they feel like they are part of the process, that they're really integral and creating new works, and I hope that they know how much we rely on them for their feedback.
Chou: I also hope that they understand that they're part of a rare experience and opportunity to help me work. You know, earlier this month, the New York Times published an article about how it's become increasingly difficult for musicals to make it to Broadway, and that's not because of the lack of great ideas or creative teams, but because of the lack of opportunity for these shows to really be in development and have the opportunity to really evolve and grow and have the thinking time and the creative time to do that. Developing musicals is also a costly venture. Opportunities for developmental workshops, like the ones that we host, have become less and less available, particularly for musicals, and so that makes it that shows sometimes without the proper time. kind of end up getting thrust onto a platform that it may not be ready for, and so we're really trying to be a part of the movement that nurtures and helps develop these shows, and it's becoming sadly more and more of a rare thing. So when audiences come to support our shows, they are part of supporting that movement of creating more great original musicals for Broadway and for the world.
Where: Casino Theatre, 9 Freebody St., Newport
When: August 14 & 15
Details: newportnewworks.org
