Video: Jeff Calhoun & Eamon John Foley Are Getting Ready to Tell HIS STORY in Dallas

Name: Video: Jeff Calhoun & Eamon John Foley Are Getting Ready to Tell HIS STORY in Dallas | Open Video
Uploaded: 2024-05-17T09:16:34+00:00
Duration: 25 min 23 s
Description: His Story: The Musical, the world-premiere musical, is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth this spring! Performances begin May 6, 2023 at the new state-of-the-art Broadway Tent at Grandscape, with opening night set for May 18, 2023. In this video, watch Jeff Calhoun and Eamon John Foley chat more about bringing this epic story to the stage for the first time!

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Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge. His story, The Musical, is a new contemporary pop musical
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and a Broadway-style immersive theatrical event based on the life of Jesus, which features an original book
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music, and lyrics by Anna Miriam Brown. The Musical kicks off on May 5th at the new
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state-of-the-art Broadway tent at Grandscape, and to tell us all about it is the show's two-time
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Tony Award-nominated director of Newsies and Bonnie & Clyde, Jeff Calhoun, and the show's choreographer, Eamon Foley
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Welcome, gentlemen. How are you two? We're good. Hey, Richie. How you doing
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Well, first of all, how are you and where are the two of you right now
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Well, we're in Big D. We're in Texas getting ready to put on a show
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Only a few miles away from the great, you know, the big Ferris wheel at Fair Park
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I'm sure you're well aware of all the musicals they do in the summer here. Well, we're just a few miles away from there and we've pitched our own tent
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I love this. Okay, so have you started tech? Like, where are you guys right now in the process
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Oh, yeah. Every director and choreographer out there knows what that sigh means
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You know, tech is always challenging. You know, as an actor, it's always your most boring time
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because you're just standing there while we light, but as a director and choreographer, it's your favorite time
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because it's when you get to take that dream and make it a reality
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But this is fraught with more challenges than normal because, Richie, we wanted to do this in a theater, in a proscenium theater
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We couldn't find a theater that would house us for an open-ended run
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So I don't know what we were drinking at the time, but we decided that we would just buy a tent, pitch a tent
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and put on our show in our own theater, and that's what we've done
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But that has compromised, as you can imagine, the tech process because we're literally teching in a construction site
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We have to wear hard hats and vests when we go in and out of the theater
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I know. So the theater is being built, the tent's being built as you're teching the show
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That is correct, if you can imagine that. We're here seeing it, and we can't imagine it
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Okay, so before we get into that, take me back to the beginning
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How did the musical come about for both of you to do
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and what made you say, yes, I want to do this? My agent sent me the music
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Anna created these 30 songs in a concept album that are just unbelievable
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And a few years prior to this, Eamon reached out to me
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wanted to meet and talk and have a meeting, and so we met, and that was the first time I met him, although I remember him on stage, of course
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the way you referred to earlier in the evening. And I knew immediately, he sent me his videos after our meeting
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and I immediately just put in the back of my mind, wow, when the right project comes along, this is an extraordinary young talent
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And so as I'm listening to the music, I'm also seeing it, and I was influenced by Twyla
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You know when Twyla took Billy Joel's music and did Moving Out on Broadway
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That's how I wanted to tell this story, and that was the perfect opportunity for me to call this young genius sitting next to me, Eamon Foley
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and I knew it was the right project for us. Eamon, for you, how did this come about for you
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Well, Jeff called and sent this amazing album, and I really wanted to work with Jeff, obviously
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and so I was walking in Prospect Park, listening to his story
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and song after song started tumbling, and it started to sort of spin into a narrative for both of us
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and kind of taking this concept album, and it started to weave into something that felt like an evening
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And then we got on our feet with a workshop, and I just realized it was the most fun I've ever had choreographing to music before
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It just sat really in the pocket of how I like to move, and how I see shapes on stage
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It didn't feel like a flex, it felt very comfortable. So we just started riding that wave
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and it's been really, really fun material to bring to life. So for each of you, what makes this project different and unique
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from other shows that you each have worked on? Either of you can start
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Well, for me, first of all, the subject matter. I think it couldn't have come at a better time
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The story of light infiltrating the shadows, and the darkness that is, I think, prevalent right now in our society
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It certainly was in me, Richie, after post-COVID. It was a very difficult time, right, for all of us
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And somehow this coming to me has both been a really healing thing, both on a personal level and professionally
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I don't know about you. Yeah, it's... Why was this unique? I mean, it's..
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Yeah, I had a really interesting relationship with the church growing up, to be honest
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And it's been really wonderful to just get in touch with this story
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through Anna's part, because it's just all about love, and seeing past people's flaws to the beauty within them
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and taking a story that we all have our own relationships with
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and just finding beauty and universality within it. And that's been really fabulous
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because to put this story into contemporary language and a contemporary soundscape has just made me realize
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oh, this is wonderful. And it's just changed my perspective on that
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And I've just enjoyed meeting people who are in touch with the story
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in a really beautiful way. Well, let's talk about the young composer and the writer, Anna Miriam Brown
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So you listened to the concept album. Talk to me about being in the room with her
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Talk about the conversations you had with her about collaborating on this and what you admire the most about what she's accomplished
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at such a young age, right? Well, she's early in her career, obviously
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She was 17, is my understanding, when she started writing this. And so, you know, out of the mouth of babes
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It's just such an innocent, laser-communicated story. And I think that's just because of her age and where she's at
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It's a beauty, right, in youth. You try to maintain your whole life, you try to hold on to that
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and it's harder the older you get. And so it's really refreshing working with somebody still young
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and early in their career. For me, it's like vitamins. She's like a big vitamin for me
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I just love working with her. Our whole team, though, is remarkable
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Yeah, this team is amazing. She has this freedom about it because she's not..
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That competition, that New York sort of aggression, she just writes from her heart
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You know, it's so beautiful, and it's instinctual and fabulous. And she's just an absolute joy to be around
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because she's really fresh. Yeah. Let's talk about collaborating together. You know, we didn't have a lot of this during COVID
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so for the two of you, it must be so great, as a director and a choreographer, to be in the room together
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And talk about your collaboration, Jeff. Well, for me, anytime you have two people
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that are both directors and choreographers, it's going to be seamless because you speak the same language
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For me, on a personal level, it's a real head trip because I'm reminded so many times of my early work with Tommy Toon
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and how he was grooming me and how he would watch my work and just say things
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and at the time, it would drive me crazy and bug me. And now I find the roles are reversed
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and here I'm trying to give a platform for Eamon to soar
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and I'm sure he's thinking the same things to himself. I was thinking internally to Tommy
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So for me, it's really profound, sort of coming of age in an odd way, it feels like, for me
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and a joy to watch this one work. It's really, I mean, for me, it's been a match made in heaven
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You know, I find that I don't feel like you stamp on my work
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I feel like you help it soar, you know? It's been amazing, you know, speaking the same language
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as a director who does have profound experience as a choreographer, you know, Jeff can see the potential for how dance can work in a story
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So we're speaking the same language, as Jeff said, but also we're able to see, oh, you know, movement can go here
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and movement can, you know, kind of carry the weight of the story at this moment or the subtext
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and, you know, kind of push it a step further. And we often, you know, kind of see the same thing
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you know, at the same time. And I'll throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall
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and Jeff will refine it, pull away, say, you can push this more
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And it's just, it's my first time working with a director who also has choreography experience
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and really knows what dance is capable of in musical theater storytelling
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So it's been, it's been really fun. And something epic like this, Richie
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I just think that the dance is more profound than dialogue would be
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I'm not interested in these characters talking. I think it would reduce the show to something
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that wouldn't interest me as much. We're trying to create this beautiful art piece
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about this amazing story with very few words. So it's mostly sung through and told through the movement of the body
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It's really kind of thrilling, Richie. And to be, you know, I woke up this morning to an email from Equity
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This is my anniversary for Equity today, which I thought, you know, that's always sort of a shocker, right
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It was like 46 years ago today. I got my actor's Equity card
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So it's fun to be this old and have been doing this for so long
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and still have a new experience where I feel like I've never done anything like what we're doing right now
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Well, and then talk about the freedom you've had as a choreographer
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This is a pop contemporary score. So like how easy was it to make you the movement and all of this
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Talk about the styles you're using in this for an audience of today. Yeah, absolutely
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So the styles in the show are just, you know, really informed by how Anna writes, how that sits in me
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It definitely is. It's hard to name, you know, the style that you're dancing in for a musical because it just has to
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you know, bend to what the story needs and how you're vibing with that moment and the music
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But it's definitely more in the contemporary vernacular because from the round, you know
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it's really about how, you know, bodies move in space and like the architecture between them
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So it's really about the joy of formations and this kind of kaleidoscopic
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you know, bird's eye view of how things stretch, kind of more like a snowflake rather than like, you know
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across a proscenium. So, you know, playing with symmetry, but also with depth at the same time is maybe really think about the X
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Y axis in a really fun way. And it's been, you know, super liberating to know that I'm looking at things from all angles
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So, you know, every shape, you know, you can walk around and it has to be beautiful and that's really
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really fun. So I want to pull that into my proscenium work
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You know, I think sometimes we're making things for, you know, the orchestra rather than really making a show for the balcony
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this thing that, you know, stretches in all dimensions. So I've learned a lot about, you know
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the other side looking at choreography because of the stage, you know, configuration. And I, you know
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I want to pull that into everything. It's been awesome. And, you know, every show I like to have inspiration
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whether it be a painter or another kind of artist and like for
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for Newsies, it was Jackson who did that. Michael Kidd. We've talked to Chris about it
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It should be like Michael Kidd, the choreography. And for this, the influence that I mentioned to Aidan was a peanut bath, right
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At the very beginning. Yeah. That was my inspiration for this. So it's, it's, it's pedestrian, you know
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it's not the sort of show that, you know, Has the tricks or even feel super technical, but you know
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it wants to feel because it, you know, it's, it's so spiritual. It's also about, you know, marrying that to something very human
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you know, that that dichotomy is really fun. So they're just really people making the angel, making, you know
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making the wailing wall, making whatever they are. They're they're just humans on stage
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And that's what Eamon does so beautifully, you know, simple is hard. And with Eamon's work, there's not a wasted stroke
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Everything is advancing the story. It's fantastic. Thanks Jeff. Yeah. Let's talk about your young cast. I mean
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you're discovering a lot of people in this show. So Jeff and Eamon talk about what it was like casting this and talk
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about your cast and what you love the most about them. Jeff. I mean
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I'm lucky because I've had these shows that allow me to work with the new generation and young people
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whether it would be high school musical or Greece or newsies or between
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the lines of these shows that allow me to have young talent. And this is no exception
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And I love working with the young generation because they're just as
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passionate as we were, but they're early in their career. And so they're on time
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They don't hold their scripts in their hand when you're blocking, because they come in already having memorized their lines
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When you teach them their music, they come in the next day and they know it. So it's really fun working with, with young artists. I find
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Yeah. They're amazing. I mean, they're, they're, as Jeff said, super passionate, but you also see that, you know
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they're going to be the future there. These are, these are the folks that we're going to be watching, you know
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for our lifetime. And they're, they're really incredible, triple threats. No one in this show, you know, just does one thing
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Everyone's on stage the entire time, you know, hopping in and out of, you know, kind of supporting movement roles to, you know
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taking the entire stage and the entire story on their, in their hands. So everyone does everything and watching them be so flexible and hopping
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into, you know, into the ensemble and then out for a moment is just, it's a real, a real generous spirit
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So Jeff, when you're casting, when you casted this show, how do you know when you see someone in the room
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how do you say that's the person I want to play this role? That's the person I want to work with
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Well, you know, the obvious answer is. Their talent. We're looking for extraordinarily talented people
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but I also want people, and we've talked about this before, Richie. I like to, you want someone you want to date
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You're hiring people you want, you're asking an audience to spend a two and a half evening date with
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these people. So you're casting people you want to hang out with in addition to their
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talent. At least that's how I look at it. And if I really like somebody when they leave the room
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I'll pretend I have to go to the bathroom and I'll go out and follow just to see what they are outside the room
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And is it the same person that was inside the room? Yeah. I mean, we definitely found people who just, you know
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exuded professionalism and a joy to be there, you know, just kind of a dropped in-ness is really enjoyable to see in the room
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And, and yeah, that was, that was just clear when, when these folks came in
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How big is the company? We have 16 on stage and we have four swings
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but we think we may need to, even though it's the post COVID we still
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we think we need to probably bring on another one or two covers just to
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Well, you know, Jeff, you had mentioned Between the Lines. I want to congratulate you and your projection designer
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Now, how do you say your projection designers name? Kate Hefner. Okay. I want to congratulate both of you for your Drama Desk nominations
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for Between the Lines. You must be so excited. Yeah. Just one more opportunity to lose something
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Don't stop that. No, but what just says to me. It's remarkable, Richie. Her work on Between the Lines
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I thought was really gorgeous, but she's outdoing herself with this because here we've given her a 360
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degree canvas to project on. What we did Richie is we bought the tent from a show called Peter Pan 360
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Some people may remember that it's built. So there's nothing obstructing the flying of Peter Pan
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So all everything holding up the tent is on the outside of the tent. So she has that whole ceiling 360 degrees
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It's kind of remarkable. See. It's fun because we haven't seen it yet either
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We're kind of figuring it out as we're doing this. I don't know that anyone's ever created a new Broadway musical in the round
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before starting in the round. I don't know, but certainly it's never been done here in Dallas and it's really
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really exciting. But see, this is exciting about what you do. I mean, you've had a lot of firsts with shows that you put together
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They're all different. So here are the two of you are now in a brand new putting up
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you know, this immersive theatrical event together in this incredible 10 360 degrees
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I mean, it's got to be scary, but it's also got to be exciting all at the same time for both of you
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Well, you named it. It's scary. It's frightening. And it's exciting. It's all of those things. It really is. I have to tell you
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it's the happiest that I've ever been working on a new show
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It's really thrilling. Every level, every person involved, I love being with
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And I think the material is unique, completely unique. And how often can you say that
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Especially with Joe, you know, how it is. You better make way of telling it
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But, you know, in the past, we've had Jesus Christ, superstar, we've had God's Bell. I mean, every generation there seems to be a new person putting their spin on
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this story. And, you know, I was listening to the music again, talk about your creative musical creative team. I mean, is it Rick
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hip Flores? I mean, talk about the people working with you too. You want to talk about it? Sure. I mean, Rick is amazing. I mean
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you know, Anna's score is so phenomenal. And so then to take someone like Rick with so much experience who knows to
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