Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 587
(upbeat music) - Welcome back and everyone to a fabulous new whisper in the wings from stage whisper. We have two fantastic artists joining us today with a fantastic new work that is coming right off of an industry production here in New York. Joining us today, we have the composer, orchestrator, book writer and lyricist, Mike Napi, and the book writer and lyricist, Sam Durant Hunter. They're here to talk just about their new show, The World's cassette library, which is coming to a theater near you very soon. So stay tuned for those details about the next production. But in the meantime, we are so excited about diving into this piece. So let us welcome on our guest today, Mike, Sam, welcome in to Whisper and the Wings from stage whisper. - Hey, what a what an intro. That was, that was really nice, very professional. - Thank you, thank you. I'm excited to talk about this great new show you have it. Like I said, just come off of an industry read, which was amazing. It's called The World's cassette library. Mike, why don't we start with you and how can you tell us a little bit about what the show is about? - Yeah, so the show is about siblings, three siblings who come together after their brother has passed. And so they're dealing with post-depth things, all the logistics that come with that, the complications, the grief. And when they go to the house that they grew up in, they find hundreds, thousands of cassette tapes that their brother has recorded. And from there, it becomes this memory play where they jump back and forth between present and past, playing their younger selves. Joey, the character of the oldest brother who has passed, comes to life. And yeah, it's a show about siblings, exploring themes of grief, forgiveness, obviously memory. And yeah, that's our little show. - That's amazing though. That sounds like such a great piece, I love it. Sam, let me ask you, where did the two of you come up with this idea for the show? - So it's a little bit about Nappy's life. He grew up, his oldest brother growing up, had a cassette recorder with him everywhere he went, and he recorded conversations, TV shows, movies, and made, in real life, the world's cassette library. There's even artwork from when he was little that he made. And it was this exclusive club that all the siblings were a part of, they all had library cards, and they would pick a cassette tape every night to fall asleep to. And Nappy told Max and I about the story, and we ultimately turned it into a musical. That's been fictionalized a little bit, but it comes from the roots of a true story. - Yeah, so basically, yeah, he would record like, for example, like Ferris Bueller, and we would listen to it. We could request different tapes when we were kids, but then fast forward like 10, 15 years, he actually sent me a Google Drive link of all these audio recordings of like my sister's wedding, like family vacations, like adult memories. You know, conversations with my grandmother who has passed, and I was like, whoa, he's still recording things. I had no idea. And yeah, it just, I was like, there's a story here somewhere. I don't know what it is. So yeah, we brought it to Sam and Max, who's not here, he's in Colorado. Hi, Max. - Hi, Max. And yeah, we just sort of explored that idea and like what, what, you know, what that story would be. - That's amazing. That is amazing. And listen, we love a good nostalgia story. Let's be real. Mike, I wanna come back to you now. As I keep mentioning, you just came off of a industry read, the show is going into production and whatnot. So what has it been like developing this piece in its current iteration? - It's been, it's been such an amazing ride. Like, ride things with your besties. That's what I'll say first. Like, it's been such a joy. You know, Max and Sam are like two of my best friends. We started writing this pretty much two weeks before COVID. And then the world shut down, obviously. And we just, you know, it was obviously a crazy time. And we just threw everything into this show. It was sort of like therapeutic, right? I mean, just to like have something to work on. - It was a light during that time. - Yeah. And you know, the three of us have never written anything like this before. So it was just, which I think was part of the magic. You know what I mean? We were very green and just were like, what do we have to lose? Let's write this. We've all worked in the industry as actors, musicians, directors and yeah. So we did, we would write. We did some living room readings with our friends. Couple of things. And then we got selected to do the normal app by Shannon Molly Flynn runs that theater company. And we did a 29 hour reading with her. And then we did this thing called Broadway Shark Tank, which was awesome. I'm sure you've heard of it. It was like, we had to do an eight minute pitch for a panel of producers. And we were the runner up. It was really cool. It was a crazy experience. We learned a lot. And the people who ran that at Openjar Studios, loved our pitch, loved the story, loved the music and gave us this opportunity at the Broadway Workroom Series, which is where it just was. And it was amazing. It was surreal to like see the whole thing come together. We had the full band, the cast and just super talented people across the board. And yeah, the collaboration has been really awesome. And just yeah, we're just super grateful. You know, it's been a four year journey. So the show has grown a lot and it's just always fun to get back in the lab and keep working at it. That is amazing, amazing. Sam, is there anything you'd like to add to all that? - Oh my gosh. Well, I, when Nappy said we've, the show's changed a lot. We actually were revisiting old scripts, old versions of the scripts like a couple of weeks ago. They are old, they are old, they are so dated. - Oh God. - And it's just, it's been really cool to evolve with the show because it started as just an idea. And like, we kind of did a story board and like what we would want the show to look like. And now we're at a point where it's a full fledged musical and we get, we have other opinions involved and other professionals involved and it's kind of taking off. And it's just really, it's been a beautiful process and it's been very validating and sparked creative energy inside of me that I never really knew existed. So I'm just, yeah, excited. And I to reiterate, make stuff with your best friends. - Yes. - It's like, it's the coolest thing to just play and have fun and create and like debate about things and challenge each other. - Challenge each other, make things better 'cause we just ultimately want this show to fly. And that's kind of where it feels like it's going which is really exciting. - Yeah, and it's just so cool to bring, and then to bring, 'cause you know, the three of us were in like the lab for years. It was just the three of us and it was really cool to bring like Shen and our director on Chris Ger. And you know, they had so many wonderful things to bring to the table that just, and that's what makes theater so great is like the collaboration and just like hearing other people's ideas and like talking to Chris about what the musical language is of the show, bringing in like toy instruments because you know, they play kids and just little things like that that just really strengthen the story. And so, and you know, what the cast brought to the table and the musicians and just everyone has, you know, a part of this and it's so crucial that, you know, piece of collaboration that's been really, we're so grateful for it. And it's been like a family, you know? It's really, it's really cool. - That is amazing, amazing. Well, Sam, let me start off this next question with you 'cause with this fantastic show that just sounds, I mean, just listening to it, it serves all these wonderful like emotions and memories in my mind. Is there a message or a thought you hope that audiences take away from your piece? - Yeah, I think that ultimately we just want people to, I think theater has the ability to heal people and we're certainly not trying to project that on anybody but our show invites healing through revisiting memories, revisiting old relationships and just making people think about what's important. We've had some feedback after readings, in our, after our reading in October, somebody said that during the talk back that they wanted to call their grandma. And that's what I want our show to do. I want people to leave the theater thinking about the people that they love, thinking about their friends. And yeah, just kind of, it glues those relationships together and the way that we've written it lends itself to making people think and grow. - And grow and heal. - And reflect. - And reflect, for sure. 'Cause you know, it's, and I think this is what our show explores is, you know, we become these adults and we have responsibilities and, you know, gotta pay the bills and, you know, I think we all, we do have that kid inside of us, you know what I mean? And like, I think that's what's cool about this show is they play the adult, the siblings play the adult selves and then they also play their kid selves when they go back in time. And, you know, we don't, we shed younger versions of ourselves, but we also have the ability to keep them, you know what I mean? And I think there's something about that that's beautiful. It can be painful too. But yeah, I think it's, I think this show allows people to just kind of invite those younger versions of themselves and be like, what was that? Is that important? Can I have that with me? And also examine their relationships. - And also, and also allowing yourself to reframe past versions of yourselves because so often trauma or dark experiences can prevent us from even thinking about certain times in our lives. But if you look at it from a different angle, maybe there's some light there and I wanna help invite that in people with this show for sure. - Call your dad. - Call your dad. - Call your dad. Call your friend that you've been putting off like, you know, connect. - Yeah, I think that's, that's, that's what it is, yeah. - I love that idea. And that actually is a perfect lead into my final question for this first part, which is who do you hope have access to the world's set library? - I think it's, I think it's a pretty universal story. I think family can be defined in so many different ways. And, you know, I think, yeah, we, everyone, right? I mean, yeah, it, we, I, we, the show is so specific. I mean, obviously the world's cassette library, the story of the world's cassette library is so specific to Nappy. But we, the three of us wrote our selves and our friendships into the show. And we got very specific with that process. And I think in that specificity, it's a hard word to say. - Isn't it? - It's the, it's the, it's not the, it's the specificity. - There's, there's kind of this innate universality. Is that a word? - That's a great word. - Thank you. - Trust me, your question should have gotten this question. But what we, what we've realized is the more specifically make it, the more us we make it, the wider the, the net, well, not the net, the wider the message becomes. - Yeah. - I guess. - And like speaking on like the specificity, yeah. I think a key that we unlocked with this show was like, the more specific you are, the better. And I think it does, that does make it more universal. Like even though, like for example, there's a moment in the show where the siblings are throwing raisins to bats. It's what we, I used to do as a kid. It's so weird and so random. It's like, and there's a song about it. And obviously things are happening during it, you know. But just that idea of throwing a raisin to a bat as a kid and believing that those bats, they are feeding the bats. That's what we believe. And it's so specific to my family. But people who have seen this show have said, man, that is so weird, but like, I didn't throw raisins to bats, but I did something else that reminded me of the most ridiculous things me and my siblings used to do, or me and my friends used to do, or me and my mom used to do. So I think, you know, yeah, it's really for everybody. It's an invitation to just explore that. Like, what are those weird things you did? And like, the more we found those kind of like bizarre, you know, very specific stories, I think the more the show worked. So, yeah, that's a long roundabout way of saying, it's for everybody, you know. And I think that's important too. I think, you know, I think theater should be for everybody, like to not pigeonhole yourself into one specific age group or whatever, I think it's good to invite everybody in. And yeah, I think that's a cool thing, so. And everybody is a sibling, a mother, a son, a daughter, a parent, like everybody has a relationship that they can resonate with in this story. And I think that's, I don't know, the power of the show, for this point, and what it feels like, yeah. Well, on the second part of our interviews, we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a little bit better. Pick your brains, if you will. And I would love to start by asking the two of you, our regular first question, which is what or who inspires you? Well, playwrights, composers, or shows have inspired you in the past, or just some of your favorites. And Sam, can I kick off the second part with you? - Sure. Well, my immediate answer when you first asked that question was my friends are who inspire me these days the most. I definitely have composers, playwrights, that got me into theater as a kid. I remember, I mean, my first memory of theater was watching the 10th anniversary of Les Mis on PBS. And I watched, I dream to dream, and I just kind of rocked my world a little bit, 'cause I didn't know that people could do something like that up to that point. And now living in New York, I've been here for 13 years, and I have an amazing family of friends who are all really crushing it right now. And it feels, it's just so inspiring, seeing everybody become who they wanted to be when they were little. And so, yeah, my answer now is my friends, the people around me, the people making the work, the people in the dirt, figuring things out, making new things. Yeah, what am I doing? Yeah, I'm saying, like, I would 100% agree with all, like, like, for example, like our friend, I'm gonna plug this, you know, love this. Max, Max just is about to release a single called Ruby that I got to play trumpet on. And it's just, again, a collection of musicians and just friends and artists that are all doing cool things. And there's nothing like that. And I think that's the best part about new work, is hearing new voices and seeing, yeah, your friends, your people, like crushing it and like lending their voice and their sound to this world. I mean, like, I grew up in a very musical family. My dad's a music director. My mom had like eight million musical theater records. So, you know, I grew up listening to Sondheim and, you know, Rogers and Hammer's like all the classics. So, I love that sound, but also like, yeah, like, our friends, that's so great, Sam. I agree, it's so, it's so true though. Don't let it go to your head. Yeah, okay. I hate you though, Jesus. But yeah, yeah, it's, you can really learn a lot from, yeah, the people around you and just, yeah, the city is so great with that too. There's just always something going on, like a basement reading, a cabaret, yeah. And it's just, it's, yeah, that's inspiring. It's inspiring to hear other people, your friends, do the things. Yeah, it's really cool. That is a wonderful, wonderful list of inspiration there. I love that. Well, let me ask the two of you, what is your favorite part about working in the theater? And Mike, when you start first, you want that? I think, you know, it's, what I said, like it's the collaboration. It's meeting people, it's seeing their perspective. Like that, that's my favorite part. Like, it's just, yeah, the collaboration, really. Like, like just, yeah, I don't know how else to say it. It's just working, working with people and meeting people and jamming with people. I mean, that's how this started. Like, I came over to, you know, Max and Sam's apartment. We had the piano and we just jammed. And like, I don't know, and there's just something about that. Like, sometimes we go to like jam sessions, like we were there a couple months ago and just people playing music and I don't know. It's just, it's, there's something really magical about that, just working with other people. And it takes a, you know, it takes an army to put a show up. And really, it's, there's so much to it. And I think that it's so beautiful and just something about just the liveness, the gathering of, after you've all worked on this thing, the audience is also a part of it. And everyone gathers and you do the live thing and might be different every night. But there's just something magical about that. - Yeah, I feel the exact same way. I love, I love working with weird people. Like, everybody in this industry is so weird. And, and we all celebrate that weirdness in each other. And I think that that's, like, I feel like I have found my community. I mean, so many of us grew up being the weird kid and... - Hey, what are you talking about? - No, not you. - You were cool. - I was so cool. - You were so cool. - You were so cool. - Anyway, I was weird. - I was weird. - That was weird. - Well, weird. - It's really cool to kind of get to a place where people are working professionally, making really cool things. And they're all the weird kid. You know, like, I love, I love seeing everybody's process. And I, like, I think growing up I looked at shows as these, like, back to that Les Mis reference, as these polished pieces of art, right? And I didn't realize back then how much work, like, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Seeing the show on its feet is the tip of the iceberg. And there's so much work that goes into it. And that process is what's so inspiring to me, what's so fulfilling to me. - It's the process. - It's the process. - That is, that's it. - That one you're painting, right? That's when you're making the piece. - Well, it's almost too, like, when you're doing, you're creating. - Yeah, and when you're doing new work, it's almost like when you open the show, whether you're an actor or a writer or whatever, like... And it's frozen, it's almost like, aw. - Yeah, like, I want to play more. - Yeah, like, I don't know, it's sort of like, it's great to perform every night or whatever it might be, but the best part, the most, like, magical, inspiring part is being in the lab and, like, making the thing and writing new melodies or trying new lines or, you know, a different costume change or like, how does, let's change this choreo, like, the preview process, let's change this. Let's do this, like, let's make the puzzle fit. It's tried, let's try things. Let's throw darts at the wall. And that is the best part. And that's why working on something new, I think, is really the most rewarding thing to do in theater. So, work on something new, new work, collaboration. (laughing) What else? - What other points can I have? - You're not sitting in both worlds, can I throw it now? - I love that answer, though. I love it, that is amazing. Weird people unite, I'm just saying. - Weird people unite. - You're really in the theater, like... - Yeah, you gotta be weird. - Exactly, exactly. And, you know, that actually is a great leading to my favorite question to ask guests, which is, what is your favorite theater memory? - Oh, man. - And feel free to jump in whenever you have it. - I was just telling Sam that, so, like, I started doing theater when I was, like, eight years old, and the first show I ever did was all of her. And I remember, I was such a shy kid. And so, like, my parents were like, "You really wanna, like, do this?" And I was like, "I don't know, yeah." And I remember putting dirt on my face. And I thought that was, like, the coolest thing ever. And, like, I don't know. There were, like, all these other kids running around, and I was meeting new people, and I was like, "This is cool." And then I did Peter Pan, like, right after that. And same thing, I was putting dirt on my face. Basically, if I could put dirt on my face all the time, it was the greatest thing. But, like, I remember, like, just doing Peter Pan, and, like, I had a sword, and, like, I was hanging out with adults, and we went to go see, like, Pirates of the Caribbean at midnight, and I was, like, a kid, and I was, like, "This is, I was being treated as an adult as a kid." If that makes sense. And I just have that memory of, like, just absolutely falling in love with theater. Just, like, this is the cool, like, people get to do this, this is so awesome. And, yeah, like, that was definitely, like, my, I guess, I don't know, that's a very vivid memory for me, like, those two things, because, yeah, it's like, I guess the reason I'm here, you know, it's like, do it in theater. It's just, like, those sort of, yeah, memories of putting dirt on my face, and running around with the sword, and, like, hearing the band play, and, you know, having secret handshakes with Captain Hook, and, like, all the things. Like, I remember those things, and, you know, I take those with me. And then there's moments, like, recently, like, hearing our, you know, book and music, be heard, you know, hearing it for the first time, and getting to share that with these guys, has just been, like, so surreal. There's a lot of them. Theater's pretty awesome. (both laughing) - I love those, though. Those were wonderful memories. - What about you, Sam? - Yeah, what's your favorite theater memory? - I, this one just popped into my head. I think the first time I felt the power of theater, and being on a stage, and affecting an audience, was when I was probably in fourth or fifth grade. I was in a talent show, and I played trombone at the time. I had just started learning it. - Cool instrument. - Right? (both laughing) - And I came up with this really crazy idea. - Oh, boy. - To walk out on stage with my right arm in a sling, as if it was broken, it was not broken. And so I had my trombone in my left hand. My right arm was in a sling. I sat down at the music stand, and acted like I didn't know what to do, and slowly and deliberately took my shoe off, and my sock off, and I played hot cross buns on my trombone with my foot. - What? - And I affected the audience in this. I was so overwhelmed in that moment by how much of a response I got. - Was a music teacher pissed? No? What did he mean? It was a talent show. - Oh, was it a talent show? I wasn't listening, I'm sorry. (both laughing) - That is so awesome. - Yeah, and I guess-- - Picture me with a band, a band, a band. - Just like a random. (both laughing) - Like we're playing bridge over double ball. (both laughing) - Anyway, sorry, go on, go on, go on, I'm sorry. - Yeah, I think that that memory, I will always cherish that memory. - Did it win? - I don't think it was a competition, but yes. - What kind of talent do you want with this? (both laughing) - We were as competitive in Vermont. Pennsylvania was crazy. - Oh my God. - I love that. That is an amazing memory. Thank you. Thank you both so much for those great, great memories. These are fantastic. Well, that has me wrapped things up. I would love to know either of you have any other projects or productions coming down the pipeline that we might be able to plug for you? - I'm working on another musical called Take Me Back to Yellowstone. It's very Goonies meets Shawshank Redemption meets Sandlot, another kind of nostalgic kind of piece, but it's very over the top and silly and yeah, just in the sort of reading phase of that. So planning a couple of those and yeah. So I would say that's something I'm working on. I have dabbled in the, I'm writing parts of a novel. I write poetry, just kind of whatever flows out of me, but the main focus right now for me is World's Gazette, just getting it on its feet and getting some money behind it and getting a full production as soon as we can 'cause we're really excited to keep the momentum going. - It's amazing. And you know what that leads to my final question, which is if our listeners would like more information about the World's Gazette library or about any interview, maybe they want to reach out to either of you, how can they do so? - We are on Instagram at the World's Gazette library. Our email address is worldscasset@gmail.com if you want to get in touch with us. Our personal Instagrams are on the World's Gazette page as well. If you want to follow us individually, beautiful. - Thanks. - Wonderful. Well, Mike, Sam, thank you both so, so much for taking the time to speak with me. For sharing your amazing show, I cannot wait to see it. I'm so excited. And I also can't wait to see what's next for the two of you. You've got some great stuff in the pipeline. So thank you both so much for taking the time to speak with me today. - Thank you for having us. - Thanks for the opportunity. This was really fun. - Thank you. - More new work. We love this. - My guests today have been the incredible composer, orchestrator, writer, and lyricist Mike Nappy. And the amazing writer and lyricist, Sam Durant Hunter, who joined us to talk about their new show, The World's Gazette Library. It will be coming to a theater near you. We will be able to announce a production very, very soon, so stay tuned. But also, you can follow our guests at the World's Gazette Library on Instagram or check out their email address, worldcasset@gmail.com. Say on top of all the things they're doing, that's a great place to keep your eyes out for the next production of the show. But we are so honored to have these two great artists talking to us about this new work. So keep your eyes peeled for the new production of The World's Gazette Library. So until next time, I'm Andrew Cortez, reminding you to turn off your cell phones, unwrap your candies. - And keep talking about the theater. - Best stage whisper. - Thank you. (upbeat music) - If you like what you hear, please leave a five star review, like and subscribe. - You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at stagewhisperpod. - And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at stagewhisperpod@gmail.com. - And be sure to check out our website for all things stage whisper and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets and more. Simply visit stagewhisperpod.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazzar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazzar and Billy Murray. You can also become a patron of our show by logging on to patreon.com/stagewhisperpod. 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