Spring has sprung on (and off) Broadway, and a multitude of new shows have bloomed along with it. Playbill highlighted some of the season's offerings in our Spring Preview series (sponsored by Princess Cruises). In addition to interviews with Eden Espinosa of Lempicka, Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster of Sweeney Todd, and more, we also featured exclusive performances from this season's new musicals. The videos featured Teeth, Water for Elephants, and The Outsiders. Read on to learn more about the video series.
Alyse Alan Louis and Jason Gotay Perform "Modest Is Hottest" From Teeth
Teeth, the new musical from A Strange Loop creator Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs is currently playing a twice-extended Off-Broadway engagement at Playwrights Horizons until April 28.
Based on the 2007 horror comedy film of the same name, Teeth follows evangelical Christian teenager Dawn O'Keefe (played by Louis), whose body bites back when men try to violate her. In "Modest Is Hottest," Dawn and her boyfriend Tobey (played by Gotay) restrain their lust for one another, choosing to focus instead on their commitment to purity.
“I grew up gay in the church with all the confusion and shame that attends such an upbringing. I went from deeply absorbing the religious ideology I was raised with to deeply questioning it,” Jackson says of the show's inspiration. “That’s where I found most of the comedic style of the show. These characters believe in the cause of sexual purity until they don’t. And whenever they even think about sex, they punish themselves. And each other. That was my modus operandi as a younger person—but as Samuel Beckett once said, ‘There is nothing funnier than unhappiness.’ So, it is in Teeth.”
For more background on the show, including how "Christian TikTok" contributed to the writing process, click here to watch the video.
PigPen Theatre Co. Perform "The Road Don't Make You Young" From Water for Elephants
Theatre collective PigPen Theatre Company—which includes Alex Falberg, Matt Nuernberger, Ben Ferguson, Arya Shahi, Dan Weschler, Curtis Gillen, and Ryan Melia—composed the score for Broadway's high-flying musical adaptation of Water for Elephants. The song "The Road Don't Make You Young" introduces the characters of the circus-themed musical, and lets the audience know what the sound of the show will be.
“That song really establishes the sound of the circus as a company,” Weschler says. “Because it's composed primarily out of instruments that we imagine that these roustabouts and performers would have on hand—either to play in their own acts or because when you're off duty, you have a few minutes to sit and pluck a banjo or blow into a harmonica or whatever. This song begins as a very diegetic song in that sense. And then it becomes this introduction to all of the different individuals and units in the circus.”
To learn more about the show and PigPen Theatre Co.'s real estate adventures (like sharing a seven-bedroom New York City apartment), click here to view the video.
Joshua Boone Performs "Little Brother" From The Outsiders
For the last video of Playbill's Spring Preview series, The Outsiders' Joshua Boone stopped by the studio to perform the song "Little Brother," accompanied by composer, book-writer, and lyricist Justin Levine. Boone stars as Dallas, an older brother figure for the younger Johnny, in the story about a group of young boys who form a makeshift family. The new musical is based on S.E. Hinton's novel and Francis Ford Coppola's subsequent film.
"'Little Brother' takes place in Act II, and depicts an emotional breaking point for Dallas," Boone says. "[The song] is a cry, it's a release. It's everything that these characters have been holding inside finally coming out...At this point, Dally doesn't reveal his feelings too often, and over the course of the show, he begins to crack. This is the deepest crack where he begins to shatter."
Check out the full article to hear Boone's heart-wrenching vocals, and learn how The Outsiders welcomes audiences to connect with their "inner child." Click here to view the video.
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