The Ensemblist

This month, we are resharing our favorite episodes from our 2017 season on Ensemblist Essentials. Think of them as the essential essentials. That spring, our co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I spoke to some of Broadway’s most venerable performers about the most monumental moments in the creation of a Broadway musical. 

In this episode, we spoke to three Broadway performers about “pre-production,” the process that choreographers use to develop their musical staging for a show. Throughout the episode, you’ll hear from Paige Faure, Dionne Figgins and Adam Perry. Enjoy…

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“The Surprise Party” premiered on April 6, 2013. It was written by Julie Rottenberg & Elisa Zuritsky, whose work was last week in the second episode of the second season, “The Fallout,” and it was directed by S. J. Clarkson. The viewership dipped again this week, this time by 1.1 million, bringing the total viewers to 1.88 million.

We had three featured songs this week: two originals and one cover...and this time, no reprises!! The originals included a Pasek & Paul original called “Original,” boppily sung originally by Bombshell’s original Marilyn Katharine McPhee, and a Shaiman & Whitman piano-bar tune called “A Love Letter From The Times,” sung by the legend herself Liza Minnelli! (Oh, and Christian Borle too.) Our one cover was an underscore version of The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” sung by the birthday girl Ivy herself, Megan Hilty.

Bombshell is in tech rehearsal, and it’s very clear that Ivy has not forgiven Tom for casting her mother to play Gladys in the show. She seems to have poisoned the entire company against him. He can’t take back what he did, but he can remind her how much her loves her with a birthday surprise for the ages: dinner with Liza Minnelli. But Ivy already has her own surprise party planned, so now she has to balance two parties: one with Tom, and one that he can’t know about.

At Hit List rehearsal, the company showcases a new song called “Original” for New York Times editor Richard Francis. He likes the number, a cautionary tale of a woman reinventing herself to become a star, but Francis is more fixated on what could be backstage drama: a director and ingenue ditching Broadway for off-Broadway arm in arm.

Julia is doctoring the script of Hit List and finds the biggest problem is The Diva, who she identifies as not really a character, but a trigger for Amanda who has no real agency of her own. In coaching Kyle on his script, she learns that he hasn’t really… ever… learned how to write a musical. But in a day of storyboarding with Julia and Scott Nichols, Kyle cracks the code at how to add some drama into Hit List.

Even though Liza Minnelli singing an original composition that Tom wrote during tech turns Ivy back into a Tom fan, she still doesn’t invite him to her birthday party. But when she leaves her keys at dinner, Tom walks in on a full company birthday party that he wasn’t invited to. Mama Ivy has to teach Tom that while they’re working, they can’t prioritize their friendship over their work.

Karen and Jimmy have been conoodling in the costume racks, but he still wants to keep their relationship on the DL - per Derek’s request. But Karen doesn’t know about their agreement, and when she tells Derek, it puts a riff back between him and Jimmy that affects their work in rehearsal. Karen has to remind Derek that he doesn’t own her, which gives Jimmy and Karen agency to start dating in public.

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Way back in 2014, co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I sat down with Lin-Manuel Miranda. This was before Hamilton, before Moana, before Mary Poppins Returns, before DuckTales when he was merely a Tony Award winning composer with three Broadway shows under his belt. When we talked with him he shared why he chooses to deploy an ensemble, the process of writing In The Heights (now in production as a motion picture) and his first steps in writing the opening for Hamilton.

This was five years ago, so it doesn’t have the audio quality of our current episodes. However, Lin is such a sweetheart on mic and is dropping such great truth bombs about ensembles but we felt it was finally time to take the full interview out of the vaults and share it with you. Here, in his own words, is Lin-Manuel Miranda.

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The Pulitzer’s lineage shows a healthy appreciation for turning a mirror on society. And just like Of Thee I Sing and How To Succeed, Hamilton uses humor to portray many of the serious issues facing our nation’s creation and governance - both in the 1700s and today.

Rarely has an ensemble been so visible as they are in Hamilton. The term “Ensemble of Principals” has been used to describe the cast and for good reason: every track in the 11 member ensemble is highly unique and memorable. 

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Stephanie Klemons is the Associate Choreographer and Global Dance Supervisor of Hamilton. She was part of the process as it grew from a small idea to an international phenomenon with six companies world wide. In addition to being a member of the original cast, she now works to cast the multiple productions of Hamilton. She’s also a choreographer in her own right, working right now on Rock of Ages at Pittsburgh CLO. She does all of this on top of being a wife and mother. 

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“The Parents” premiered on April 2nd, 2013, so Happy belated April Fools? It was written by Jordon Nardino, and directed by Tricia Brock, both new to the Smash family. The viewership fell again this week, this time by 70,000 viewers, for a total of 2.98 million.

We had only three featured songs this week, but they were all originals! From Hit List, we had Katharine McPhee’s rendition of “Broadway Here I Come,” and another Andrew McMahon original entitled, “Reach For Me” sung (and swung) by Krysta Rodriguez. From Bombshell, Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman delivered the mother-and-daughter duet called “Hang the Moon” performed by Megan Hilty and Bernadette Peters.

The role of Marilyn’s mother, Gladys, has finally been cast and rather than going with Patti LuPone, Eileen and Tom have gone with someone a little closer to home: Ivy’s mother: The Broadway star Leigh Conroy is stepping out of retirement to play the role only she could play! Ivy can only feign excitement about the casting, as her relationship with Leigh is filled with competition. 

Karen’s Dad is also in town on business, but it means that he can stop by Hit List rehearsal and attend the theatre’s gala that evening. Since the gala is Hit List’s introduction to the board members and theatre patrons, Scott Nichols wants to add the Diva’s number to the gala performance.

In rehearsal, Ivy and Leigh are dealing with the tension by being nice to each other. Too nice, in fact, that they aren’t playing any of the stakes in the book scenes. That is, until they begin to tell disparaging stories about each other in front of the entire company. But in performing a heartfelt ballad called “Hang the Moon,” both pairs of Gladys and Marilyn, as well as Leigh and Ivy seem to feel empathy for one another. The song makes Mailyn, Ivy and Julia all cry.

At the Manhattan Theatre Workshop’s gala, Karen’s rendition of “Broadway, Here I Come” goes well, but it’s Ana’s gravity-defying performance of “Reach For Me” on silks that brings the house down. And when the Arts Editor of the New York Times commends Ana’s performance, Scott Nichols wants to make the character bigger. And who does he ask to help work as dramaturg to make it happen but Bombshell writer Julia!

And while Karen’s dad isn’t initially behind her leaving Bombshell, after her gala performance he can see why she would both make the jump to Hit List and be interested in Jimmy. But Jimmy is having his own problems, including stealing from the gala’s coat check to pay off a drug dealer.

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next to normal was the second rock musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama after RENT, but it is also a close cousin of kitchen sink-style plays that have won the award as well, such as 2007’s winner Rabbit Hole and 2008’s winner: August: Osage County.   

With music by Tom Kitt, and both book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, next to normal is many things: a family drama, a rock opera, an exploration of mental illness. But is it an ensemble musical?

The cast of next to normal has only six actors: The four members of the Goodman family: Diana, Dan, Gabe and Natalie. Then there’s Natalie’s boyfriend Henry and one actor who plays both Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine. And that’s it. So the show technically has no ensemble. 

So what does a show like next to normal mean for the history of the ensemblist? We certainly don’t have separate singing and dancing ensembles any more, but has the use of ensembles run its course all together? 

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Like many communities in our country, much of the recent discussions among theatre professionals has been around the subjects of race and equality. Much of the change needed to achieve a greater sense of equality in the theatre industry needs to come “from the top down.” However, how can actors and others who are not the decision-makers in our industry make active decisions that advocate?

Today, Olivia Hernandez shares with us a story about facing racism in the theatre industry head-on, and how she forged her own path to acknowledging and advocating for other artists of color. Here, in her own words, is Olivia Hernandez.

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The role of Marilyn’s mother, Gladys, has finally been cast and rather than going with Patti LuPone, Eileen and Tom have gone with someone a little closer to home: Ivy’s mother: The Broadway star Leigh Conroy is stepping out of retirement to play the role only she could play! Ivy can only feign excitement about the casting, as her relationship with Leigh is filled with competition. 

Karen’s Dad is also in town on business, but it means that he can stop by Hit List rehearsal and attend the theatre’s gala that evening. Since the gala is Hit List’s introduction to the board members and theatre patrons, Scott Nichols wants to add the Diva’s number to the gala performance.

In rehearsal, Ivy and Leigh are dealing with the tension by being nice to each other. Too nice, in fact, that they aren’t playing any of the stakes in the book scenes. That is, until they begin to tell disparaging stories about each other in front of the entire company. But in performing a heartfelt ballad called “Hang the Moon,” both pairs of Gladys and Marilyn, as well as Leigh and Ivy seem to feel empathy for one another. The song makes Mailyn, Ivy and Julia all cry.

At the Manhattan Theatre Workshop’s gala, Karen’s rendition of “Broadway, Her I Come” goes well, but it’s Ana’s gravity-defying performance of “Reach For Me” on silks that brings the house down. And when the Arts Editor of the New York Times commends Ana’s performance, Scott Nichols wants to make the character bigger. And who does he ask to help work as dramaturg to make it happen but Bombshell writer Julia!

And while Karen’s dad isn’t initially behind her leaving Bombshell, after her gala performance he can see why she would both make the jump to Hit List and be interested in Jimmy. But Jimmy is having his own problems, including stealing from the gala’s coat check to pay off a drug dealer.

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Welcome back to the re-release of The History of the Ensemble, our second full season of The Ensemblist. Back in 2016, co-creator Nikka Graff Lanzarone and I took a deep dive through the history of the ensemble, exploring how the ensemblist experience has changed and been changed by some of theatre’s most influential musicals. This week, we’re heading back to 1984 to take a look at one of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest artistic feats.

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