On a Thursday afternoon, the creative team of Broadway鈥檚 In Transit gathers in the audio booth at the famed Avatar Studios. Vocal arranger Deke Sharon (Pitch Perfect) stands at a console, remote in hand, to communicate with the full cast of 11 (plus three understudies and a beatboxer alternate) as they sing the opening number. Tony Award鈥搘inning director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall hovers beside him. The writing team, a quartet of composer-lyricist-book writers, are scattered around the room. Kristen Anderson-Lopez, an Academy Award winner for Frozen鈥檚 earworm power ballad 鈥淟et It Go,鈥� anchors the back. James-Allen Ford leans against the far wall, peering over Sara Wordsworth鈥檚 shoulder, as she bobs to the beat. Russ Kaplan stands a few paces behind them, hands in pockets, eyes closed, lightly swaying.
The four friends and co-creators met after college through an a cappella group, Bob Ross Juice Box. Anderson-Lopez and Ford were partners at the BMI Workshop (the program that nurtured writers like Alan Menken and Jeanine Tesori) and created the very first iteration of In Transit for their ten-minute musical. Decades later, they鈥攁long with Wordsworth and Kaplan鈥攑remiere Broadway鈥檚 first a cappella musical, opening at the Circle in the Square Theatre December 11.
After winning the 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for the Off-Broadway version of In Transit at 59E59, the team is excited to finally see their show bow on the Main Stem. But they鈥檙e also nervous as they sit to discuss their daring new musical, and the combination of fear and thrill is palpable.
ON CREATING BROADWAY鈥橲 FIRST A CAPPELLA MUSICAL
What鈥檚 going on in your mind when you鈥檙e in that booth. What are you listening for?
James-Allen Ford: The changes we put in this morning.
[Everyone laughs]
Sara Wordsworth: Technically the mix, which we鈥檙e also listening for in the theatre. We鈥檙e listening for the exact right combination of solo lines and storytelling.
Kristen Anderson-Lopez: For us, the most important thing is that the story we want to tell is coming across鈥攁nd the mix is part of that. If it鈥檚 a wall of sound, then you鈥檙e not hearing the individual voices come out. Today, we were just hearing literally: Where鈥檚 the alto? Where鈥檚 the tenor?
SW: We want the audience to not have to deal with any of that. Sometimes it鈥檚 a compliment when we hear, 鈥淚 forgot it was a cappella.鈥�
KAL: It鈥檚 a one-of-a-kind sonic, aural experience.
What鈥檚 the biggest lesson or the most surprising thing you learned?
SW: I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 surprising: How complicated the show is in terms of sound.
JAF: And how hard it is to do the reading and to hear it because people have to learn so much. It can鈥檛 just be one person at the piano, it has to be ten people, and as you know it takes a while for a group to gel.
SW: We鈥檝e also learned a lot about casting. Not only do they have to be incredible musical comedy actors, incredible musicians, but it takes a certain kind of non-diva to do this show.
Have there been vocal elements you鈥檝e had to keep in mind for the staging?
JAF: Musically, it鈥檚 been an issue. Who鈥檚 onstage? Who can we see doing the words?
SW: Somebody鈥檚 got to change their clothes, so we don鈥檛 actually have a tenor onstage here.
JAF: Right, but if the four people onstage are just going oooh and then we only hear words won鈥檛 that be weird? So we have to switch out the arrangement so those four people are doing the words and the people backstage are doing the ooohs.
Russ Kaplan: Fortunately, we鈥檝e been able to start revising these arrangements with our arranger, Deke Sharon, and with Kathleen鈥檚 feedback.
KAL: And because it is staged as a series of train stops, we also have to make sure we don鈥檛 have one actor playing one character at stop one and the next immediate stop they鈥檙e a different character. You have to stagger.
With movies like Pitch Perfect, reality shows like The Sing-Off, and groups like Pentatonix, a cappella has broken through as a mainstream genre instead of a niche pastime.
JAF: The world鈥檚 a different place than when we started this musical. We鈥檙e used to liking a cappella now. It鈥檚 more mainstream. People are more open to the idea.
SW: For so many people, a cappella is in them. Even if they just sang in their high school choir, this choral thing is a happy thing.
KAL: It鈥檚 like a family. That鈥檚 part of why we wanted to write this鈥攊t鈥檚 even in the lyric. We wanted to write a love letter to New York. It was post-9/11 [when we started], and it was during this time that we realized, 鈥淥h my gosh, when you really strip it back, everyone in New York, we鈥檙e this giant family. We鈥檙e this giant a cappella group operating, and sometimes we鈥檙e singing the solo, but most of the time we鈥檙e singing background.鈥� That is what this show is trying to say.
MEET THE STRAPHANGERS
In Transit follows 11 New Yorkers as they struggle to discover their identities in the city. Who are the people audiences will meet?
KAL: You鈥檙e going to meet a lot of people, and this is inspired by real life events. You鈥檙e going to meet an actor who has been doing the actor-temp thing for ten years and is wondering if it鈥檚 time to switch routes. You鈥檙e going to meet鈥�
SW: A recently unemployed banker who has lost his entire sense of being because he doesn鈥檛 know what he wants to do with his life. We鈥檙e meeting people at real crossroads, all trying to get somewhere and not sure how to get there.
KAL: [To James] Do you want to explain the鈥�
JAF: Sure, because you outted me that one time.
[Everyone laughs]
KAL: I outted him to his family.
JAF: We鈥檙e going to meet a gay couple and one of them is not completely out to his family.
RK: And a lovelorn runner, who鈥攜ears prior鈥攗prooted her whole life from the other coast for a guy, moved to New York and when that ended she has no roots 鈥� and she鈥檚 trying to fill her time finding who she is and reestablishing her connections to the city.
KAL: A beatboxer.
SW: You鈥檙e really going to meet 40 people. There are 11 actors, but they all play multiple roles, so it鈥檚 really more like 40 people in the city.
KAL: You鈥檙e really going to see how they intersect. What we鈥檙e trying to celebrate is the connections that you make while in transit, or along the way, tend to be the thing that gets you where you need to go.
INSIDE THE WRITER鈥橲 ROOM
As a writing team, all four of you are working on all of the components of the show. How is your dynamic? Do each of you take ownership over certain characters?
RK: They鈥檙e at least semi-autobiographical in some cases, so we can鈥檛 help but [take ownership]. As for as our roles in the collaboration, we all do everything, but we also have specialties.
KAL: The boys tend to be the a cappella gurus of our group. They know the notes; they tend to compose the music. When we鈥檙e doing vocal rehearsals, Sara and I are listening in a different way. They鈥檙e listening to: 鈥淎re they hitting the eighth note?鈥� Sara and I are listening to: 鈥淐an you be less aggressive?鈥�
SW: The lyric and the rhyme and the story. 鈥�. But we all work together much like a Hollywood writer鈥檚 room, which isn鈥檛 really the theatre model, but it鈥檚 worked for us, especially in this comedy that we鈥檙e writing. [Our philosophy is] 鈥渂est joke wins.鈥� Plus, we are all really close friends. We are a family.
KAL: We鈥檝e been through a lot. We鈥檝e been at each other鈥檚 weddings, births.
SW: We all sang a cappella at one another鈥檚 weddings.
KAL: I think half of our writing process is just an excuse鈥�
SW: To hang out?
KAL: It has lasted for eight years.
RK: It was the entire reason for some years.
SW: I thought about when we won鈥檛 be writing the show anymore, and I got really depressed about that.
KAL: I think we鈥檙e going to have to come up with something new.
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