Adam Guettel talks music, Catholicism, and ‘Millions’ at Alliance Theatre

The cast and creative gang of Millions at rehearsal Photo provided by the Alliance Theatre Adam Guettel perpetually writes the music first The composer used to dread writing lyrics he tells me They just didn t come as naturally as the music did and they reliably took him so much time When he was younger he used to not even notice lyrics at all As we spoke on the phone he started humming the melody to My Cherie Amour Do you know that song he stated pretending to ask me the question before taking it upon himself to deliver the response he would reliably get in return They re like Well what are the lyrics I m like I don t know Guettel enjoys writing lyrics far more now than he did at the beginning of his career But music is still inevitably the first thing that comes to mind I think that the resolution of music is infinite he stated You can say I love you in music in an infinite number of options There s no limit Whereas in English it s a task to recontextualize those three words so that they are fresh It tracks that Guettel would feel so connected to music in this way His grandfather was Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein the composer behind musicals like Oklahoma South Pacific and The Sound of Music In turn his mother Mary Rodgers was a composer in own right writing the music for Once Upon a Mattress and The Mad Show Guettel didn t learn too much about musical composition directly from his grandfather except of unit literally at his knee under the piano while he would play when Guettel was a child But his mother he called his first and preponderance critical mentor although she had selected unconventional tactics That s a lazy melody Those harmonies are boring I ve heard that before You can t end a song like that You have to bring us home he disclosed remembering the criticisms she would dole out She was unforgiving and in that way she was the best tutor ever The stakes were high and she knew exactly what she was talking about Looking through Geuttel s career his music is anything but lazy or boring Floyd Collins premiered Off-Broadway in and made its Broadway debut this year nominated for six Tony Awards In he won the Best Original Figure Tony for his work on The Light in the Piazza He was Tony-nominated for his amount for Aaron Sorkin s play adaptation of To Kill a Mockinbird in as well as for his music in the musical Days of Wine and Roses in His newest musical Millions premiered at the Alliance Theatre on May and will play through June The journey to Millions The musical based on the comedy-drama film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce follows two young brothers Damian and Anthony dealing with the death of their mother When they find a duffel bag full of cash Damian thinks it s a gift from God But he ll soon find out it s something much more dangerous Millions is not one of Boyle s more well-known films and Guettel had never seen it until it was recommended to him by a friend Amy Van Nostrand She thought it might make a good musical Guettel agreed He thought the movie was great but saw things that could be improved upon a key for adaptation Composer Adam Guettel Photo provided by the Alliance Theatre It s a wonderful movie with a huge heart Guettel announced A few of the fundamental characters are a little bit underwritten and underrealized which is constantly a good thing for those of us who want to adapt to the stage Guettel was drawn to the movie s combination of soft and hard elements This is a story about two boys who are trying to sew their hearts back together after the loss of their mother But at the same time they find themselves in great physical danger after finding the mysterious duffel bag The story functions very nicely on that split level he commented It is pressed forward and blown forward by a strong emotional wind and a gale force threat to their lives You have both of those things going on at the same time A personal connection While he was working on the show Guettel suddenly discovered a deeper connection to Damian and Anthony than he initially expected In his mother passed away Considering that Millions deals directly with the death of a parent that couldn t have been an easy thing to deal with everyday We didn t touch on Mary Rodgers death in our conversation but in April of this year Guettel and book writer Bob Martin spoke with the Alliance about how her passing affected the show In my conversation with Guettel we focused on how she influenced him both through her teaching as seen above and through her own work and experience She was really undervalued as a composer Guettel noted Largest part of all by herself Guettel shared a story about his mother s work on the count for a musical version of the Carson McCullers novel The Member of the Wedding After a number of setbacks the musical fell through the rights eventually reverting to McCullers estate The loss hurt Rodgers greatly We loved it too much which is a mistake Rodgers wrote in her memoir Shy which you can read an excerpt of here Because you ll put up with anything including things you shouldn t when you re in love Guettel remembered the unpublished total to The Member of the Wedding as his mother s best work Rodgers went on to have a great career in the world of children s books including writing the book Freaky Friday But according to Guettel her work in musicals was never the same It was a great heightening and blooming of her talent and they lost the rights he stated She was about and she never really wrote again after that she wrote a couple of little things but it broke her Guettel experienced a similar heartbreak in the s when working on a musical adaptation of The Princess Bride He had been collaborating with William Goldman the legendary novelist and screenwriter of The Princess Bride for over a year when everything came to a halt Things fell through when Goldman reportedly solicited for of the authors share of the musical Guettel reported remembering how The Member of the Wedding fiasco affected his mom helped him push through I m not going to give up he remembered thinking I don t care I m just not going to Millions on stageGuettel didn t give up and numerous shows and awards later Millions is here Guettel wrote the music and lyrics for the show while Martin The Drowsy Chaperone The Prom wrote the book Bartlett Sherr is directing the production The show stars young actors Keenan Barrett and Yair Keydar as Damian and Anthony as well as Steven Pasquale Ruthie Ann Miles Shuler Hensley and more Despite the fact that he was a child performer himself he performed as a boy soprano soloist at the Metropolitan Opera Guettel had never written for kids before Millions which posed quite a challenge The role of Damian is written for a child of or while the role of Anthony is written for a child of or right about when a young boy s voice might start to change Guettel kept that in mind One of his favorite songs in the show Childish Things is sung by Anthony A little cracking a little heaviness that s how Anthony feels Guettel mentioned I put him in that lifted place vocally As opposed to high and suspended it s lifted It s a bit more athletic Kids play a huge part in Millions According to Guettel Sherr has managed to incorporate them into the design of the show itself They re constantly running and careening through the set in transitions between scenes he disclosed These kids flying through with their scooters or throwing their backpacks around screaming and running in big great circles as we need to make transitions Sherr uses them as a design element I think it s wonderfully fresh Catholicism is also a huge theme in Millions and is incorporated into the design of the show A lot of modern stage adaptations of musicals from Dear Evan Hansen to a latest revival of West Side Story to the the bulk current Broadway production of Sunset Boulevard heavily include screens in their set design Guettel praised the production s more tactile approach along with its ability to still capture the drama of Catholicism We ve taken that up with our set design with our proscenium with the painting it s very hand hewn very hand-painted very beautiful in that way he mentioned It s hand done but the sound sometimes reflects the exotica the great glamour of Catholic iconography for people a thousand years ago And also for Damian because it attaches him and keeps him connected to his mother Guettel revealed he believes Millions works best when that membrane between what s terrestrial and celestial starts to become penetrable In the film Damian often has visions of and speaks with saints and in the musical he begins to sing when he requirements their help Theater does that better than any form Guettel explained You can have two things at once He s standing there on earth and yet he is enjoying the company of angels The post Adam Guettel talks music Catholicism and Millions at Alliance Theatre appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta