The Brooklyn Comedy Collective took over the Eris Mainstage in Williamsburg on Friday to premiere a new hour-long musical — and they didn’t know the plot when they got on stage. Instead, the nine-person ensemble created it on the fly based on secrets anonymously submitted by audience members. Over 70 people came to watch the cast reveal their deepest secrets in song and dance.
Directed by Katy Berry and with music by Ammon Taylor, the musical — billed as “Secret’s Out” — highlighted the importance of laughing at one’s faults and mistakes. The evening’s jokes, gags, and blunders became cornerstones for encouraging the audience to not take themselves too seriously.
The Feb. 28 show served as a capstone project from one of Brooklyn Comedy Collective’s improv classes. The nine students —Louis Fischer, Steph Maurer, Nick Mayfield, Jess Montana, Ira Rain, James Sandoval, Torrey Shine, Maddy Stillman, and Sophie Torres — spent months rehearsing and preparing for the unexpected.
“We thought it was so juicy,” said Mayfield, co-producer of the performance, on the idea of using secrets in the improv musical format. “Being able to have the audience be a part of that little chain of vulnerability is just really exciting.”
The night kicked off with a search for the musical’s title. They opened their first piece of paper: “My Ex and I Got Back Together, and Now We’re Looking for a Threesome.”
Taylor played a cheerful tune to set the mood. The cast exchanged quick glances, signaling the start, and effortlessly launched into song while synchronizing dance moves to accompany the lyrics. They repeated the chorus, encapsulating the show’s entire premise: “Three is better than two.”
As the first song came to an end, the audience was hooked — laughing at the absurdity of the first secret and applauding the cast’s performance.
“It always feels like a magic trick,” Taylor told Brooklyn Paper. “The performers take the secret and seamlessly incorporate it into the show.”
The story unfolded from there. The first scene was set in an Olive Garden. The audience met Claire, played by Montana, who had just gone through a breakup. She confided in her high school friend Henry, a bisexual, breadstick-loving waiter. Montana then pulled a piece of paper to reveal a secret: She had pretended to be religious to impress her high school crush, Jewish Jeremy, played by Stillman.
While the cast was prepared to expect the unexpected, Taylor, the keyboardist, had to do some improvising of his own. As the third song entered its bridge, the keyboard stand collapsed, eliciting gasps from the audience. Without missing a beat, Taylor played the piano on the floor. The ensemble continued singing, cleverly shifting the lyrics to acknowledge the slip-up.
“Even in improv, every mistake is not a mistake,” said Philip Markle, founder of the Brooklyn Comedy Collective. “It’s just a wonderful thing to get even more comfortable with and to grow from.”
The story took some wild turns. The town’s school principal tried to purify the town through abstinence but had dark secrets of her own. Then came a secret that made all of the cast members break character for just a second. Someone in the audience admitted that their first female sexual experience was with their cousin.
Screams erupted from the audience. Shine, taken aback only for a moment, pushed the story forward. “It wasn’t even like we were cousins through marriage, we were like blood cousins.”
The stage lights turned hot pink, setting the mood for the incestuous love song. In a doo-whoop-style melody, the ensemble members danced behind the pair as Shine belted how it all unfolded at a wedding.
Secrets were revealed throughout the night, including one about explosive diarrhea during a zipline excursion, knowledge of a father’s affair before their mother found out, and an odd interaction with a celebrity and a giant vape cloud. The cast of characters navigated the chaos.
“This is a really amazing way to just explore the humanity in it and just see how charming and endearing these [secrets] can be,” said Rain. “Hopefully [it can] help with releasing some of the shame.”
The endearingly scrappy production kept the audience engaged and laughing with every song and secret revealed. After the show, the crowd continued singing the catchy tunes.
“At first, I was like, how are they going to pull this off, but they did it seamlessly, and I was very impressed,” said Allie Schiahbi, an audience member who was singing at the end. When asked if her secret was revealed, she replied, “I plead the fifth.”
Blending comedy with self-deprecation, the improvised performance reflected the Brooklyn Comedy Collective’s mission to use humor as a tool for healing and foster an environment of acceptance through laughter.
Following Friday night’s performance, the ensemble is preparing to stage more improvised musicals.
