The songwriting team of Mark Schoenfeld
and Barri McPherson will have the career-crowning glory of seeing
their first musical open on Broadway this month.
And they’ve never been to a Broadway show.
Schoenfeld, a Brooklyn native, and McPherson are the dynamic
duo behind the grungy, soulful "Brooklyn the Musical"
which began previews last week.
"Brooklyn" director Jeff Calhoun ("Big River"),
talking to reporters at a rehearsal studio on 42nd Street last
month, extolled Schoenfeld and McPherson’s novice status, saying
it was part of their charm.
"They are loving, unique people not yet spoiled by this
commercial [business]," said Calhoun.
Schoenfeld, who was born in the Red Hook Houses projects, told
GO Brooklyn, "It feels to me like we didn’t even write this
show. It gives me goose bumps!"
He and McPherson, who together wrote the music and lyrics for
"Brooklyn," explained their collaborative effort.
"When we started writing so long ago, we had 165 pages,"
said Schoenfeld. Working with Calhoun, the work was whittled
down to its current size, an intermission-less hour and 40 minutes.
"And the wonderful thing about Jeff," said McPherson,
"was that he made sure we were always a part of [the process]."
"Brooklyn the Musical" is, in part, inspired by Schoenfeld’s
time as a homeless person and the generous spirit that moved
McPherson to take him into her home to live with her husband
and children.
Schoenfeld’s family moved from Red Hook to the Bronx and then
as an adult he moved to New England. He was a composer and McPherson
a singer, who had spent one day recording a song together.
The "Brooklyn" legend is that eight or nine years later,
McPherson, then living in New Hampshire, was in Brooklyn Heights
to perform at a private party. Walking on the promenade, she
discovered Schoenfeld again.
But this time he was a homeless street performer.
When asked if Schoenfeld remembered McPherson after all of that
time, he beamed, "She’s gorgeous! Of course I remembered
her. And I was just blown away by the talent she shared that
day."
McPherson invited him to come home to live with her family and
the two collaborated on writing the songs about a band of street
people that became "Brooklyn."
Now the creative team has expanded to include music supervisor
John McDaniel (former bandleader of "The Rosie O’Donnell
Show") and a cast of talented performers.
The star of the show is Eden Espinosa, who plays Brooklyn, a
young woman searching for her father in the borough for which
she was named. Espinosa was an understudy for the roles of Nessarose
and her sister Elphaba in the Tony-award winning "Wicked."
Before coming to Broadway, she played Brooklyn at the Denver
Civic Theater for six weeks, where the production premiered on
May 7, 2003. The opening night of "Brooklyn" at the
Plymouth Theatre in Manhattan is Oct. 26.
Ramona Keller, who plays the role of Paradice, was born and raised
in Brooklyn and now lives in Canarsie.
Calhoun explains the spelling of that character’s name, "Paradice
– the villain – was born with nothing more than a pair of dice
around her neck," he said. "She’s the wicked witch
of the ’hood."
The characters in the musical are a motley crew of soulful, R&B-wailing
street-corner singers and storytellers. They tell the fairytale
about Brooklyn against a backdrop of gritty sets designed by
Ray Klausen out of materials that could be found on the street.
For instance, the characters imagine that they are watching a
"sing-off" inside the ring at Madison Square Garden
because a square has been erected with surgical tubing.
Their ballgowns, by costume designer Tobin Ost, are colorful
tatters. A headpiece for Paradice is made from discarded potato
chip bags and a form-hugging dress is cinched with crisscrossed
duct tape.
The musical is not a panorama of well heeled Brooklyn Heights
residents and brownstone architecture, but rather the overlooked
homeless people on its corners and subway platforms.
"I love it when the audience talks about moving performances
instead of moving scenery," said Calhoun. "This was
an opportunity for me to deliver that kind of show."
Because Calhoun saw the heart in "Brooklyn," he has
given the lyricists their own fairy tale ending. Audiences are
paying $95 a ticket, rather than throwing quarters in a paper
cup, to hear Schoenfeld and McPherson’s music.
"Can you beat that name?" said Schoenfeld. "Just
the name is magical."
"Brooklyn the Musical" is
in previews now through Oct. 20 at the Plymouth Theatre (236
West 45th St. in Manhattan). Opening night is Oct. 21. Performances
are Monday through Saturday at 8 pm, Saturday matinees at 2 pm.
Beginning Oct. 26, Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesday through Saturday
at 8 pm, and matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 pm and
Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets are $25-$95. For tickets, call (212)
239-6200. For more information, go to the Web site www.brooklynthemusical.com.
