Musical TheaTre

cu r ta i n u p
Musical Theatre
KERRY LONG
It Takes
Two
Pasek & Paul Rising
Songwriting Duo
I
t was a true ‘Michigan Moment’ at
Joe’s Pub in New York that night
last May. The musical theatre
grads, class of ’06, were in town
for Senior Showcase, the annual revue
of talent staged for New York industry
insiders, and, as has become the tradition, musical theatre alumni were there
too, to cheer on the next class. A few
days later many of those same faces
showed up at Joe’s Pub.
Why? For one reason: to hear the music
of Pasek & Paul. That’s Benj Pasek and
Justin Paul, at the time juniors in musical
theatre. They met as freshmen in the fall
of 2003, Pennsylvania native Benj Pasek,
and Justin Paul, from Connecticut, two
gifted students admitted to the highly
selective musical theatre program at
Michigan. They came with the shared
dreams of their new classmates: a future
in musical theatre, performing on the
stages of Broadway and beyond.
First they became friends. “The
program’s really small,” says Benj, “so
we were in the same classes.” Then they
started tinkering around on the piano.
“I’d always written pop songs, like since I
was 12,” says Benj. “But Justin’s a much
better piano player. So I asked him to
help me embellish the piano parts.”
Justin Paul and Benj Pasek
Through that process, they discovered
something else: how well they worked as
a songwriting team. What neither could
do alone came naturally for two. “I think
that every single element we don’t have
personally, the other person is good at,”
says Benj. “And that’s what makes it
work.”
By sophomore year, they had collaborated on more songs as they found time
in their busy schedules. During spring
break 2004, in Florida, with the time
c u r ta i n u p
and perspective distance often brings,
they talked seriously about this songwriting thing that seemed to be taking
on a life of its own.
“That was our night of reckoning,”
says Justin. “We decided that if we
were going to write songs, we needed to
commit ourselves to it.” Once back in
Ann Arbor, they did just that. During
every spare moment, they wrote. And
wrote some more. What emerged from
their new focus and resolve were
thirteen songs, linked thematically,
about the experiences and challenges
of finding your own path in life, as told
through a cast of voices and characters
and in a diverse range of musical styles
and tempi. They called this group of
songs Edges.
As extra insurance—double indemnity—they booked Ann Arbor’s
Kerrytown Concert House for April 3,
to premiere their work. There was no
turning back now. They recruited four
fellow students to perform their work:
Chelsea Krombach, Nick Blaemire,
Nicholas Ardell, and Whitney Bashor,
with Alex Brumel on drums.
“Everyone in the program is amazing,”
said Benj, “but we thought these people
would be particularly good with our
material.” Since nothing was written
down, Benj and Justin set about teaching
their classmates the songs, line by line.
The singers were quick studies, learning
the material within a week.
By the night of April 3, Kerrytown
Concert House was standing room only.
Chelsea, Whitney, and the two Nicks
sang brilliantly. The concert was un succes
fou, a huge hit.
Another face in the audience that
night was Brent Wagner, director of
Michigan’s famed musical theatre
program. He particularly liked one of
the songs, “Facebook,” a group number,
Benj Pasek as Yertle the Turtle in
Seussical, the Musical
Justin Paul as F. Scott Fitzgerald in
The Pursuit of Persephone
so much so that he added it to the repertoire of songs for Senior Showcase. “Mr.
Wagner has been amazingly supportive,”
says Justin, “not only in teaching us the
craft of musical theatre, but in letting us
study lyric writing with him as an independent study.”
Ann Arbor Showcase in late April. Since
no notations had yet been made, Justin
had to scoot faculty member Cynthia
Westphal down the piano bench for that
one number. When Showcase moved
on to New York, Benj and Justin went
too, to see for themselves how their
work would be received by the audience there—now not just teachers and
friends, but agents, producers, and talent
scouts. Was it just friends and supporters
who liked their work? Were they just
being nice? Quite the contrary.
With the encouragement of Ann
Arborites Bob and Pearson Macek,
musical theatre aficionados and
supporters of the program, Pasek &
Paul were able to burn their song cycle
onto a CD at Ann Arbor’s Solid Sound
recording studio.
“Edges is both entertaining and moving,”
Brent Wagner told University Record. “It
has enormous variety, capturing situations and topics which are relevant,
humorous and provocative. Benj and
Justin have a remarkable ability to create
detailed character and situation in a
single song, bringing a story to life with
clarity and emotional richness.”
What had been conceptualized as one
night at Kerrytown suddenly had a
future. “Facebook” was performed at
Benj and Justin took a deep breath and
decided it was time to test their work on
other audiences. Thus was born The
East Coast Tour. They booked venues
in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia,
Connecticut, and New York. Their
marketing campaign started with a flyer
blitz in the lobby at Showcase in New
York’s Westside Theatre and escalated
from there, via e-mail, the Internet, and
word of mouth. “By then, we had the
CD,” says Justin. “Somebody would
burn a copy for a friend and that friend
would give it to another friend.” u
cu r ta i n u p
Gavin Creel with teachers Linda Goodrich (left) and
Melody Racine (right)
Pasek and Paul recruited the help of
another musical theatre alum, Mike
Mosallam (BFA ’01), to polish the show
and shape it into a more cohesive story
line. The two Nicks and Chelsea and
Whitney joined up with the tour to
sing the now familiar songs, with Alex
Brumel on drums. The first stop was
Washington, D.C.
The tour was a hit. Not only did they
make back the money they’d invested in
booking the venues, but over the next
months, some 20 colleges and musical
theatre programs across the country
requested the rights to perform Edges.
With the help of another musical theatre
grad, Jeff Marx (BFA ’93), who since
graduation has made a name for himself
as a songwriter and co-creator of the
wildly successful Broadway hit Avenue Q ,
they were able to join the roster of one
of the best agents in New York. “I think
we’re his youngest clients by something
like eight years,” jokes Benj.
But with this agent, and a producer,
Jamie McGonnigal, they were able
to book Joe’s Pub, part of New York
City’s Public Theatre and a hot spot for
Gotham dwellers in the know. As the
first show filled up, a second was added.
They quickly attracted a number of
high profile stars to perform their work,
Michelle Ricci
among them Michigan alumni. Gavin
Creel (BFA ’98) was in New York prior to
taking up his starring role in the London
production of Mary Poppins. Celia
Keenan-Bolger (BFA ’00) was there, too,
but only for the second show. Celia was
starring in The 25th Annual Putnam County
Spelling Bee (along with fellow alum Todd
Buonopane. BFA ’00, who also sang that
night). After the final curtain for Spelling
Bee, Celia changed with Houdini-like
speed and grabbed a taxi to Joe’s Pub.
The line-up also included Daniel
Reichard (BFA ’00), currently starring in
the hit musical Jersey Boys, and Michelle
Ricci (BFA ’04), Mary Magdalene in
the 2004 U-M production of Jesus Christ
Superstar.
Other stars of musical theatre that night
included Karen Mason, the original
Tanya in Mamma, Mia!; Kenita R.
Miller, currently appearing in The Color
Purple; stage and film actor Cheyenne
Jackson, and Steven Pasquale and
Billy Porter.
Jeff Marx, now a good friend and champion of the duo, was in the audience
at Joe’s Pub, along with his songwriting
partner Bobby Lopez. Jeffrey Seller
(BA, LS&A ‘86), producer of Avenue Q
and Rent, and Gary Adler (BM ‘88),
co-creator of the current Broadway hit
Chelsea Krombach
Altar Boyz and music director of Avenue
Q , were on hand as well. And Jayson
Raitt (BA ’93), who would later organize an August all-Michigan musical
theatre revue at the Metropolitan Room,
featuring songwriters and performers
and hosted by Bob McGrath (BM ’54)
of Sesame Street fame, was there, too.
Since that night, interest in their work
has only grown. But in spite of all the
excitement and glamour, Pasek and Paul
have stayed the course, determined to
finish their degrees. Both will graduate
early, in December 2006, and will leave
immediately for New York, returning for
graduation ceremonies in April. With
a number of promising projects in the
works, including episodes for Disney
Channel’s new Johnny and the Sprites,
featuring former Avenue Q star John
Tartaglia, set to premiere in January
2007, they should hit the ground
running.
Rodgers & Hart. Lerner & Loewe. Pasek
& Paul? It has a nice ring to it. We’ll be
hearing more about them, you can be
sure.