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Welcome to DMPA Conversations. I'm Jeff Chelswig, President and CEO
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of do Win Performing Arts. This podcast gives you an
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insider's perspective of the fantastic performances headed to our stages,
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straight from the creators themselves. The pop anthem filled musical
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and Juliet asked the question what would happen next if
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Juliet didn't end at all over Romeo and it's headed
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to Des Moines as part of our Willis Broadway series. Today,
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I'm speaking to the associate director of the Larger Than
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Life and Juliet, Susannah Wolk.
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Oh Baby baby, Oops, I did it again. I played
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with your haunt a Goloss in the game. Oo baby
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baby oops. You think im a love that I'm saying
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from the.
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That is Susannah, thanks so much for talking with me today.
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We are so excited to have and Juliet coming to
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Des Moines as of our Willis Broadway series. Tell me
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a little bit about your journey with the show.
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I'm the associate director of Anguliette both for the Broadway
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production and for the tour. And basically what that means
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is I sort of overlook maintaining of the creative vision
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of the show. We've been running for over two years
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on Broadway and this tour has been out for about
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six months now, and so my job is really to
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look out for the artistic integradyo of the show as
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set up by our original director Luke Shepherd, the book
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writer David west Reed, obviously the incredible music of Max
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Martin and Jen Mober of choreography. So that sort of
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means everything from being involved with the casting process to
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setting up the company, so rehearsing the show from the
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ground up, helping shape the performances, the tech of the show,
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and then making sure that the heart and the energy
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of the original vision translates on the road. And then
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now that the show is going my role sort of
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transitions to like keeping the storytelling, keeping the emotional beats alive,
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supporting the cast and crew as the show is evolving
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from city to city. So I'll rehearse in new company members,
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I'll rehearse our understudies, and sort of check in from
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time to time to make sure that the show is
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keeping its signature joy and energy alive. And what's really
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great about the role, it's very creative, but it's also
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part logistical and just very very collaborative, and I get
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to help sort of preserve what makes Angeliee so special
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while also making sure it's always feeling fashion connected and
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organic every night. And I think that's part of what
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people really love about the show, is that energy that
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is so present and so theatrical.
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You know, I've seen the show twice, maybe three times.
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I saw it in Toronto and I saw it on Broadway,
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and you're exactly right, the energy is so fantastic. So,
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without giving away too many things, a little bit about
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and Juliet.
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The storyline Angelia is a big, joyful reimagining of William
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Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but instead of ending in tragedy,
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we ask what if Juliette lived? What if she got
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a second shot at life. It's a story about second
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chances and love and all the many different forms and
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can take, and self discovery and self acceptance, all told
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through the iconic pop songs of Max Martin. So You're
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gonna hear songs by Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Katie Perry,
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the Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, So its songs that we
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all know and love, but here they're reinterpreted in ways
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that are really emotional and funny and surprising. We open
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up at opening night of Romeo and Juliet so Shakespeare
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is about to present his iconic tragedy that we all
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know and love, and he shares the ending, and right
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as he does, his wife, Anne Hathaway shows up and
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is like, hmmm, I have a few notes about the ending,
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what if Juliette didn't die? And from there they start
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rewriting the play together, imagining what would have happened if
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juliet went on this whole other adventure with her friends
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and some very exciting new characters. And as Juliette is
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going on this journey of self discovery, Shakespeare and Anne
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are also re examining their own relationship and what their
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story is. And so what follows is like a very vibrate,
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hilarious and also quite heartfelt and emotional journey about like
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finding your voice, writing your story, and taking control of
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your narrative, which I think is something that everyone can.
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Connect to the music. You mentioned Max Martin, who is
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kind of the common thread in this and I got
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a chance to just say hi to him in Toronto,
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and it was amazing. It was really amazing. But I
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will say, you know, I don't think any of the
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music was written especially for this. It is all adapted,
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but it seems to just work so beautifully, and there
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are some very fun and very tenderhearted moments in the show,
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and that the music is just it's such a driver.
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Tell me about working with the music and all of this.
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Yeah, So for those who don't know, Max Martin is
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like this legendary songwriter, a music producer behind I think
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more hits than anyone besides other than the Beatles. Like
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He's written like what I consider the soundtrack of my childhood,
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and I think like the reason his songs are so
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amazing is like not just that they're like insanely catchy
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and total earworms, but they also I think have a
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lot of universal themes of heartbreak, empowerment, longing, joy, Like
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they're so deeply emotional, and the way that they are
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woven into the show, it's almost like as if they
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could have been written for this exact story. The show
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is all about mashing up the classical Shakespeare with like
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contemporary pop world, and part of what makes that work,
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I think it's just Max's music. Is about heartbreak and
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about these like huge themes that like feel almost Shakespearean sometimes,
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And I think David West Read the book writer, and
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Max and the whole music team just did such an
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amazing job creating a story around these songs that really
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makes them work in such an exciting way.
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In addition to the book and the music, the choreography
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and kind of the sets and costumes are really incredible.
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When we look at trying to mash all of that together,
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it took a lot, not just from you and the
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director and the choreographer, but also the designers. Talk a
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little bit about the design of the show.
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I mean, I think what's great about it is that
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you picked it up perfectly is that it's a mashup
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of the classical Shakespearean world with like a modern literally
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joyful explosion of like color and life, and like the
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whole show is just about like mashups. So like the costumes,
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which are by just the absolutely incredible designer Paloma Young,
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are a mix of both like Elizabethan corsets and ruffs
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and things like that, but also people are wearing tracksuits
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and seekers, and similarly in the set, it's all sort
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of we've got these brick walls and this very kind
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of classical looking floor, but then we put on top
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of it like a huge modern lighting rig like you
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would see at any sort of arena pop concert. And
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we've got glitter, piro confetti, Jen Weber's like unbelievably electric
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dance numbers, We've got pop music, and there's so much
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happening all the time. But I think what people are
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surprised by perhaps is like the unexpected, beating heart of
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the show and the emotional journey that all these characters
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go on. Like, I think people get drawn in by
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the glitter and the fun and they like actually end
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up seeing themselves in these characters because it's a show
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about figuring out who you are and learning to love
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yourself and your own imperfections. And I think you know,
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no matter what age you are, you can really connect
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with that message.
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Do you have a favorite moment in the show, one
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that you always look forward to seeing?
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Oh my gosh, okay. I love the scenes between Shakespeare
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and Anne. They are hilarious but also like really profound
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and relatable. At the beginning of the show, we see
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them form a creative partnership, which is really fun to
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watch because they're like, they're collaborating on this new ending
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of Romeo and Julia, and they're both bringing something different
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to the table. You know, Shakespeare is bringing the drama
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and the stakes and the conflict, and is bringing the fun,
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you know, the glitter, the magic, the big spectacle, and like,
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of course, every good show probably needs a little bit
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of both. But as they're writing, they're also playing this
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cat and mouse game of trying to outwit each other
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and outsmart each other and take control of the script,
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which is really exciting because they're both these like incredibly smart,
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savvy creatives. But then also as we learn more about
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the two of them as the show goes on, we
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find out that their marriage is really complicated, and they've
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been married for a long time and faced a lot
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of hardship that they haven't quite dealt with. And you know,
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they love each other quite deeply, but have also evolved
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a lot as human beings, and we're watching them sort
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of negotiate that partnership and their love and real time,
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which I think is incredibly complicated and vulnerable, and I think,
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you know something that a lot of people really connect
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with how real that is. So yeah, I just love
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their relationship and the way it tracks through the show,
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and then to be more specific about a particular mode moment.
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This is a little cliche, but I just think Roor
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is just a thrilling number where we pull out all
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the stops without giving too much of the story away.
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This is where Juliette really finally decides to accept herself
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and love herself, and it's just this massive celebration of
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self love and empowerment. We like, really pull out all
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the stops. We've got the confetti, the glitter, the piro,
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the huge dancing. Like everyone we tell them, just like
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leave it all on the floor when you do Roor,
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and like it's so visceral, you feel it like in
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your bones, like her just saying like, I, you know what,
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I've been through a lot, and I've made some mistakes,
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but you know what, I still choose to love myself
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and I can still write my story and make it
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whatever I want it to be. And just looking out
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at that explosion of joy like affecting an audience every
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night is just so powerful.
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I remember that, and it's You're exactly right. It's an
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iconic song and it has performed so beautifully. You've had
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a long career as a director and a number of
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plays us like Williamstown and Art And we have a
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special program that we administer, the Iowa High School Musical
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Theater Awards, that feeds into the Jimmy Awards, which I'm
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sure you're aware of, and we have over one hundred
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schools that are participating statewide this year, lots of kids
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that participate. What kind of advice would you give to
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a high school student who wants to get into a
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career in the theater like you have.
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My advice would be sort of twofold. I think a
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lot of the time when you're growing up in high
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school and college, you sort of think performing is what
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theater is. And I think the more that you can
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learn about the totality of it, even if you are
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a performer like that will just enrich your artistry. And
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I think also just learning about the world and finding
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what you're passionate about, like outside of theater, I think
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will only again just like feed you as an artist.
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And then the advice that I always give to young people,
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which I think is really important, I think there's an
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ex when you're going to school or leaving school or
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starting a career that things are going to go like this,
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and I'm illustrating like a straight line, like an arrow
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pointing up, that you'll do one thing and that'll lead
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to the next thing, and that will lead to the
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next thing, next thing, and things will just get better
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and better and better and better until you're on Broadway.
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And the reality of choosing a career in the arts
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is that there will be highs and lows and peaks
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and valleys, and one minute you're living your dream, and
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then in the next minute that show gets canceled, and
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then the next minute random gig comes up, and then
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the next minute you're in between things, and just like
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learning to live with that up and down and up
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and down. The sooner that you can embrace that as
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part of the life of being an artist, the better,
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just because people put so much pression on themselves to
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like constantly be on this upward trajectory and in many
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ways that can be unrhythmistic. And so I think the
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sooner that you can embrace the peaks and valleys and
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the weaving of this career path like, the more enjoyable
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it will best. And also going along with that comparison
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is the thief of joy, like your path is your path,
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kind of similar to the message of the show, only
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you can decide what your path is going to be.
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And when you get obsessed with comparing yourself to other people,
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or I should have done this at a certain age,
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or I should be doing this now, like you lose
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the joy of the journey.
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What else would you like to say about and Juliet,
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anything any final thoughts.
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I mean, I just want to shout out the tour company.
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It's just an extraordinary group of people that are bringing
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this story across America. And like, first I just want
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to shout out the like unbelievable talent that is Rachel Webb,
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who is leading the company as Juliet. Rachel has been
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with the show since the out of town tryout in Toronto.
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She was she played the role of Judith and understudied Juliette.
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I think she went on like well over one hundred
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times on Broadway and was like always there, like last
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minute you're on and like always came in and killed.
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And so when we're launching this tour, we just knew
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Rachel was the perfect person to do it. She's just
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like an absolutely extraordinary talent and brings such a wide
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eyed workiness and joy to Juliet coupled with like this
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profound emotional depth, and like the voice is just powerhouse.
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And then we've got Till Wix and Corey Mack as
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Shakespeare and An who also are just these comedic powerhouses,
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but also like ground the whole Shakespeare and story and
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such real emotional depth, and they're just bringing a real
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honesty and authenticity to their performances. And then throughout the
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whole company, both on stage and off stage, there's just
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such a beautiful generosity of spirit. Like we really strive
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to celebrate individuality, and I just love how everyone in
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this company really brings their full self on stage and
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the cast gets to shine in ways that feel really
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personal and authentic, which is so important because the show
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is about again just like owning your own voice. And
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it's just an amazing company that's that's going to be
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coming to Des Moines, and I'm just so y'all are
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so lucky you get to see them.
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Well, it's really our pleasure to have the show here
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and it's one that I think people are going to love,
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and I just want to thank you so much for
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taking the time I know you're working on a new
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show Broadway right now and taking the time. Good luck
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on your show and thanks you.
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Thanks, oh my gosh, enjoy the show.
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Yeah, and that was my conversation with Susanna. We are
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grateful to you for joining us for this special conversation.
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D mp A Conversations is produced by Andrew Downs. Bringing
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these performance to our stages wouldn't be possible without the
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generosity of our donors and the loyalty of our season
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ticket holders. Thank you for your continued support. Visit DMPA
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dot org wherever you get your podcasts for future conversations.
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Thanks for listening.
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Welcome to DMPA Conversations. I'm Jeff Chelswig, President and CEO
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of do Win Performing Arts. This podcast gives you an
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insider's perspective of the fantastic performances headed to our stages,
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straight from the creators themselves. The pop anthem filled musical
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and Juliet asked the question what would happen next if
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Juliet didn't end at all over Romeo and it's headed
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to Des Moines as part of our Willis Broadway series. Today,
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I'm speaking to the associate director of the Larger Than
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Life and Juliet, Susannah Wolk.
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Oh Baby baby, Oops, I did it again. I played
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with your haunt a Goloss in the game. Oo baby
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baby oops. You think im a love that I'm saying
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from the.
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That is Susannah, thanks so much for talking with me today.
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We are so excited to have and Juliet coming to
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Des Moines as of our Willis Broadway series. Tell me
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a little bit about your journey with the show.
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I'm the associate director of Anguliette both for the Broadway
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production and for the tour. And basically what that means
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is I sort of overlook maintaining of the creative vision
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of the show. We've been running for over two years
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on Broadway and this tour has been out for about
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six months now, and so my job is really to
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look out for the artistic integradyo of the show as
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set up by our original director Luke Shepherd, the book
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writer David west Reed, obviously the incredible music of Max
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Martin and Jen Mober of choreography. So that sort of
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means everything from being involved with the casting process to
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setting up the company, so rehearsing the show from the
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ground up, helping shape the performances, the tech of the show,
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and then making sure that the heart and the energy
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of the original vision translates on the road. And then
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now that the show is going my role sort of
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transitions to like keeping the storytelling, keeping the emotional beats alive,
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supporting the cast and crew as the show is evolving
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from city to city. So I'll rehearse in new company members,
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I'll rehearse our understudies, and sort of check in from
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time to time to make sure that the show is
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keeping its signature joy and energy alive. And what's really
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great about the role, it's very creative, but it's also
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part logistical and just very very collaborative, and I get
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to help sort of preserve what makes Angeliee so special
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while also making sure it's always feeling fashion connected and
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organic every night. And I think that's part of what
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people really love about the show, is that energy that
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is so present and so theatrical.
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You know, I've seen the show twice, maybe three times.
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I saw it in Toronto and I saw it on Broadway,
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and you're exactly right, the energy is so fantastic. So,
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without giving away too many things, a little bit about
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and Juliet.
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The storyline Angelia is a big, joyful reimagining of William
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Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but instead of ending in tragedy,
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we ask what if Juliette lived? What if she got
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a second shot at life. It's a story about second
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chances and love and all the many different forms and
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can take, and self discovery and self acceptance, all told
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through the iconic pop songs of Max Martin. So You're
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gonna hear songs by Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Katie Perry,
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the Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, So its songs that we
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all know and love, but here they're reinterpreted in ways
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that are really emotional and funny and surprising. We open
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up at opening night of Romeo and Juliet so Shakespeare
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is about to present his iconic tragedy that we all
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know and love, and he shares the ending, and right
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as he does, his wife, Anne Hathaway shows up and
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is like, hmmm, I have a few notes about the ending,
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what if Juliette didn't die? And from there they start
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rewriting the play together, imagining what would have happened if
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juliet went on this whole other adventure with her friends
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and some very exciting new characters. And as Juliette is
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going on this journey of self discovery, Shakespeare and Anne
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are also re examining their own relationship and what their
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story is. And so what follows is like a very vibrate,
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hilarious and also quite heartfelt and emotional journey about like
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finding your voice, writing your story, and taking control of
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your narrative, which I think is something that everyone can.
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Connect to the music. You mentioned Max Martin, who is
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kind of the common thread in this and I got
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a chance to just say hi to him in Toronto,
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and it was amazing. It was really amazing. But I
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will say, you know, I don't think any of the
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music was written especially for this. It is all adapted,
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but it seems to just work so beautifully, and there
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are some very fun and very tenderhearted moments in the show,
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and that the music is just it's such a driver.
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Tell me about working with the music and all of this.
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Yeah, So for those who don't know, Max Martin is
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like this legendary songwriter, a music producer behind I think
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more hits than anyone besides other than the Beatles. Like
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He's written like what I consider the soundtrack of my childhood,
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and I think like the reason his songs are so
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amazing is like not just that they're like insanely catchy
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and total earworms, but they also I think have a
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lot of universal themes of heartbreak, empowerment, longing, joy, Like
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they're so deeply emotional, and the way that they are
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woven into the show, it's almost like as if they
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could have been written for this exact story. The show
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is all about mashing up the classical Shakespeare with like
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contemporary pop world, and part of what makes that work,
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I think it's just Max's music. Is about heartbreak and
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about these like huge themes that like feel almost Shakespearean sometimes,
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And I think David West Read the book writer, and
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Max and the whole music team just did such an
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amazing job creating a story around these songs that really
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makes them work in such an exciting way.
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In addition to the book and the music, the choreography
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and kind of the sets and costumes are really incredible.
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When we look at trying to mash all of that together,
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it took a lot, not just from you and the
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director and the choreographer, but also the designers. Talk a
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little bit about the design of the show.
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I mean, I think what's great about it is that
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you picked it up perfectly is that it's a mashup
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of the classical Shakespearean world with like a modern literally
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joyful explosion of like color and life, and like the
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whole show is just about like mashups. So like the costumes,
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which are by just the absolutely incredible designer Paloma Young,
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are a mix of both like Elizabethan corsets and ruffs
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and things like that, but also people are wearing tracksuits
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and seekers, and similarly in the set, it's all sort
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of we've got these brick walls and this very kind
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of classical looking floor, but then we put on top
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of it like a huge modern lighting rig like you
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would see at any sort of arena pop concert. And
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we've got glitter, piro confetti, Jen Weber's like unbelievably electric
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dance numbers, We've got pop music, and there's so much
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happening all the time. But I think what people are
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surprised by perhaps is like the unexpected, beating heart of
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the show and the emotional journey that all these characters
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go on. Like, I think people get drawn in by
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the glitter and the fun and they like actually end
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up seeing themselves in these characters because it's a show
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about figuring out who you are and learning to love
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yourself and your own imperfections. And I think you know,
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no matter what age you are, you can really connect
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with that message.
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Do you have a favorite moment in the show, one
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that you always look forward to seeing?
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Oh my gosh, okay. I love the scenes between Shakespeare
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and Anne. They are hilarious but also like really profound
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and relatable. At the beginning of the show, we see
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them form a creative partnership, which is really fun to
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watch because they're like, they're collaborating on this new ending
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of Romeo and Julia, and they're both bringing something different
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to the table. You know, Shakespeare is bringing the drama
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and the stakes and the conflict, and is bringing the fun,
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you know, the glitter, the magic, the big spectacle, and like,
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of course, every good show probably needs a little bit
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of both. But as they're writing, they're also playing this
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cat and mouse game of trying to outwit each other
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and outsmart each other and take control of the script,
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which is really exciting because they're both these like incredibly smart,
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savvy creatives. But then also as we learn more about
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the two of them as the show goes on, we
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find out that their marriage is really complicated, and they've
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been married for a long time and faced a lot
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of hardship that they haven't quite dealt with. And you know,
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they love each other quite deeply, but have also evolved
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a lot as human beings, and we're watching them sort
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of negotiate that partnership and their love and real time,
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which I think is incredibly complicated and vulnerable, and I think,
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you know something that a lot of people really connect
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with how real that is. So yeah, I just love
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their relationship and the way it tracks through the show,
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and then to be more specific about a particular mode moment.
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This is a little cliche, but I just think Roor
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is just a thrilling number where we pull out all
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the stops without giving too much of the story away.
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This is where Juliette really finally decides to accept herself
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and love herself, and it's just this massive celebration of
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self love and empowerment. We like, really pull out all
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the stops. We've got the confetti, the glitter, the piro,
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the huge dancing. Like everyone we tell them, just like
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leave it all on the floor when you do Roor,
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and like it's so visceral, you feel it like in
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your bones, like her just saying like, I, you know what,
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I've been through a lot, and I've made some mistakes,
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but you know what, I still choose to love myself
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and I can still write my story and make it
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whatever I want it to be. And just looking out
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at that explosion of joy like affecting an audience every
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night is just so powerful.
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I remember that, and it's You're exactly right. It's an
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iconic song and it has performed so beautifully. You've had
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a long career as a director and a number of
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plays us like Williamstown and Art And we have a
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special program that we administer, the Iowa High School Musical
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Theater Awards, that feeds into the Jimmy Awards, which I'm
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sure you're aware of, and we have over one hundred
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schools that are participating statewide this year, lots of kids
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that participate. What kind of advice would you give to
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a high school student who wants to get into a
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career in the theater like you have.
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My advice would be sort of twofold. I think a
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lot of the time when you're growing up in high
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school and college, you sort of think performing is what
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theater is. And I think the more that you can
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learn about the totality of it, even if you are
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a performer like that will just enrich your artistry. And
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I think also just learning about the world and finding
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what you're passionate about, like outside of theater, I think
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will only again just like feed you as an artist.
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And then the advice that I always give to young people,
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which I think is really important, I think there's an
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ex when you're going to school or leaving school or
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starting a career that things are going to go like this,
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and I'm illustrating like a straight line, like an arrow
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pointing up, that you'll do one thing and that'll lead
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to the next thing, and that will lead to the
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next thing, next thing, and things will just get better
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and better and better and better until you're on Broadway.
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And the reality of choosing a career in the arts
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is that there will be highs and lows and peaks
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and valleys, and one minute you're living your dream, and
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then in the next minute that show gets canceled, and
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then the next minute random gig comes up, and then
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the next minute you're in between things, and just like
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learning to live with that up and down and up
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and down. The sooner that you can embrace that as
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part of the life of being an artist, the better,
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just because people put so much pression on themselves to
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like constantly be on this upward trajectory and in many
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ways that can be unrhythmistic. And so I think the
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sooner that you can embrace the peaks and valleys and
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the weaving of this career path like, the more enjoyable
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it will best. And also going along with that comparison
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is the thief of joy, like your path is your path,
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kind of similar to the message of the show, only
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you can decide what your path is going to be.
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And when you get obsessed with comparing yourself to other people,
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or I should have done this at a certain age,
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or I should be doing this now, like you lose
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the joy of the journey.
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What else would you like to say about and Juliet,
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anything any final thoughts.
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I mean, I just want to shout out the tour company.
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It's just an extraordinary group of people that are bringing
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this story across America. And like, first I just want
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to shout out the like unbelievable talent that is Rachel Webb,
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who is leading the company as Juliet. Rachel has been
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with the show since the out of town tryout in Toronto.
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She was she played the role of Judith and understudied Juliette.
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I think she went on like well over one hundred
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times on Broadway and was like always there, like last
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minute you're on and like always came in and killed.
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And so when we're launching this tour, we just knew
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Rachel was the perfect person to do it. She's just
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like an absolutely extraordinary talent and brings such a wide
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eyed workiness and joy to Juliet coupled with like this
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profound emotional depth, and like the voice is just powerhouse.
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And then we've got Till Wix and Corey Mack as
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Shakespeare and An who also are just these comedic powerhouses,
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but also like ground the whole Shakespeare and story and
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such real emotional depth, and they're just bringing a real
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honesty and authenticity to their performances. And then throughout the
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whole company, both on stage and off stage, there's just
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such a beautiful generosity of spirit. Like we really strive
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to celebrate individuality, and I just love how everyone in
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this company really brings their full self on stage and
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the cast gets to shine in ways that feel really
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personal and authentic, which is so important because the show
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is about again just like owning your own voice. And
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it's just an amazing company that's that's going to be
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coming to Des Moines, and I'm just so y'all are
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so lucky you get to see them.
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Well, it's really our pleasure to have the show here
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and it's one that I think people are going to love,
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and I just want to thank you so much for
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taking the time I know you're working on a new
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show Broadway right now and taking the time. Good luck
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on your show and thanks you.
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Thanks, oh my gosh, enjoy the show.
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Yeah, and that was my conversation with Susanna. We are
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grateful to you for joining us for this special conversation.
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D mp A Conversations is produced by Andrew Downs. Bringing
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these performance to our stages wouldn't be possible without the
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generosity of our donors and the loyalty of our season
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ticket holders. Thank you for your continued support. Visit DMPA
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dot org wherever you get your podcasts for future conversations.
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Thanks for listening.
