INTERVIEW: Amy Spanger to appear in concert version of ‘Oswald,’ a new musical
Photo: Amy Spanger will star in Oswald, a new musical that is receiving a concert reading at The Green Room 42. Photo courtesy of Chia Messina / Provided by Emily McGill Entertainment with permission.
Although the story of Lee Harvey Oswald might not scream musical theater, fans of the art form can rest easy because there are some more-than-capable hands in control. Oswald, the new musical, will receive a special one-night-only concert performance Monday, Aug. 19 at The Green Room 42 in New York City. Tickets are currently sold out.
The show is the brainchild of co-writers Tony LePage and Josh Sassanella, both alumni of Broadway’s Rock of Ages. They have tapped Tony Award nominee Nick Cordero (A Bronx Tale, Waitress), Reeve Carney (Hadestown, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) and Amy Spanger (Rock of Ages, Matilda) for the special performance.
Oswald, directed by Randi Kleiner, focuses on the story of President John F. Kennedy’s assassin, as told by Oswald’s widow, who is now much older and remembering back to those fateful days in 1963. The criminal act has sparked many conspiracy theories over the years, and the musical embraces them and also sidesteps them by considering multiple motivations for Oswald’s horrible decision.
“I met Josh Sassanella, who is the composer, co-book writer, co-lyricist, at the final performance of Rock of Ages,” Spanger said in a recent phone interview. “I was the original Sherrie, and I came back to see it and also perform in ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ at the end. All three of us — me and Tony LaPage, who is the co-book writer, co-lyricist, and Josh Sassanella — we all had done Rock of Ages at different times over the course of its run. … And Josh reached out to me and thought I would be perfect for the character of Ruth, who is the neighbor of Oswald and Marina. She befriends Marina and becomes a confidante and kind of helps her through the ordeal before Kennedy is assassinated and then after Oswald is murdered as well.”
Preparing for a one-night-only performance can be tricky. Spanger and the company received sheet music and demos of the songs, and she recently met with Sassanella to go over the music.
“We ran through it a couple of times,” she said. “[Then] we’ll get together with the band. It’s supposed to be a sick five-piece rock band, and we’re going to sing with microphones. … And then we’ll do a sound check on Monday, and then we’ll do it. It’s just music. Originally I think we were going to have some dialogue going in and out of songs, but there are so many songs and so many singers, they decided to honor the music for this piece in order to get people interested in the project.”
Spanger said the music of the show is wonderful and in the vein of rock, pop and country, which may not seem like a natural fit for Oswald’s story, but this is offbeat musical theater that is willing to throw out the rule book.
This unusual approach to the source material is hopefully going to land Oswald in the hands of a willing producer. That’s the hope of Spanger and company, who are looking forward to a longer run and more development of the piece.
“They are hopeful that they can get a developmental lab or possibly a regional, out-of-town [tryout] would be the next step,” Spanger said. “They’ve invited backers and producers, people who can make that happen for them. I think it really has legs, just because the story is so compelling. There are so many conspiracy theories, and Oswald sparks all kinds of conversations.”
Falling in Love with Musical Theater
Spanger has been interested in musical theater ever since she was a young girl when her parents turned her on to the art form. She remembers her family renting Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand, and she watched the movie over and over again with her mother.
“I think I was 8, and I just fell in love with her and the bravada of that performance,” she said. “And I was like, I think I can probably do that. I remember seeing All That Jazz back when I was a kid. It was on TV a lot on the weekends. I saw it as a very young person, probably too young to be watching that subject matter. I remember thinking that’s what I want to do when I grow up. And I could always sing. I would do impressions of people on the radio when I was really young. My mother said when I was 3 I sounded better than the people on the radio, which, you know, she’s my mother. I was interested in music and interested in performing from the time I could talk basically.”
Over the years, Spanger has built an impressive résumé, with starring turns in Elf, The Wedding Singer, Chicago and Urinetown. Even though she has seen many curtains rise on Broadway and in theaters across the United States, she still gets a little nervous each time the lights dim and the spotlight is turned on.
“”It always happens,” Spanger said with a laugh. “I like to call it excitement more than nerves. I get a feeling in my belly that this is about to go down, and I’m excited and happy. … It will never go away no matter what. I have accepted that about myself. It’s still very exciting to me. I love the crowd, and I love live performance.”
That excitement will continue Monday night with Oswald.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Oswald, featuring Amy Spanger, Nick Cordero and Reeve Carney, will play a one-night-only concert Monday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. at The Green Room 42 in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
