INTERVIEW: Bill Castellino stages ‘Marry Harry’ at York Theatre Company
The York Theatre Company, which recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its artistic director, James Morgan, will soon present the New York premiere of the new musical Marry Harry, directed by Bill Castellino. The show tells the love story between a cook and real estate agent in the East Village. The songs and scenes are not standard rom-com; instead, in Marry Harry, the sidewalks come to life with graffiti moving, mannequins dancing and angels singing.
Castellino, who helmed York’s Cagney, has been hard at work on the new musical and is looking forward to beginning previews Tuesday, April 25. With a book by Jennifer Robbins, music by Dan Martin and lyrics by Michael Biello, Marry Harry promises to be a laugh and a half.
The theater director recently spoke with Hollywood Soapbox about the production and what York fans can expect. Here is a sample of what he had to say:
On Marry Harry and how to wreak havoc …
“We’re most excited about the fact that we’re telling a very beautiful story about growing up and about people who are about to be 30 and need to get their lives started and cut the apron strings, so it’s a really interesting topic. It’s something that applies to a lot of people, but the storytelling is particularly exciting because we have one of the funniest casts ever assembled. They’re just hilariously funny, but three of the actors play what we call the ‘Voices.’ And the ‘Voices’ serve the play like a fantastical magic realism Greek chorus. They play everything from grandmas to brides to graffiti walls to tablecloths. … They wreak havoc in the lives of these people’s stories by acting out their dreams.”
On how he became attached to the project …
“Well, I know the composer and the lyricist for many, many, many years, and we worked together … probably 20 years ago. And they brought the piece to me. It’s Dan Martin and Michael Biello [who] are the composer and lyricist, and Jennifer Robbins is the book writer. And they were looking for a director, and Dan and Michael thought of me, largely because we had a wonderful experience together before and also because my second love after the theater is the kitchen.”
On his adventures in the kitchen …
“I work hard at being a good home cook, and I love food. And the whole play takes place in an Italian restaurant, so there’s a kind of natural connection here. I love the theater because I believe in fantastic imagery and the experience that happens between the audience and actors and crew every night, and I also love the same thing that happens at the table when you make food and put it in front of friends and family. There’s a kind of magic that occurs in both places, and they knew that was of interest to me. And I think that’s why they connected me to the property.
“I had a big connection with it immediately. I’m Italian. It takes place in an Italian restaurant. I get the whole cultural connection between father and son that is certainly universal but has a certain tone to it when it’s an Italian-American connection. I love the music. It is stunningly beautiful, very romantic and very unexpected, and I like telling a story that has some real romance and some thought about it in a very comical way. So I connected to it immediately. They’ve been very generous of me in the [past] six-eight months as we prepared for this to do a lot of rewrites and be very collaborative with me and very open to suggestions, and as a result, I know that we’re all very excited about what we think we’ll be bringing to you guys.”
On his love for the York Theatre Company …
“I would absolutely call the York my New York theater home. This will be my fourth main stage show there. I did several labs, any number of readings here in New York. I don’t know anywhere else that gives the opportunity for development of new work the way the York does. Musicals have a lot of moving parts, and it takes some real serious work not just privately on the stage but in a workshop/developmental setting wherein you can begin to develop the storytelling. The York really has done that.
“We’ve done two readings of Marry Harry there. Jim Morgan, the artistic director, has been tracking the property for a number of years and always had an interest in it. I’m grateful forever to the York. I mean, that’s where we did Cagney first here in New York.”
On Cagney’s unexpected success off-Broadway …
“Look, Cagney is a really, really, really, really, really good show, but the good fortune that allowed it to make this move from York to [the] Westside [Theatre] and the success it’s had at the Westside Theatre is something that none of us take for granted. We are humbled and grateful by this. It’s really been a phenomenal ride, and it started eight years ago in Florida. …
“We sat down at Florida Stage, which unfortunately is no longer around, with a whiteboard and Bobby Creighton’s big ideas about this musical, and we sat there with Peter Colley and Christopher McGovern and an empty whiteboard and a bunch of dry erase markers. And we began building off what Bobby brought to us and developed an outline that became a musical.”
On the message he hopes audiences learn from Marry Harry …
“I think, of course, these writers have something on their mind more than just making people laugh, although making people laugh is a very worthy pursuit. This play digs deeper than that. I mean, the relationship between parent and child, and these days, how long that childhood lasts, how long the child wants to stay a child and protected by his/her parents, and how long the parents want the kids to stay at home. There’s a real connection in our country about when it’s time for a child to move on, and I think this sheds some real light on how that’s not quite the same one for everybody. …
“Falling in love these days or trying to understand what that even means in these times, it needs examination, and this play does a beautiful job of gently and magically looking at what that phenomenal state called ‘in love’ is. The music is stunning. The performers are terrific, and I think the audience is going to laugh really hard, I hope, at our invention and our storytelling styles and so on. But I think they’ll see that there’s an enormous heart and some really good thinking that went into this play about the family.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Marry Harry begins performances Tuesday, April 25 at the York Theatre Company in Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
