INTERVIEW: Buzz Aldrin gets his own folk-rock fable
Photo: Paris Ellsworth, Jacob Brandt and Maya Sharpe star in 1969: The Second Man, part of the Next Door initiative at New York Theatre Workshop. Photo courtesy of Chad Batka / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
In the coming weeks, movie audiences will have the chance to check out the new Neil Armstrong biopic, First Man, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle. But before learning about the first, theater audiences have the chance to learn about the second.
Jacob Brandt’s 1969: The Second Man details the life and career of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. The show recently opened as part of New York Theatre Workshop’s Next Door initiative at the Fourth Street Theatre in New York City. The rock-musical amalgamation, which features music played by a band, has a limited engagement through Sept. 8.
Brandt conceived of the show and wrote the music and lyrics. He also stars. Helping him is Dan Giles (book) and Jaki Bradley (director), plus his other bandmates on stage: Paris Ellsworth, Lizzie Hagstedt, Angel Lin, Maya Sharpe and Tony Aidan Vo.
“I, as a teenager, became very interested in Buzz Aldrin and just became fascinated with the idea that we learn about the moon landing in school, but we really only hear about Neil Armstrong,” Brandt said in a recent phone interview. “I became interested in the facts that there was another person there and that we don’t know his story quite as well, and so I began writing music for this show several years ago. And the show has developed from that seedling of an idea.”
Ever since those early days, Brandt had it in mind that he would also perform in the piece. He is interested in actor-musician musicals (think The Great Comet and Once), and he loves how rock concerts are some of the most “pure” and “cathartic” forms of musical theater.
“I’ve always been interested in how rock concerts and musical theater can connect, so it’s always been my intention to have a band perform this piece,” he said. “We as a band play ourselves but also gently, inflexibly play characters throughout the history of the story.”
Brandt’s fascination with Aldrin goes back to the musician’s time in high school. He wanted to read all about the moon landing and Apollo 11 mission, and so he immersed himself in the many amazing stories from the late 1960s. Aldrin stuck out almost immediately.
“I think most people are mostly unaware of or don’t remember,” he said. “Those stories haven’t gotten their moment to enter our collective conscience.”
THE NEXT STEPS
In the modern day, after developing the musical for quite some time, Brandt and the company pitched NYTW for their Next Door initiative, and now they find themselves with a multi-week run at a prestigious off-Broadway house.
“We pitched them on that after developing the show in various places and in various forms throughout the last five or so years,” he said. “The show has been changing and developing over the course of that time. We pitched them on this iteration with this wonderful playwright, Dan Giles, writing the book and this equally wonderful director, Jaki Bradley, staging it. … I’ve really, really enjoyed the process of working with them because it is extremely difficult to work in a vacuum. In fact, it’s basically impossible, and so to have other really brilliant brains giving themselves to the piece can only make it better. So I’ve really enjoyed working with them.”
The rehearsals for the piece were fun, Brandt said. He found the assembled group both warm and generous, and they allowed creativity to dictate their actions because this is a different type of musical than most have ever experienced.
“A lot of our rehearsal time has been spent cultivating our sound as a band and learning how to play together as musicians, but also work together as actors and storytellers,” he said. “I really hope that there’s a continued life for the project. I think that in this particular moment, as we head into the year of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, I think there is renewed interest in learning about this story and the people involved. Also, just last week, [Vice President Mike] Pence announced a break for the military branch that’s a space force, so as the 50th anniversary of the moon landing comes up, and we’re continually talking about the space program, I think that people may be interested in this story from a fresh perspective.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
1969: The Second Man, conceived by and starring Jacob Brandt, is currently running as part of the Next Door initiative at the New York Theatre Workshop. Performances run through Sept. 8 at the Fourth Street Theatre in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
