INTERVIEW: COVID-inspired show stopped by COVID, but cast perseveres
Photo: Billy Bustamante is director and choreographer of Notes From Now, now playing at 59E59 Theaters. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Jorgensen PR with permission.
COVID-19 upended the theater industry worldwide, but signs are pointing to productions getting back on track. There are going to be some hiccups along the way. One of them was somewhat surprising and ironic: Notes From Now, from the Prospect Theater Company and now playing at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan, is a revue-style show featuring original compositions that are inspired by these historic times. All was going swimmingly for the show, which is directed and choreographed by Billy Bustamante, and then opening night, March 10, happened.
“The opening was theoretically last night,” Bustamante said the day after. “It was an eventful day yesterday. We actually had to cancel our opening night due to some COVID cases in the company.”
Thank goodness Notes From Now had an “amazing cover,” as the director pointed out, which meant only one performance was canceled. The show must go on, after all, even shows inspired by the pandemic. Notes From Now continues its run through March 20.
“I do think there was this whole new ingredient in terms of how we can do things safely, new requirements, [which takes] more time out of the process, even just making time for testing and all of that stuff,” the director said. “I think it ultimately helps the process knowing that people come into the room, and they know that they’re taken care of. They know that they feel safe. I feel that actually is worth any hassle. When we think about COVID cases and spikes, I’m actually grateful for the regulations and the rules.”
Notes From Now features words and songs — all original — that provide profound observations on the human journey, according to press notes. The COVID angle is more indirect and in the category of “inspired by.” Cara Reichel serves as curator of the songs and creative producer, while Sean Peter Forte is music director and Macy Schmidt is in control of orchestrations. The cast includes everyone from Ashley Blanchet to Genesis Collado, plus Thani Brant, Darron Hayes, Josh Lamon, Aline Mayagoitia, Judy McLane and John Yi.
“My hope is that audiences can come into the theater, share this experience with us, and see on stage some reflection of what we’ve all collectively been through over the past two years, but more importantly, by the end of the show, leave the theater feeling renewed and reinvigorated and empowered to take on whatever happens next, knowing that we are by no means out of the woods completely on this thing,” Bustamante said. “I hope that we’ve created something that ultimately empowers people and inspires people.”
Last year, Reichel reached out to a bunch of composers that she knew and admired, and delivered them a prompt: Please write a new song about this moment in time.
“And that was literally how it all began,” the director said. “From there, there was a rewriting process and a preproduction process where we got to listen to drafts and work with each writer and writing team about fine-tuning and clarifying what they wanted to say and how it fit into the greater ecosystem of the show. From there, once we got into rehearsal, which was basically when we finally got a sense of what each song was about, we had a couple weeks to see how it all fit together. I consider it to be a really thrilling experiment.”
The composers and writers are a who’s who of up-and-coming and established artists: Jay Adana, Troy Anthony, Masi Asare, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Georgie Castilla & Jaime Lozano, Gretchen Cryer, Tia DeShazor & Derrick Byars, Alexandra Elle & Stephen Schwartz, Adam Gwon, Douglas Lyons & Ethan Pakchar, Peter Mills, Ryan Scott Oliver, Michelle J. Rodriguez, Angela Sclafani, Paulo K Tiról, and Amanda Yesnowitz & Deborah Abramson, according to press notes.
Helping round out the show is Bustamante’s choreography, which doesn’t feature big dance numbers, but rather more intimate movements that accentuate the lyrics and melodies.
“You’re not going to come and see big Broadway dance numbers,” he said. “It’s definitely not that kind of a show, but I think my choreographic aim with this show was to create an ensemble of seven actors, seven bodies all thinking together, moving together, acting together and participating in creating 17 different stories.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Notes From Now, from the Prospect Theater Company and directed/choreographed by Billy Bustamante, plays through March 20 at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
