INTERVIEW: ‘Leaving Eden’ at NYMF is musical debut of Ben Page
Photo: Ben Page is the composer of the new musical Leaving Eden. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Kampfire PR with permission.
The new musical Leaving Eden, featuring book and lyrics by Jenny Waxman and music by Ben Page, reinvents the story of Eve, Adam and Lilith, all the while asking some deep questions about wisdom, creation, faith, sisterhood and humanity.
Leaving Eden, directed by Susanna Wolk and with additional music by Ada Westfall, will be presented July 16-21 as part of the New York Musical Festival. Performances take place at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City.
Page, an emerging composer from Toronto, is making his musical debut with Leaving Eden, and he recently exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the experience. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired Leaving Eden’s creation?
Jenny had been working on the script for years before I got involved, but what inspires the music is the constant duality of the show. You have two worlds of totally different time and space, but when do they sound the same? When do they sound different? Playing with the theatricality of it has been and continues to be what inspires me.
How would you describe the music of the show?
Eclectic rock but it’s got flavors of everything. I think the beauty of new musical theatre is that the convention has been established and broken, so genre has become another tool in the composer’s arsenal. …
What’s the working relationship like with Jenny Waxman? How does the collaboration work?
What I love about working with Jenny is that she makes me write fast. Usually I’m a very methodical writer, and I’ll spend months on one song alone. The problem with that is I end up writing very cerebrally. Jenny keeps me on my toes, so when we start rallying ideas, we outpace my brain. And we’ll end up with something better together in less than half the time I would have done it solo.
Are you nervous or excited for the world premiere of the show?
I still don’t feel like it’s actually happening! Even as I type out these answers sitting in the lobby of the Signature Center I don’t really believe that we’re actually putting on the show.
Did you always enjoy musicals? When did you first get interested in the art form?
I was never super into musicals as a kid. I think that’s because I mostly saw the movie musicals though. They didn’t grab me the same way they do for a lot of theatre kids. My friends were all super into musicals in middle school, and I starting performing in them as a way to hang out with them, really. It wasn’t until I was in high school and was introduced to shows like Merrily We Roll Along and Falsettos that I was really hooked. I was in a production of Pasek & Paul’s Edges, and I remember having a moment in rehearsal where I went ‘Oh! OK … so this is what musicals can be like.’
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Leaving Eden, featuring book and lyrics by Jenny Waxman and music by Ben Page, will play July 16-21 at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City. The production is part of the New York Musical Festival. Click here for more information and tickets.
