An Interview with 'Times' Musical Supervisor Dansicker: Pt 1

Most people would be worn down from the stress of opening a show on Broadway – especially one that got mixed reviews on the road, has gone through three leads, and is helmed by notorious perfectionist Twyla Tharp.Except that a mere five days from the opening of The Times They Are A-Changin' musical arranger and supervisor Michael Dansicker appears to be anything but stressed; in fact, it appears that he thrives on the creative pressure and mounting buzz as we sit in one of the boxes at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre following last Saturday's matinee.

           
Looking back on his career thus far, though, it all seems to make sense.  Baltimore native Dansicker has had the great fortune of working with creative legends in many fields, and has likely seen it all.Over the years, he has worked with such film and television greats as Robert DeNiro, who he taught  to sing for Meet the Parents, Diahann Carroll and Louis Gossett, Jr.Then there are the Broadway legends he's gotten to work with, like  Betty Buckley and Eartha Kitt,and has worked with theatre/dance legends Jerome Robbins, and of course, Twyla Tharp.Of his experience with Robbins, Dansicker smiles."I was Jerry Robbins' pianist for Jerome Robbins' Broadway.That was brutal.I did the entire reconstruction of West Side Story.And it was during rehearsals that I got sort of fed up.But I did get to do the West Side Story stuff playing double piano with Leonard Bernstein.It was amazing, but it was also just impossible.After about five months, I called [Twyla] up and said, 'Get me out of here!'She said, 'Well, you wanted to do it…'So she pulled me out to do a dance piece for her."   

           
Working on Times with Tharp and Bob Dylan, he has found two creative people with legitimate theatre backgrounds, though both are known primarily for work in dance and music, respectively.This show is just the most recent Tharp/Dansicker collaboration."I met Twyla, I did her first Broadway show, Singin' in the Rain.So I met her on an actual musical theatre piece, and she took me with her to do a couple of ballets.But she sees a lot of theatre, as does Dylan.Funny enough, he, at one point in his career, was going to stop writing songs and become a playwright.So he's knowledgeable about theatre – not necessarily musical theatre, but theatre in general.And he knows the major playwrights."

           
So how is it collaborating with the great Twyla Tharp?"It is basically Twyla's piece in the sense that I have to follow her lead and not impose my instincts on her.She's a ground-breaking artist; she runs against the mainstream.I might try to do something that is more traditional, but it might inhibit what she is trying to do.For instance, I wrote a prologue [for Times].I took six Dylan songs, and each character had a slice of the songs, and it all went together in this little sextet, which really told where everyone was coming from.We rehearsed it; she staged it.Then, the day before we moved into the theatre in San Diego, she said, 'It's out.It doesn't sound like Dylan.It doesn't work like Dylan.But it is good information to have.'So in that respect, it's different.But what is fun in working with Twyla is that she's the genuine muscle on the production, a la Jerome Robbins, a la Gower Champion.It all comes from her.It's not by committee.There's collaboration, but we (music, sets, lights, costumes) have to answer to her vision."

           
Bob Dylan has less to say, apparently, but his input was no less valuable or less important.Almost a year ago to the day, the pop legend pretty much laid out the rules, stating he didn't want cellos or xylophones – he wanted it to sound like his music.So Dansicker wrote the arrangements, took a week to record it and presented it to Dylan."He told me what he liked, what he didn't like and we went from there. He felt because of the voices, we were where we needed to be.And boy, do we have voices, I mean, Michael Arden is about as good as it gets!" Dansicker enthuses.Getting that "Dylan sound" was relatively easy, as the lead guitarist of the show plays with his band.Still, this is Broadway, and there are rules, including the house minimum rule that states how many musicians must play in musicals at any given theatre.The Brooks Atkinson is an eight man house and Times uses a five man band, just like Bob Dylan uses."We had to go before the Special Situations Committee, and [the union man] kept saying, 'Well, for All Shook Up…' and I said, 'All Shook Up was not a composer's music.It used the songs performed by Elvis Presley, not written by Elvis Presley.'And I told him that I had Dylan himself involved.The only thing I did was take music written for one guitar and expanded it for more than one.But I never take it past what Dylan uses – lead and rhythm guitar, drums, bass and keyboards.Between them they play eleven guitars and five keyboards, but it is the Dylan sound.[The union] agreed – no contest."

Getting the vocalists to create this vision has been somewhat difficult and has been in the public eye, which can certainly bring about its own set of issues.Dansicker explains that originally, the show was really focused on the talents of Jenn Colella, now Broadway-bound herself in High Fidelity.In the process of moving forward, the decision was made to go in another direction, and so mass auditions were held for both the male lead role of Coyote (played in workshops by Tony-nominee and Times dancer, John Selya) and the female lead, Cleo."When it was decided to take the show to San Diego, we saw what I call 'the series regulars' – Gavin Creel, , Deven May – and in walks this kid – Michael Arden - who I had only heard of.I didn't see Bare, and friends told me about his performance in Pippin.He is just fearless.I mean, the sky's the limit.I knew I could base the show around him."

Now that Times has opened, the critics have weighed in, and many invoked the inevitable comparison to Tharp's last show, Movin' Out.To that comparison, Dansicker makes a face, then points out, "That has been my pet peeve from the start.[The ads] all say 'from the creator of Movin'Out.'So, all of the dance people come expecting dance, and the theatre people come expecting that kind of dance, but not Twyla's juxtaposition of it here.Also, not many people are as familiar with the Dylan canon.In San Diego, Michael's mic went out, and the audience sang the song to him!But with New York audiences, you never know.Some nights we've had a real "Dylan crowd" and this place has been like a rock concert.Other nights, not.You just never know."

Dansicker is pleased with the show, comparisons and recasting issues and all.He was after all, part of the creative team of Dance of the Vampires, the notorious flop of a few seasons ago.That's just the kind of "legendary" he probably would like less of.Still, he laughs about the experience, saying he got to work with some great people, including actor Mark Price, now a friend, and John Carrafa, the choreographer and director.But with Times, he is much surer of the quality.His personal favorite moments of the show are when Arden descends from on high on a giant electric moon singing "Mr. Tambourine Man" and later in the show when Arden and Brescia, "the two non-dancers in the show" join the dancer/clowns in "Simple Twist of Fate."Bob Dylan has gone on record as saying that the show is the best representation of his work that he has ever seen, which makes Dansicker smile appreciatively.Ultimately, of course, it is Tharp's approval that means a lot."We sat here last night, and Twyla said, 'This is it.This is the show I wanted to do.' And I said, 'Then that's it.I'm happy.'

NOTE: When this article was first posted, Mr. Dansicker was inadvertantly named musical director.  He is the musical supervisor and arranger.  The musical director is Henry Aaronson.  My apologies to both Mr. Dansicker and Mr. Aaronson.  Part Two of this interview will be posted on Monday.  In it, Dansicker talks about Disney, his Hilton Sisters musical, and growing up in Baltimore.Jack Noseworthy

(PHOTOS of The Times They Are A-Changin'  Main Page: Michael Arden by Richard Termine. Top: Lisa Brescia and Jason McDole by Richard Termine; Bottom: Lisa Brescia and Michael Arden by Bruce Glikas)