BWW Blog: Samantha Tirrell - The Music of BACKBEARD

We've just finished our first week of music rehearsals for Backbeard at the Theatre Institute at Sage! Because Backbeard has been workshopped with our department a couple of times now, most of the cast is already very familiar with the music, so the trajectory of our music rehearsals was naturally a bit different than it would have been if we were rehearsing a licensed show. The familiarity that the cast has with the material already allows for the polishing of the music earlier in the rehearsal process than is standard, and this musical stability will assist with the fluidity of rehearsal once staging begins.

With this flexibility, there has been an ample amount of time to play, which is fun for the actors and crucial for composer and director Michael Musial, who is now able to fine-tune his recently completed score. One of the most exciting parts of our first week of music rehearsal was the time dedicated to Backbeard's newest song, the last piece written before we officially began our rehearsal period. It's called "Curse Those Pirates!," and it is a song performed by villagers condemning the show's pirates for the havoc they wreak on their community. It was the only song in the score that nobody in the room had heard before, making for a thrilling unveiling when Michael played it and listened to an ensemble sing it for the first time, the best way for him to see what works and what doesn't. A unique aspect to this rehearsal process so far has been this method of determination, allowing the music to be sung, performed, and from there, toying with each piece musically to isolate what is best-suited for this particular cast in their performances of the material.

The score of Backbeard is an eclectic mix of music evoking varying themes and ideas from a broad spectrum of musical styles (much like Backbeard's wardrobe)! From beginning to end, each song in Backbeard is distinct, effectively contrasting with the show's other pieces. Ultimately, the patchwork of music forms a cohesive whole, a tight and effective score with lively heights and memorable melodies. Music director Barbara Musial, Michael's wife, has been in rehearsal watching Michael play Backbeard's score, which currently resides on dozens of sheets of taped-together staff paper. She will be accompanying the cast for the June run of the production, and since Michael is the only person to have played this music thus far, Barb is faced with the challenge of ensuring that his music is played exactly how it was written to be played. In rehearsal, she watches him play each song, plays along with him, and with Michael's coaching she accompanies the cast from his handwritten sheets, which is presumably how she will play the show in June.

Though their time around the piano is certainly not over, the cast of Backbeard will hit the stage of the Schacht Fine Arts Center on Sunday evening to begin staging. We are so excited for you to see (and hear!) Backbeard this June!

Visit http://sage.edu/theatre for more information on performance dates and ticketing.