Interview: Chatting with UNLOCK'D's A.J. Shively

The word "rape" has taken on a new and serious definition in our modern society, so much so that the lyric of one tune in the long-running musical THE FANTASTICKS has had to eliminate the word so the song could become politically correct. In previous eras the word had a much less sinister meaning: it originally meant "to plunder" or to "violently seize". It also meant "to abuse".

That said, Alexander Pop's mock heroic poem, "The Rape of the Lock" had nothing to do with using sexual force; it was about snipping a lock of hair-- much the way Jack McFarland tried to cut off some of Patti LuPone's hair in a classic episode of TV's "Will and Grace". Pope's narrative is presently serving as the inspiration for a new musical entitled UNLOCK'D which is in previews at The Duke on 42nd Street.

Chatting in the theater's green room while on a rehearsal break, actor A. J. Shively (as in "lively") was enthusiastic about the production. "It's basically a satire," Shively says, "and like the poem it's loosely based on, its moral is 'don't sweat the small stuff'. Pope wrote his poem after a family friend became enamored with another friend, cutting off a piece of her hair. It caused a rift between the two families...all over a lock of hair," Shively explains. "Our version is sort of that story but we've expanded the theme to include how people go around playing roles they think they have to play in life. It's really about how human beings can find themselves and make the journey of self-discovery when they connect with others."

The actor continues: "My character starts out being very bookish and not particularly interested in joining the other lords and ladies who are summering at Hampton Court. He finds, that in actually talking to them, that they are worthwhile and just thinking everything through is not a way to live."

Shively's a boyishly handsome young man who is both genial and loquacious. Although fit and trim he's munching on a spinach salad during the conversation because his costumes for the show have tight fitting pants and the actor is very much aware of that. A familiar face to theater-goers, Shively made his Broadway debut in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES which starred Kelsey Grammar and Doug Hodge. In that production, Shively played Grammar's son, Jean Michel, and sang one of Jerry Herman's most poignant songs "Look Over There." Shively claims that it was "intimidating" to get cast in the production. "When I got the call that I'd booked Jean Michel, I said, 'You mean the understudy, right?'. You have to understand, I was two years out of school and had no major credits on my resume-aside from the work I'd done as a child. However, actually doing the role was great because I had lots of material but the show didn't rest on my shoulders. I was able to step back and watch Douglas Hodge create a Tony Award winning performance. Kelsey Grammar has to be one of the best actors I've ever worked with. It was a treat to watch both their processes and I got to see how they handled it in a long run. I told the producers when we closed that I felt I'd gone to grad school. It was an eye-opening education."

Jerry Herman, the show's composer and lyricist, came to the opening night of this LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and the cast didn't expect it because he'd been ill. "As soon as the curtain fell, he came backstage and climbed up five flights of stairs to shake everyone's hand personally. He was great."

Toward the end of the run of LA CAGE, Harvey Fierstein came in to replace Douglas Hodge. "It was amazing to work with Harvey on his own material. It was a thrill to hear him say, 'This is the only version of the show I would ever do. He had said he would never play the role but Terry Johnson's vision of it was appealing enough for him to take on the role."

Shively also appeared in a production called FEBRUARY HOUSE at The Public Theater which was directed by Davis McCallum. "It was the true story of a group of intellectuals who lived together in a townhouse in Brooklyn Heights It was set in the year before America's entry into World War I. The tenants included W. H. Auden, Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten and Gypsy Rose Lee among others. We did a production in Connecticut and transferred it to the Public, where it was well-received."

The actor also appeared in a version of THE NUTCRACKER which was written by Gerard Allessandrini. "Gerard actually wrote lyrics to Tchiakovsky's music and I got to work with Peter Scolari and Annie Golden in that show. It was at the George Street Playhouse. It was a privelege to work with people who were so gifted and professional."

Shively was born in Pasadena, California but when he was four the family moved to Columbus, Ohio where he was raised. There was a brief stint in New York where he did some auditioning. "I did the national tour of THE SOUND OF MUSIC revival in '99-2000. It starred Richard Chamberlain and Meg Tolan. I did six months of that tour and then I found myself auditioning for various roles along with countless other young actors Then I hit my growth spurt and I moved back to Ohio and finished up my schooling at the University of Michigan's Musical Theater program." As an adult, he moved to New York in 2008. He's been here ever since.

UNLOCK'D is most certainly a musical and Shively says the creative team has been calling it 'pop operetta' or 'poperetta'." Some of the music sounds straight-up Gilbert and Sullivan. Our orchestrations, though, have electric guitar and as the characters have their moments of 'unlocking' their minds, the score becomes much more contemporary pop rock. It's beautiful music. Derek Gregor has done a great job with the score."

The plot concerns two pairs of star-crossed lovers and six spiritual beings, gnomes and sylphs who also double as other lords and ladies of the court.

"Derek and Sam [Carner] have been working on this piece for some time and it won the Richard Rodgers Award somewhere around 2007."

With its pompadour hairstyles and costumes which cleverly suggest another era-to day nothing of an ingenious set, UNLOCK'D promises to be one of the most entertaining theatrical experiences of the summer. Besides, it'll be a beguiling way to explore what Alexander Pope really meant when he wrote about "the rape of a lock."

The Duke on 42nd Street is located at 229 West 42nd Street. Tickets may be purchased at Duke42.org, or by calling (646) 223-3010. UNLOCK'd playes through July 13th.