Interview: Robert And Cristina Farruggia of BEYOND BEAUTIFUL (THE HEDY LAMAR MUSICAL) at Green Room 42

The most beautiful woman in the world. Inventor of the basis for the technological revolution.  An Austrian Jew and wife of an abusive Nazi arms dealer. Hollywood’s original bombshell.  Hedy Kiesler was so much more than the image of “Hedy Lamarr” the world thrust onto her.  Sibling playwrights Robert Farruggia and Cristina Farruggia’s new musical, Beyond Beautiful:  The Hedy Lamarr Musical explores the woman behind the beautiful face and how her brilliant mind helped change the modern world. The musical will be presented in concert at The Green Room 42 on Sunday, November 19th at 1pm.

Broadwayworld interviewed the sibling team about their upcoming Green Room 42 concert presentation.   Book and Lyrics by Robert Farruggia and Cristina Farruggia. Music by Robert Farruggia. Directed by Tommy J. Dose, Musical Directed by Sean Patrick Cameron.

Robert, Cristina - Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. We have to ask - What made you decide to write a musical about Hedy Lamarr?
Cristina: We always knew of Hedy Lamarr, but we happened to come across a documentary
about her one evening. At the end of it, I turned to Robert and said, “This is our next musical.” I don’t think I gave him much choice in the matter, but luckily he agreed!

Robert: As a composer, I could just see the musical moments in my head. Her life was dramatic by nature and she had so many pivotal, emotional points. When she decided to change her name from Hedy Kiesler to Hedy Lamarr, forever leaving Europe and her old life behind, we knew that would be the perfect moment for our Act I Finale. 

What would you say has been the most challenging aspect of writing this?
Cristina: I think we would both say Hedy is a real-life Forrest Gump of history. There were so many things she pioneered - beyond Wi-Fi - and so many things she experienced that trying to narrow down a cohesive storyline was our biggest challenge. 
Robert: We always start our creative process with tons of research – and there was certainly a lot to choose from. Ultimately, we tried to zero in on Hedy the person and what made her tick, rather than all the spectacle surrounding her. 

How would you describe the style of your show?
Robert: We have always been drawn to the 1920s-1940s time period, so the score reflects that.  While the music does have contemporary elements, much of the score is reminiscent of the golden age. I would say Jule Styne was the biggest inspiration.

Cristina: Our friends often joke that if we wrote a musical set in modern times, they would
question whether it was truly ours! Our first show, On the Air, covered two siblings who starred in vaudeville, then radio, then TV while our second, The Store Under the Portico, takes place during WWII in Nazi occupied Italy. I think we’re really drawn to period pieces because there’s always something relevant to learn from them. Unfortunately, a lot of what our shows center on are eerily relevant to today. 

What do you want people to take away from your musical?
 

Robert: Hedy’s story is truly inspiring because it is so universal. The world judged her for her looks and that left her constantly questioning her identity. In many ways she was flawed and suffered from the traumas of her past. But despite that, she went on to become a Hollywood box office star, the first female Hollywood producer, and invented the basis for most of our modern technology. She represents the struggles we face in finding our authentic selves. 

Cristina: If people know Hedy Lamarr, I think people have a preconceived notion of her. Even if you know she invented the basis for today’s Wi-Fi, that’s really only scratching the surface of who she was and what she did. I’d love people to walk away with more of a glimpse about this complicated woman. Someone who was truly ahead of her time. I think there are moments in this show that everybody will be able to relate to in some form or other, because at the end of the day it’s about being seen and heard. One of the basic needs of the human condition.

You mentioned some of your previous projects earlier. Do you have anything else in the works?
Cristina: The Museum of Jewish Heritage will be presenting a reading of The Store Under the Portico early next year, so we’re busy prepping for that as well. 
Robert: We also hope to present a full, industry reading of Beyond Beautiful sometime next year.

BroadwayWorld.com would like to thank the Farruggia's for taking the time to chat with us about their upcoming performance.  Tickets are available at:

Link for Tix: The Green Room 42 (venuetix.com)

-Peter Danish