Musical Based on Greta Garbo's Life Plays in Rutland, Looks to Broadway

In a recent Vermont Public Radio segment, Nina Keck reported that a new musical about Greta Garbo's life, titled "Garbo and Me," is in development and will be performed tonight at Rutland's Paramount Theatre.

Keck said, "There are no sets, no costumes and no props - not yet. Right now there's just a musical-in-the-rough and a cast of eight who'll perform in front of an audience for the first time this weekend."

Executive director of the Paramount Theatre, Bruce Bouchard, said "I thought it would be really cool to bring a developmental initiative to the theater that lets new works get a substantial commitment of resources, to get 40 hours of rehearsal. And then at the end of the week we just put it up. "

At the end of the show, the director and composer will come out and ask the audience for feedback.

The music for the project was composed by Joshua Rosenblum while the lyrics were written by his wife, Joanne Sydney Lessner.

"The interesting thing about Garbo was that she was the first celebrity to be truly hounded by the press and paparazzi in a way that nowadays is common currency. And of course quite famously Garbo was a very private person and the more she tried to pull away from the public and the media the more their curiosity was aroused And the more intent they became on tracking and following her. And she actually famously said, ‘My life is all about back alleys and side entrances,'" said Lessner.

The musical explores Garbo's work in Hollywood among other things including her bisexual love life, her disdain for the paparazzi, her need for privacy, and her abrupt exodus from acting at the height of her career.

Kate Shindle, a former Miss America who played the lead Broadway's "Legally Blond" plays Garbo.

Lessner said, "A friend of mine once said to me every single member of the audience is wrong, but the audience of the whole is right. In the privacy of your rehearsal everybody's hilarious, everything is brilliant and wonderful and suddenly you have fresh ears hearing it and things become very apparent just from the way things land in the room. And getting to speak to the audience afterward and get their response is invaluable feedback."

Keck reported that those associated with the show hope the audience feedback will help "Garbo and Me" find its way to Broadway in the future.

To listen to the story, click here.