Previews: MY HEART SAYS GO and CASCADE'S FIRE Headline Tesseract's New Musical Summer Fest

Tesseract Theatre company is following up their critically acclaimed productions of The Inheritance Parts I & II with their festival of new musicals. CASCADE’S FIRE written by Taylor Gruenloh with music composed by Kyle Wernke and MY HEART SAYS GO written by Matthew Hawkins with music and lyrics composed by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, and additional arrangements by Geoffrey Ko, will have their St. Louis Premieres in July at Tesseract’s “New Musical Summer Fest 2024.”  

MY HEART SAY GO will be directed by Tesseract Creative Director Brittanie Gunn with Tesseract’s Kevin Corpuz as the protagonist Indigo. Larry D. Pry, fresh off his win for Best Music Direction at the 2024 The St. Louis Theater Circle Awards, will serve as the music director. Book writer Matthew Hawkins, a theater professor at The University of Notre Dame, plans to be in St. Louis for the plays opening weekend.  

Hawkins shared that MY HEART SAYS GO is a project he worked on with one of his students, Jorge Rivera-Herrans who changed his major from pre-med to theater. The story is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story about a young singer/songwriter from Puerto Rico who is choosing to follow his dream. MY HEART SAYS GO examines what it means to make decisions as a young adult that your parent may not support. Hawkins and Rivera-Herrans' piece is about chasing your dreams, overcoming obstacles, and not giving up on those that you love. 

Gunn and Corpuz first heard the music from MY HEART SAYS GO on TikTok and knew they had to secure the rights to produce it. A studio cast album featuring Broadway’s Javier Muñoz and Jessie Mueller has become an internet sensation. Once they understood the complexity of the score, they knew they needed a skilled music director and reached out to Pry. Corpuz and Pry had worked together on the award-winning production of Sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS, and Corpuz knew that Pry had the skills to music direct the complicated composition. 

Pry thinks that the score for MY HEART SAYS GO is a blend of the works of Lin-Manuel Mirand and composers Pasek and Paul. “The score is beautifully written and so well handled,” Pry says, “it is wrap and pop, written in 6-part harmony.” Pry talked about how the score is driven by the heartbeat of the characters. He shared that is important that the actors not only understand the lyrics, but that they also understand the rhythm of the piece. Hawkins agreed with Pry. He said, “when Indigo (the lead character) finally discovers who they are, their heartbeat literally and metaphorically becomes their metronome for their freestyle rap.” 

Like Miranda’s shows, MY HEART SAYS GO has a diverse cast. Gunn thinks audiences will want to see the show because more than half of the cast are non-white actors. She thinks that is one of the factors that make this show relatable. In addition to the casting, MY HEART SAYS GO is about the time in peoples’ lives when they had a dream or a passion. When Gunn first read the script, she saw some of her own journey starting a theatre company. She shared that people are going to find this story to be analogous to their own lives, hopes and dreams.  

Gruenloh will direct his musical tragedy CASCADE’S FIRE. The show stars up-and-coming actor Josie Schnelten who originated the role of Cascade in the world premiere production at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She also traveled with the show to New York and reprised her performance in the titular role. The Music Director for CASCADE’S FIRE is Randon Lane.  

CASCADE’S FIRE is based on Sophocles' Greek Tragedy “Antigone.” Book writer and Director Taylor Gruenloh says, “I believe this show is doing what the Greeks hoped that theatre would do 2500 years ago. That is to remind you that you are not alone in this world.” Schnelten says, “It is like humanity is watching its own wreckage over time.” She thinks that it begs the question about what responsibility each person holds.  

Music Director Randon Lane says that he is excited about the score that Wernke wrote for CASCADE’S FIRE. He compared the motif to a rock opera with recurring themes. “It is a bit like SPRING AWAKENINGS or HAIR,” Lane said. He called the eleven song show more of a play with music. “It has a very modern sound, and the entire score is played on just a piano,” he said. 

Gruenloh talked about what a personal piece this is because it's based on a loss they experienced on the University’s campus. He knew Schnelten would be the perfect choice to play the title role. “Josie has incredible stage presence and everyone in the theatre department at the school has rallied around her as the leader of the community,” he said. Schnelten humbly deflected and said the reason to see CASCADE’S FIRE is because of all the members of the incredible cast with whom she gets to share the stage. 

MY HEART SAYS GO opens on July 11th, and CASCADE’S FIRE opens on July 19th. All productions are at The Marcelle, and both shows will run six performances each with overlapping schedules. Click the link below to purchase tickets for one or both of the new musicals.  

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