Interview: Bill Russell and Jill Sapenoff Talk ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS at Birdland

On Monday, February 29, 2016, the Broadway at Birdland concert series will be presenting Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens as a benefit concert. With music by Janet Hood, lyrics and additional text by Bill Russell, the piece is comprised of songs and monologues inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology. To get the inside scoop on the upcoming star studded concert, I chatted with Russell and director Jill Sapenoff.

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Where did the idea for ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS come from?

Bill Russell: In late 1987, AIDS was encroaching closer and closer into my circle of friends. Never in my life had I felt the need to write about something like I did with this. I had been writing a kind of free verse for most of my life and was looking to do a larger project in that form.

My now husband, Bruce Bossard, and I were at the unveiling of the Names Project Quilt in DC and were overwhelmed by it. I was also very familiar with Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology which is a collection of short, free verse epitaphs in the voices of people buried in the cemetery of a small mid-western town. All those ideas came together and, almost as an exercise, I started writing monologues in the voices of people who'd died from AIDS, united by having panels on the quilt.

After I had a dozen or so I felt it could be a show using the model of how Spoon River had been adapted for the stage. There, they incorporated classic American folk songs. I called my long-time collaborator, Janet Hood, and asked if she'd be interested in writing music, and she immediately said yes. It wasn't until we'd written a handful of songs that I realized the lyrics were in present tense while the monologues were in past tense. So, the singers came to represent those still living with the disease and the huge losses caused by it.

As a song cycle about those who have died from AIDS, why do you think these stories still need to be told?

Bill Russell: I don't consider Elegies ... a song cycle because it's much more than just the songs. It's hard to define precisely, but I think of it as a musical-though modular, rather than one with a linear plot-line.

I strongly feel these stories still need to be heard. I frequently direct the piece in colleges and am astonished by how little that generation knows about HIV-not only the history of it, which is filled with stories of heroism, drama, and even comedy. But, many young people are shockingly ill-informed about the basics of how it can be contracted. The advances in medications have made HIV manageable, but it is far from over. Infection rates remain fairly constant, and it has moved into different populations. A study in DC a few years back found that the infection rate there equaled the worst hit African countries.

Jill Sapenoff: I think my generation, in many ways, has been some combination of lucky and naive. We grew up rather oblivious to how intense the AIDS epidemic was. Medical research has made leaps and bounds, but we're not out of the woods. The stories need to be told because no story is more extraordinary than the other and that's what makes it both so frightening and so relatable. The stories serve as a form of education that you can use to dispel the stereotypes and rumors because there's never one particular group who is safe.

For fans of the original version, will the two songs omitted in the 2013 revised version be present?

Bill Russell: The concert will include all of the original score and a sampling of the monologues. In the most recent version, we did omit one of the ballads ("Heroes All Around") because of time and tone considerations.

Will there be any new surprises?

Bill Russell: Well, I'll be talking about the development of the show, and some of that might surprise people. For instance, I directed Brendan Coyle, who plays Mr. Bates on Downton Abbey, in the first London production. And, I've recently updated some monologues, added new ones, and a portion of one of those will be performed.

For those not familiar with this piece, why should this be on their radar?

Bill Russell: In addition to exploring the history of the HIV crisis, Janet [Hood] and I have always hoped the show would have strong theatrical values. As I think the concert will show, there is a lot of material that can be performed in other contexts. Janet's music is extraordinary. The monologues are concise and potential material for auditions.

Jill Sapenoff: What makes this concert version of the show so unique is, frankly, Bill [Russell]. We have stellar talent on the stage, but we get to hear Bill's process. He is our guide, if you will, for the night. Nights like this are few and far between, so it's really a rare treat to have the opportunity to hear anecdotes direct from the writer.

How have you been preparing for the upcoming Birdland concert presentation?

Jill Sapenoff: Bill has been trusting enough-and maybe even crazy enough-to let me tinker with the show. He told me he had directed it in the past, so I knew the bar was already set pretty high. No pressure, right?

The first thing I had to do in preparation for the show was to condense the script while still keeping its integrity. We knew that we wouldn't have the luxury of extensive rehearsals, and our cast would be very tight unlike other productions of the show, which can have in excessive of fifty castmembers. I think I nearly passed out with relief and pride when I showed Bill my first edit and he said, "You did a good job."

We're in the midst of our rehearsal process and the biggest challenge with such a great cast has been schedules. Despite that, it's a testament to how amazing our performers and our musical director, William Waldrop, are. It's somewhat untraditional, but a lot of the initial work with our performers had to take place via emails, calls, or recordings, so that when William and I get to work with them live, we can skip the formalities and jump right into the meat of the work.

The casting is terrific. How did you manage to bring them all together for one night?

Jill Sapenoff: This was a joint effort with my producing partner, Sean MacLaughlin, who is also in the cast. The real pull though was that the cast knew this was an important show for an important cause. We got very lucky with this cast, and we're also very lucky to call many of them friends. It's inspiring, at least to me, to be in the company of such a cast who is committed not only to the work, but to BC/EFA. The cast has jumped on the project enthusiastically.

What do you hope the audience gains from experiencing the concert?

Bill Russell: I hope they get a good sense of the show and will explore it further. There are several recordings of the score available. A performance of the piece, or parts of it, offers the opportunity to reflect on an extraordinary time and huge challenge which many people met with grace and courage.

Jill Sapenoff: When originally trying to cast this, I thought to myself, "Okay, if he or she is in our cast, what audience will they attract? Cabaret audience? Musical audience? Old? New?" and it was my goal to have not only a diverse cast, but a diverse audience. Elegies... is all walks of life and shared experiences, and that's what I wanted to make sure was reflected because it is reality. I hope the audience can feel that too.

What about the cast, crew, and creatives? Have they gained from this experience?

Bill Russell: Every time we've done the show it's been an incredible experience for all involved. The performers all get their moment in the spotlight. But more importantly, the piece is about big issues. Even if the participants haven't been touched personally by HIV, there is a great sense of community in coming together to give voices to these people no longer here to speak for themselves.

Jill Sapenoff: This has been a very eye opening process for me, and I know it has been for the cast and the rest of the team as well. Since starting work no this, stories outside of Elegies... came to us, and it's overwhelming, in many ways, to think about the stories that haven't been told. We're learning a lot from each other and are all bringing experiences to the table that I hope carry us beyond just one benefit concert.

Don't miss your chance to see Sean MacLaughlin, Karen Mason, Caroline Bowman, Natalie Douglas, Josh Young, Jennifer Hope Wills, Nathaniel Stampley, Jamie Cepero, Natalie Douglas, and more in Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens: A Benefit Concert. Proceeds from the evening will go to benefit Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. For tickets and more information, please click here.

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