Interview: BROADWAY At THE BOURBON ROOM's Benet Braun Making Beautiful Music Everywhere He Can

Marisa Matthews and Ashley Moniz produced their first edition of their monthly cabaret Broadway at The Bourbon Room last month with their second edition Songs of Sondheim playing March 28, 2022, at (of course) The Bourbon Room. Got a chance to throw out a few questions to B@BB's musical director extraordinaire, the very busy Benet Braun.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Benet. I was at your opening night of Broadway at The Bourbon Room. Such a varied and talented line-up of vocalists and you accompanied all of them as if you've been playing for each one of them for years. How long do you actually rehearse with each singer?

20 minutes each.

That's all? Are you gifted with the amazing ability of sight-reading to just see a sheet of music and immediately play it?

Sight-reading is like a muscle for me. When I haven't done it for a while, I suck. The more I do it, the more my hands agree with my eyes. I know lots of better sight-readers than me, but I know a lot of this material. I'm also adding here and there to the music by adding something in the orchestration I want to hear or by avoiding something I can't play.

As the musical director of B@BB, do you have input in selecting your show's line-up? Or is that all Marisa and Ashley's responsibility?

The singers each send us a few song options to consider, and Ashley and Marisa take the lions' share of the planning. I weigh in when it comes to show order, cuts of songs, and, when I know the singer, which song might suit them best.

Your March 28th B@BB will be songs of Stephen Sondheim. How many themed shows do you have planned so far?

I think they have themes planned through August. Marisa and Ashley are very excited about this, and they are seasoned planners.

How did you originally get involved with B@BB? Did B@BB's creative producer Ashley (who's also your wife) entice you to participate?

Marisa and I have been friends for a few years now, and we really like working together. Through various projects, we have figured out how to collaborate and respectfully argue with each other to create our best possible product. I think she trusts me and knows I care about this as much as she does. Plus Ashley asked me.

You've played cruise ships, Disneyland, national tours, concerts as a freelance pianist or a musical director. Tell us the positives and perks of working each of these types of gigs.

On cruise ships, you see the world for free. If you're lucky you get into a good band and learn from really good leaders and players. If you're smart, the only expenses are a few crew-bar beers and cab rides to the islands' waterfalls. I paid my student loans off quickly with that job.

a??Disneyland is a magical place. I had a great job playing in the dueling piano show at the Golden Horseshoe. I didn't truly realize how special it was until we took our daughter to the park a few months ago. Ashley and I had some friends in the Disney Junior Dance Party. When I saw how amazed our daughter was when they interacted with her, I was so grateful to our performing friends for the special experience they gave our daughter. They cancelled our show at the Golden Horseshoe during the pandemic, but I hope that we were able to give some kids and families half the joy that we experienced. When I was there it was just a fun job, but now I feel a much deeper appreciation for that work.

The national tour of Cabaret was an amazing opportunity. I got to learn from Rob Cookman and Patrick Vaccariello on that gig. I'll never forget their example.

I like working as a freelance music director because I get to be a manager, pianist, arranger, conductor, voice coach, and writer.

a??I caught you at The Groundlings where you're the new musical director there. Have you fit in like a glove with the amazing musicians guitarist Larry Treadwell and drummer Greg Kanaga?

Larry and Greg have a lot of experience playing at The Groundlings. They were extremely helpful showing me the ins and outs of how the shows work. Greg is a versatile stylist and really cares about serving what's on the stage. Larry is a mad scientist with the array of sounds he gets out of the guitar and is a fantastic soloist. We are still growing our repertoire together and gradually tightening our sound. I'm excited to hear our growth together over the years.

What cosmic forces brought you to The Groundlings? Was it your earlier collaboration with Groundling members Chris Guerra and Ryan Gaul in KidScripts?

You nailed it. Chris and my wife Ashley did the national tour of Sister Act together, and he and I became friends through her. Chris brought me in to make performance tracks for a few shows while he was in the Sunday Company, then we did KidScripts, then I did a track for The Groundlings Holiday Show in 2020. I finally got the job as The Groundlings' music director in July of 2021. I am very grateful to Chris and Ryan for bringing me into the fold.

What's the latest with KidScripts?

KidScripts is on hold for now. I can't speak for Chris and Ryan, but I think it was a little gem of the pandemic while we were at home, desperate to create.

With so many commitments to juggle at present, what's your typical weekly schedule like?

a??I teach and accompany at AMDA in Hollywood about 30 hours a week and I'm at The Groundlings Thursday thru Sunday. Mondays are my day off, so my wife gets a break. I'm planning to rehearse a new show at Disneyland, and I'm trying to finish a few writing projects with my friend and writing partner, Paul Epp. I'm also the music director for the Ambush Cabaret and they are starting to plan their next few shows. I was arranging and music directing a show for La Mirada Theater in March but that was moved to October due to COVID numbers. Go see that show. BT McNichol and the team at La Mirada put on great stuff.

What's your secret to time management?

Get the dishes done first, then practice/write when I can. It's a wild time for our family. Our daughter is 17 months old, and we are trying to get started in Los Angeles as this pandemic subsides. We moved to Valley Village from Long Beach two months before the pandemic started. Even though we have been here two years, it still feels like we're new because the world still isn't fully open. I seem to be intentionally overextending myself for the sake of meeting more artists and trying to provide for our family. A foundation is starting to settle, but between mealtimes, putting our daughter down, toddler tantrums, our dog eating beeswax crayons, Ashley jumping into the vocal booth to do voiceover work, and me running to AMDA and Groundlings, it feels like our hair is on fire. But I love this life, and I know what it means to get started in a new city.

What is your primary packing tip for a newbie going on tour?

Pack stuff to challenge yourself. Truly mastering your part in the show takes everyone a different amount of time, but once it's done, you need ways to push yourself and grow. So study chess, hard piano music, P90X, duolingo... something. Then go eat local food.

a??And your packing tip for working on a cruise ship?

Same, plus a swimsuit and water shoes.

What kind of music do you relax to?

New Orleans, R&B and Ravel.

Do you ever play piano to unwind?

Not these days. But I really like the work I do, so while it's work, it's still beautifully entertaining.

What else is in the near future for Benet Braun?

1. I want to get Groundlings involved in some musical comedy projects that my friend Paul Epp and I have coming down the pike. We'll see.

2. This Broadway at the Bourbon Room project really has legs and I want to see L.A. run with it. I am so proud of Marisa and Ashley for putting in so many hours to bring our theater community together.

Thank you again, Benet! I look forward to hearing your magical fingers make beautiful music at Broadway at The Bourbon Room and at The Groundlings.

For tickets to the live performance of Broadway at The Bourbon Room March 28th, log onto www.bourbonroomhollywood.com

For see the live The Groundlings shows that Benet plays on Thursdays through Sunday nights, log onto www.groundlings.com

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