SPANDEX, THE AUDIO MUSICAL Will Be Performed on Musical Theatre Radio Next Weekend

While it will be another four years before competitive aerobics vies again for its place in the Summer Olympics, Spandex, the Off-Broadway musical inspired by the viral 1988 Crystal Light Aerobics Championship video, takes to the airwaves on Musical Theatre Radio (musicaltheatreradio.com) Sunday, August 8th, at 1pm. Spandex the Audio Musical, Episode One, will be followed by episodes 2-5 on the following four Sundays @ 1pm through September 5th.

Listeners will hear the tale of Lorraine Stubenski, a gymnast who once "lost her balance," and shockingly failed to qualify for the Olympics; 20 years later, with the help of a newly taking-charge housewife and an Israeli fitness guru learning how to "make aerobics," Lorraine must face her onetime gymnastic partner and love interest, the diet-pill pushing Trip Allen, in the only place he might be vulnerable: the National Crystal Light Aerobics Championship, hosted by Alan Thicke.

With a cast led by Sims Lamason (Off Broadway's Spandex the Musical) and Broadway's Lisa Howard, (It Shoulda Been You, Escape to Margaritaville, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and a sound team led by Tony-Award Winning sound designer Kai Harada (The Band's Visit), the show was recorded during the pandemic under the direction of Liz Piccoli (Spandex the Musical Off Broadway, New York Stories, Bare Opera), by actors and designers from all around the country. "It's somewhere between a podcast, an old-time Radio Play with Foley, and an original cast album," says co-creator Daniel F. Levin. "That's why we could only think to call it an Audio Musical." Ms. Piccoli even translated parts of her choreography into the immersive audio experience, using slow-motion, authentic dance footsteps and recorded breath.

Spandex premiered Off Broadway in 2013 in a coproduction with Crunch Fitness, and went up at the Minnsky Theatre in Minneapolis in 2017. The process of turning it into an audio musical took four months of home recording, zoom rehearsals, mixing and mastering in the winter of 2021, during which time 4 cast members and 3 members of the production team endured and recovered from COVID.

The original score, co-written by Julian Blackmore and Mr. Levin, takes its inspiration from the 1980's but with some modern twists. Group numbers such as "Fist of Desire" and "Squat (for my love)" were recorded by layering from actor to actor, a "snowball" process designed by music director and recording engineer, Micah Joel. The dialogue was recorded by Josh Millican, with Foley effects by Isabella Curry, after which all was mixed by Mr. Harada, so that the listener is thrust into a world of sneaker squeaks, steamy showers, slamming lockers, and Alan Thicke dad jokes.

The stretchy cast is rounded out by Catherine Ashmore Bradley (Broadway's Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, Nickelodeon's "Deema" on Bubble Guppies, Christmas Story the Musical National Tour), Graham Stevens (Off-Broadway's The Robber Bridegroom, Peter and the Starcatcher, In Transit), Doug Shapiro (Transport Group's Once Upon a Mattress) Will Boyajian (Off-Broadway's Spandex the Musical, Hopeful Cases), Paige Sommerer (Off-Broadway's Spandex the Musical), Nick Abbott (Motown the Musical National Tour), Micah Mims (Cirque Holidaze National Tour), and Alia Munsch (Motown the Musical National Tour).

The creative team includes, in addition to Mr. Levin (Book, Music. and Lyrics), Ms. Piccoli (Director, Dramaturg & Additional Book), and Mr. Blackmore (Music) Annie Grunow (Book). Josh Freilich did the Orchestrations and musical tracks. The Audio Musical was produced by Buns and Guns LLC, Executive Produced by Michael Mills of DDM Productions, with Evan Bernardin Productions as General Manager, and will be produced on Musical Theatre Radio by 35th Parallel Productions.

To post a comment, you must register and login.