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[0:00] Joe Barros: The music of tomorrow is being written today. The music of tomorrow is almost ready to play. Experience the musicals of tomorrow today. Get a glimpse inside the blueprint of an original musical being developed in real time with New York Theatre Barn's podcast, The Musicals of Tomorrow.

[0:32] Joe Barros: I'm Joe Barros.

[0:40] Jen Sandler: And I'm Jen Sandler.

[0:44] Joe Barros: And we're the hosts of The Musicals of Tomorrow. As the Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director of New York Theatre Barn, we make space to speak in community with musical theatre writers and their creative teams. Lifting up songs from original culture-shifting musicals in development and introducing them to a global audience has become a major part of New York Theatre Barn's evolving story. Each original musical's intention, content, and journey are unique and extraordinary to the storytellers who create them. We believe that there is no formula for musical theatre except authenticity.

[1:20] Joe Barros: We recently spoke with the writer of American Mourning, Timothy Huang, and the writer of Francois and the Rebels, Jaime Cepero. Our first musical is American Mourning, which has book, music, and lyrics by Timothy Huang. Inspired by a 2009 New York Times article, American Mourning tells the story of two immigrant cab drivers who share opposite shifts off the same medallion. The two men's fates become intertwined as forced competition drives a wedge between them that culminates in a single desperate act that leaves one dead and the other brutalized. And now here's our conversation with the writer of American Mourning, Timothy Huang.

[2:00] Joe Barros: Hi, Tim, thanks for joining us. You've been a part of the New York Theatre Barn family from the beginning. In fact, you became so connected to our world that you married former producer and associate artistic director Laura Brendel, and you now have a dog together named Haven.

[2:17] Timothy Huang: Indeed I did, and indeed we do. And if you want to follow her on social media, there's a hashtag, That's So Haven. Laura was instrumental in the evolution and growth of our New Work series, which is this, and she also worked with me to set the foundation for the series that's now celebrating its 13th season.

[2:35] Joe Barros: Your show, American Mourning, excited me the first time I got to see it, which I think was the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, and I got to watch Lynne Aronson and Stephen Schwartz give you notes, and back then the show was titled Cost of Living. I was first excited about the show because I love the way you write songs, and I'd never experienced a musical theatre piece like American Mourning, and I was particularly compelled by the way you deal with language in the piece and how it moves cinematically through time and space. I also wanted to note that the show is a multiple award-winning musical, including the Richard Rodgers Award for Stage Readings, making you, Tim, the first and only Asian American to win the award as a triple-threat composer, lyricist, and librettist.

[3:22] Timothy Huang: Wow. Is that real? Can that be real?

[3:26] Joe Barros: It is real, and this show is awesome. So what inspired you to tell the story of American Mourning?

[3:34] Timothy Huang: Well, this is really interesting because, as Joe had mentioned earlier, it was inspired by an article I read in the New York Times in 2009. You can look this up. It was written by Corey Kilgannon, and it's called Night and Day. And in the real story, these two cab drivers are from Nepal, and really horrific stuff happens to them. And around the same time I read this article, I was reading this book called The Other Wes Moore, which, if you've not heard of it, is written by this guy. His name is Wes Moore. He grew up in the Baltimore of the wire, so like a lot of drugs, a lot of guns, a lot of prison, and manages to kind of bootstrap himself up through luck and virtue and becomes a Rhodes Scholar.

Now, the same day that the local paper announces this scholarship, there's another article in the same paper about a different guy named Wes Moore who winds up sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder. And this guy lives in the next town over or something. They have very similar backgrounds. So the author of this book goes and he interviews this guy. He interviews his family, and he does all this research, and he tells stories of his own life, and ultimately comes to this conclusion that that guy's life, his story could have been mine, and mine could have been his, which I thought was really, really interesting. So I kind of took these two ideas. I knew I wanted to write this story with cab drivers because I always like to write for people who look like me. And I just kind of sort of married those two ideas, and we started workshopping it for my second year at the VMI workshop, actually.

[5:10] Joe Barros: Wow. That's awesome. Well, you know, New York Theatre Barn helped you create a reading of the show, and, you know, we've perfectly been a part of the show, and it's been really important to us. But I'd love you to talk more about where else the show has been in its amazing developmental journey.

[5:28] Timothy Huang: It's a really crazy long story. I mean, not long story, but a very crazy journey. So as Joe mentioned, we crowdfunded for a workshop in, I think, 2012. And right after that, the folks at the VMI workshop were kind enough to invite this show to do the annual master class there, because they find a fancy writer every year to host it, and this year that I did it was Mr. Sondheim, which was like I, you know, picked up a job. I said, yeah, let's do that. Following that, I think there was an organization called B-Side Productions. I don't think they're around anymore, but everyone who was involved with them still is around in some capacity. They're very much an artists for artists organization, and they had come into a little bit of good fortune and wanted to create this award called the New American Musical Award, which I applied and won.

And so we got to workshop it there as well. Following that, we were accepted into the NAMT Festival in 2015. So we did that, and as a result of NAMT, we met some really wonderful people at the Village Theater in Seattle, and hosted it for their Festival of New Works. Joe, am I forgetting who else?

[6:52] Timothy Huang: We most recently had a workshop production at Prospect Theater Company, which we love. And I think let's introduce the first song, and then we'll get to what you're doing right now with the show.

[7:03] Joe Barros: Right on. So this is called I Can't Believe I'm Here, and we have Marc delaCruz playing the role of Aang. So what's going on now is in the story, these two guys, they switch off. One takes the day shift, one takes the night shift. What happens is the night shift driver, his name is Chin, doesn't really do as well as his day shift partner for various random reasons. And in this scene, we find that Aang, the day shift partner, has basically just brought, he's finally saved up enough money to bring over his wife from China, and is basically sacrificing his day shift so that he can show her around Battery Park City and everything around the Statue of Liberty and whatnot. Meanwhile, his partner is taking his shift and making all this money, and so there's a little bit of anxiety there.

And before, I just want you to know that this actually is an arrangement by the amazing Alexander Seidroyan, who I think has been part of this program as well. And he's fantastic, and I just wanted to give him a quick shout-out because the arrangements are sick.

[8:04] Timothy Huang: He's great.

[8:06] Joe Barros: Say, seagulls!

[8:08] Timothy Huang: Seagulls!

[8:10] Joe Barros: You always make that goofy face.

[8:12] Timothy Huang: Goofy how? That's my regular face.

[8:14] Timothy Huang: It's my first day in America. Don't tease.

[8:17] Joe Barros: And a guy.

[8:19] Timothy Huang: Hold this for a second.

[8:21] Joe Barros: Yes, please.

[8:23] Timothy Huang: Oh my gosh, everywhere we look, there is something new to see. Something to take in and be breathless with wonderment. Like a scene from a fancy book, everyone is stunning. People out here sounding so perfect, it couldn't be true. Just like looking at you.

[8:44] Timothy Huang: Are we really standing on this pier? I can't believe I'm here.

[9:00] Timothy Huang: Pretzels!

[9:01] Joe Barros: Pretzels!

[9:02] Timothy Huang: Yes, please. Two pretzels, please.

[9:07] Joe Barros: Only one, thank you.

[9:08] Timothy Huang: Hold this.

[9:09] Joe Barros: Yes, please.

[9:11] Timothy Huang: Mmm. You know, we used to make fun of these back at home. I mean, it's bread, but it's salty, and there's nothing inside. But today, not bad.

[9:22] Joe Barros: Yeah, no, they make really...

[9:23] Timothy Huang: Oh, shiny. Look at her kind of going wild.

[9:27] Joe Barros: What would all the squirrels think?

[9:29] Timothy Huang: Probably that she is incredibly not bizarre.

[9:33] Joe Barros: How could we ever have a child? Would we even half survive? Has she even noticed I've canceled my morning routine? The day shift I need. Looks like making time's my new career. I can't believe I'm here.

[9:57] Timothy Huang: Look, someone's selling their paintings. Hold this.

[10:00] Joe Barros: Yes, please.

[10:01] Timothy Huang: Uh, how much do pays a one? Little world set inside a frame. Full of people smiling there. Full of people everywhere. Only $12.95. Faces here never look the same. Everyone's a different shade. Every color here displayed proudly. And now so are we. Can't believe what I see. If I close my eyes, don't disappear. Hey, is that a statue or is that a real guy? Hold this.

[10:34] Joe Barros: Yes, please. I can't believe I'm here.

[10:37] Timothy Huang: Look at how the sunset just glows. It's so gorgeous I could just die. Standing in its light just breaks my heart. Now that we're not apart and our lives can restart, there is nothing we can't do. Come here. There's something I have to show you. How much for this?

[11:08] Timothy Huang: Thank you very much. Here, hold this. It's a keychain of the Statue of Liberty. I don't understand. Soon you'll have your own medallion and your own cab. An SUV with that great new car smell. No partners, no shifts, no boss. Just you. I want you to hold that. Keep it with you and look at it every day. See it. Think about the day you can put your own keys on it. Every day, eyes upon the road. Always with your goal in mind. When do you expect to find happiness in your own?

[11:59] ♪ Musical number: "If Only" — performed by Timothy Huang ♪

[19:27] Timothy Huang: So I know you have big news about the show right now. You just had an album come out.

[19:39] Timothy Huang: So we recorded most of it right before quarantine. And then for I think the last track we wound up kind of outsourcing it to people with microphones and stuff. But if you search on any of your streaming platforms for American Morning Studio album, you will very likely find it. If you search with my name, you might not only because I don't really sing on it. I sing on one track. But yeah, it's the studio album. And again, the whole thing was arranged by Alexander C. Joy, who himself is an amazing composer and one of my best friends. Ariel Jacobs is on that album. Will Rowland, so many, Ray Lee, so many other great people. Tom Sesma, we love Tom Sesma.

[20:21] Teresa Attridge: Well, Tim, we are so excited about the show. So thank you so much. And thank you to Kathy, Mark, Ray, Laura and Hankman.

[20:30] Pauls Macs: So thrilled to be here. Our second new musical is Francois and the Rebels, which has book, music and lyrics by Jaime Cepero.

[20:38] Pauls Macs: Francois and the Rebels is a punk rock retelling of the 1791 Haitian Revolution with a pulsing punk rock score and a story pulled from historic events full of love, loss and deception.

[20:51] Pauls Macs: Francois and the Rebels tells an important and often forgotten black history through the lens of an immersive, high energy and rock and roll experience. And now here's our conversation with the writer of Francois and the Rebels, Jaime Cepero.

[21:06] Jaime Cepero: Hey, guys. What's up?

[21:08] Jaime Cepero: This is something we never learned about in school. So for us, this is like virtually an untold story. And because of it, it really excites us.

[21:16] Jaime Cepero: Yeah, I think that's really exciting. This entire movement for the last two months, there's so many things I'm finding I did not learn in school. And it really hurts me to know that because there's so many important things we should know.

[21:27] Jaime Cepero: Yeah, I agree. As a man of color, it really kind of jarred me to find this history at this later stage in the game for me.

[21:40] Jaime Cepero: Like I was 30 and I found this history and was like, how have I never heard of this?

[21:45] Jaime Cepero: And I just kept thinking about how many times I could have used this sort of like version of a black hero when I was a kid.

[21:56] Jaime Cepero: And so that was a part of what kind of inspired me to start writing about these characters and got the ball rolling on creating the show.

[22:03] Pauls Macs: But what sort of helped you evolve it into sort of the kind of show that it is in the way that you're telling the story?

[22:10] Jaime Cepero: So I grew up listening to a lot of like Dashboard Confessional and Sublime and Bad Brains and just a lot of punk and rock as a kid.

[22:20] Jaime Cepero: And often I was kind of made fun of for that and told I was acting white and just, you know, I was a weirdo.

[22:28] Jaime Cepero: And so as I got older and I started studying this history and I came across it, I just I thought, what better music to encompass the energy of a riot and the energy of protest and fighting back against an establishment than punk?

[22:45] Jaime Cepero: I mean, that's when you think of something that's of that caliber, punk is the most radical type of music ever since the early 70s.

[22:53] Jaime Cepero: So, yeah, I thought that would be a great way to merge this history. And also because punk music and rock music was always a black style of music.

[23:05] Jaime Cepero: I feel like the optics of punk and rock have always kind of geared towards like angsty white teenagers. And I kind of wanted to take that back and make it our own again and show people that just because you're a black performer or black singer doesn't mean you're always singing R&B or you're singing gospel or like we can sing a lot of other things.

[23:27] Jaime Cepero: I often want to go into auditions and sing something rock and I'm often told to sing Stevie Wonder. I mean, like so that was that was also a part of it, just to kind of merge those things and tell the story in a new and exciting fashion.

[23:39] Pauls Macs: So we want to know more about where the show has been in its developmental journey. What are the organizations that are lifting the show up?

[23:48] Jaime Cepero: We did a lot of developing at Music Data Factory. That was the first place that I kind of got the space and the funds to do some concert works and some workshops.

[23:59] Timothy Huang: So, I think the story of American Morning really resonates with a lot of people, especially in the current climate where immigration and the struggles of immigrant communities are very much at the forefront of our national conversation.

[24:29] Jaime Cepero: Absolutely. And I think what’s really exciting about Francois & The Rebels is that it takes a historical event that is often overlooked and presents it in a way that is accessible and engaging for a modern audience.

[24:51] Timothy Huang: Right, and the punk rock score really adds a layer of energy and urgency to the story, which I think is essential when telling a narrative about revolution and change.

[25:19] Jaime Cepero: Exactly! It’s about capturing that spirit of rebellion and the fight for freedom, which is so relevant today.

[25:49] Timothy Huang: And I love how both of our shows highlight the human experience at the center of these larger historical and social issues.

[26:15] Jaime Cepero: Yes, it’s all about the characters and their journeys.

[26:28] Timothy Huang: And how they navigate their circumstances, which can be both heartbreaking and inspiring.

[26:41] Jaime Cepero: For sure. And I think that’s what makes musical theatre such a powerful medium; it allows us to explore these complex themes through music and storytelling.

[27:01] Timothy Huang: Absolutely. And I think audiences are craving that kind of connection and authenticity in the stories we tell.

[27:21] Jaime Cepero: Yes, they want to see themselves reflected in the art they consume.

[27:31] Timothy Huang: And that’s why it’s so important to have diverse voices in the room when creating new work.

[27:41] Jaime Cepero: Definitely. It enriches the storytelling and brings new perspectives to the table.

[28:01] Timothy Huang: And I think that’s something we both strive for in our shows.

[28:11] Jaime Cepero: Yes, we want to create a space where everyone feels seen and heard.

[28:21] Timothy Huang: And that’s what makes the process of creating these musicals so rewarding.

[28:41] Jaime Cepero: It really is.

[29:01] Timothy Huang: And I’m excited for audiences to experience both American Morning and Francois & The Rebels.

[29:11] Jaime Cepero: Me too!

[29:21] Timothy Huang: I think they’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of these important issues.

[29:41] Jaime Cepero: And hopefully, it will inspire them to think critically about the world around them.

[30:01] Timothy Huang: Exactly.

[30:16] Jaime Cepero: And to engage with their communities in meaningful ways.

[30:41] Timothy Huang: Yes, that’s the hope.

[30:51] Jaime Cepero: And I think that’s what art is all about—creating dialogue and fostering connection.

[31:01] Timothy Huang: Absolutely.

[31:11] Jaime Cepero: And I’m so grateful to be part of this vibrant community of artists who are pushing boundaries and telling these important stories.

[31:21] Timothy Huang: Me too!

[31:31] Jaime Cepero: It’s an exciting time to be creating new work in musical theatre.

[31:41] Timothy Huang: It really is.

[31:51] Jaime Cepero: And I can’t wait to see where it all goes from here.

[32:01] Timothy Huang: Same here!

[32:21] Jaime Cepero: And I hope our listeners feel inspired to support new musicals and the artists behind them.

[32:31] Timothy Huang: Yes, please do!

[32:41] ♪ Musical number: "Oh My God, She Can Sing" — performed by L Morgan Lee ♪

[34:30] Timothy Huang: Oh my God, she can sing.

[34:36] Jaime Cepero: I could listen to her sing the phone book.

[34:39] Timothy Huang: L Morgan Lee was in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Strange Loop.

[34:42] Jaime Cepero: And was also in the recent reading of A Complicated Woman, the John Kenley show, which I talked about earlier.

[34:49] Timothy Huang: She's amazing.

[34:51] Jaime Cepero: And I know you said you created the role. She's playing with her in mind from the beginning.

[34:55] Timothy Huang: I did when I finished that song.

[34:57] Jaime Cepero: Immediately, I texted her and was like, would you be interested in singing the song?

[35:02] Timothy Huang: And she immediately was like, yes, this is beautiful.

[35:06] Jaime Cepero: And it just kind of went from there.

[35:08] Timothy Huang: And I've been kind of maneuvering it around her voice.

[35:10] Jaime Cepero: So yeah, awesome.

[35:12] Timothy Huang: Well, it's been so much fun getting to know you and your show.

[35:15] Jaime Cepero: So thank you, Jamie.

[35:16] Timothy Huang: And thank you, Alex and L Morgan.

[35:18] Jaime Cepero: I'll see you guys soon.

[35:21] Timothy Huang: If you enjoy the musicals of tomorrow, please rate, subscribe, and share.

[35:25] Jaime Cepero: The podcast is co-produced and edited by Paul Mock and Hector Flores Jr.

[35:31] Timothy Huang: Our theme song, The Music of Tomorrow, was written by Lynn Shankle and Sarah Cooper for their all-female identifying musical, Perpetual Sunshine and The Ghost Girls.

[35:44] Jaime Cepero: Join us next time for more of The Musicals of Tomorrow.