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[0:04] Patrick Oliver Jones: Welcome to the Spotlight Series, an in-depth look at those making a difference in the arts and beyond.

[0:13] Patrick Oliver Jones: I'm your host, Patrick Oliver Jones. And in this first season, I'll be putting the spotlight on a wonderful nonprofit organization called Only Make Believe.

[0:24] Patrick Oliver Jones: For more than 20 years, they have brought interactive theater into children's hospitals, special education schools, and care facilities with the goal of inspiring joy and imagination in those who have medically fragile conditions and developmental disabilities.

[0:40] Patrick Oliver Jones: So it's really the basics of theater that we all love, really stripped down to its essential. So it's amazing to see I think how healing it is and how therapeutic it is and how joyous it is.

[0:52] Patrick Oliver Jones: For our sixth episode, we will hear from Joe DiPietro, who has known founder Dina Hammerstein for years and has been with Only Make Believe since its inception and currently serves on their board of directors.

[1:05] Patrick Oliver Jones: But Joe is certainly no stranger to the stage, because apart from directing OMB's annual gala, he is best known as a playwright and lyricist with multiple awards and nominations, both on and off Broadway, including Memphis and Nice Work If You Can Get It.

[1:23] Patrick Oliver Jones: We will be talking about his first Broadway show, All Shook Up, but first we'll talk about why Only Make Believe has been so special to him for more than 23 years.

[1:49] Joe DiPietro: So thank you very much.

[1:50] Patrick Oliver Jones: My pleasure. I'm happy to be here.

[1:52] Patrick Oliver Jones: You have been writing musicals and plays actually for quite a long time. What was it that got you that theater bug?

[1:59] Joe DiPietro: Well, I grew up in Oradell, New Jersey, which is right across the George Washington Bridge. And so my folks, when I was growing up, would take us in to see Broadway shows.

[2:08] Joe DiPietro: And the first show I ever saw was the original production of 1776 with William Daniels and like that cast. And I was very young. But even though I was young, I still like remember when the lights came up on the Continental Congress and that music started.

[2:23] Joe DiPietro: And I was didn't know what I was doing, didn't know what I was watching, and I was just hooked. I was like, I need to, it was just that like euphoric moment of I need to be a part of this. And I was just a kid.

[2:33] Joe DiPietro: So I just became like a theater fan, and my folks would take us to shows. And when I was old enough, I would go to shows and teachers, you know, any opportunity I had in school, I'd go see Broadway shows or local shows or off-Broadway shows, whatever I could.

[2:45] Joe DiPietro: And then I also started going to the library and taking out plays and reading plays. And one reason was that because A, I loved it. And B was because I learned early on that you could like read Death of a Salesman, and that counts as for a book report, or you could read, you know, Tolstoy, like a 600-page novel, and it's the same thing.

[3:02] Joe DiPietro: So I'm like, right, plays are much shorter. I can polish off Arthur Miller in a day. So I started reading a lot of plays, and I read a lot of the 1970s. Um, theater was really on the cutting edge of dangerous, edgy topics, you know, about gay plays and like the plays like Equus and all sorts of really interesting topics that theater was covering that the rest of the media I think was slow to catch up.

[3:29] Joe DiPietro: I think theater always is a little ahead of most other media in that respect. So it was a really exciting time, and that's literally how I started. I just from loving it and reading it, never dreaming I would be a professional playwright, but it was taught to me in a way. I was exposed to it. So I'm always a big believer in exposing kids to all sorts of culture because you just never know what hits them.

[3:51] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, that actually leads us into the first story that we're going to talk about, which is something that's very close to both of us, a nonprofit organization called Only Make Believe. And its mission is to bring in these kids to theater who were in these unfortunate circumstances, whether they're in hospitals or care facilities.

[4:08] Patrick Oliver Jones: And now you have been with OMB since its beginning in 1999, right?

[4:13] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, absolutely. Um, Jamie Hammerstein, who was the youngest son of Oscar Hammerstein, happened to be my mentor in this business. And he produced my first two off-Broadway shows, which were I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and a play called Over the River.

[4:29] Joe DiPietro: And they're both very successful. And Jamie and I became friends, and he died very suddenly of a heart attack one night, and it was just devastating. And his wife, Dina Hammerstein, called me up those few months later.

[4:43] Joe DiPietro: She said, you know, I've always been very interested in children's charities because she had done a lot of work with GMHC, the Gay Men's Health Crisis and their family unit. And she was, I had this wild idea to start this charity called Only Make Believe, based on Oscar's song from Showboat, the title, and sort of in tribute to Jamie.

[5:03] Joe DiPietro: And she said, you know, why not bring the shows to the kids who are in hospitals? So I was like, that sounds fantastic. Sign me up. I'll help any way I can. And she had known a couple of friends from hospitals just on her other charities work with children's charities.

[5:18] Joe DiPietro: So she invited, I don't know, there must have been six or seven of us to her living room and said, I have this idea. What do you think? How do we bring the excitement and joy and release of theater to these kids who were really born into really tough, tough circumstances and hospitals and, you know, all sorts of issues.

[5:35] Joe DiPietro: And she sort of came up with the idea of hiring a professional troupe of three actors per troupe. And the idea is you basically bring a backdrop in, bring a trunk full of crazy costumes for the actors and the kids, and you do these interactive shows that were original scripts that they would write that would involve the kids.

[5:56] Joe DiPietro: So the idea of Only Make Believe is the star of the show are the kids. And with the simplest of backdrop, the goofiest of costumes, and just the sort of most fantastical of stories, like these kids were just entranced and it helped them escape.

[6:14] Joe DiPietro: And amazing things over the years happened. Um, kids who were selectively mute would start speaking during the shows.

[6:21] Patrick Oliver Jones: Oh, wow.

[6:21] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, no, really amazing things. Kids were being wheeled into their operation, would sing the theme song that we wrote, you know, and it just sort of grew and grew and grew. And I think the first year we maybe served 40 children. You know, there are kids who have major mobility issues. There are kids who have psychological issues. There's all sorts of kids in theater, as we know, every audience is different.

[6:45] Joe DiPietro: Well, in Only Make Believe everybody else is really different.

[6:49] Patrick Oliver Jones: Right.

[6:49] Joe DiPietro: And one specific thing about OMB is that it's very interactive. It's not them on a stage, it's them interacting as much as they can with the children and bringing them into the story because they wear costumes just as much as the actors themselves wear it.

[7:03] Joe DiPietro: Yeah. And one of the things about Only Make Believe is we from the get-go, we bring these trunks of costumes. We do call them cycles, six-week cycles of these we call them workshops of these shows they do with the kids, and then they leave the costumes for the kids, and sometimes they make up their own shows and their own kind of thing.

[7:20] Joe DiPietro: So, yeah, no, it's very interactive, and they sing and they dance and they play characters, and they tell the good guy to watch out for the bad guy who's, you know, steady behind the curtain and not to get them.

[7:31] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, no, so it's really the basics of theater that we all love, really stripped down to its essential. So it's amazing to see I think how healing it is and how therapeutic it is and how joyous it is.

[7:42] Joe DiPietro: Because also one thing about Only Make Believe, we, as Dina would always say, which is so true, we have no political or religious affiliation. Every child is welcome. Uh, we never charge the mother, uh, it's all self-supported, we never charge families for this. It's all free of charge.

[7:56] Joe DiPietro: And sometimes, like the families watch, you know, it's because when you have a child in a hospital, you know, you have other siblings. So sometimes whole, you know, families will be enjoying these shows. So it's really, I think expanded to beyond what we thought its possibility was, which was just oh, this will be a fun, nice thing, an hour a week for kids.

[8:26] Joe DiPietro: Only Make Believe, it certainly takes a special kind of actor to be a part of these performances. As you said, you're seeing children who are disabled or bedridden and interacting with them in a theatrical way. So, how does OMB find these actors?

[8:45] Joe DiPietro: We audition, we do an audition process like any theatrical show. We have literally audition, and many have stayed for many years with us. Some have moved up into administrative positions in the office.

[8:58] Joe DiPietro: So, uh, yeah, so it's really a whole array, but essentially, I think they post, you know, an audition notice and people come in.

[9:07] Patrick Oliver Jones: Now, what has been your role on the board itself and how does the board further the work of OMB?

[9:13] Joe DiPietro: Well, the board, uh, you know, basically serves as like any board of a charity organization. We serve as guidance, uh, but probably our biggest responsibility is raising money to keep it going because it is, uh, it's a very lean organization.

[9:25] Joe DiPietro: The money, if you give money to our charity, it goes directly to the kids. We have a small lean office staff. Our overhead is very little, it's just like transportation to and from these things.

[9:36] Joe DiPietro: And as I said, the costumes are free, and you know, we have a lot of people helping us out in terms of charity things. So even though we're a lean and mean organization, we still have to raise money. It's self-financed, as you said, it's self-financed. So every year we raise money. So my biggest job on the board is being in charge of the gala. Every year we do a Broadway gala. It started years ago as an off-Broadway gala when we first started, and we held it in the West Side Theater, where my show, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, was in the midst of a nice, nice long run. And we basically get our super talented theater friends to come and sing or dance or perform for us. And each year that gala has grown and grown and grown to an amazing thing. And we have another gala coming up this November. That's my personal main job. I direct it. Brad Oscar has always been very helpful, a lot of other people too.

[10:34] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, and one of your co-writers, David Bryan, who you've worked with on a few shows, has also come and performed and sung songs himself.

[10:41] Joe DiPietro: Oh, yeah, David's been great. Absolutely. And I wrote that we do have the Only Make Believe theme song, which I wrote with Jimmy Roberts, with whom I wrote I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. So we, you know, we did that. And he wrote a song that's very call and response that kids can sing that's very repetitive because we have all sorts of audiences. So repetition is generally good for our audiences. And it's really sort of this fun clap-along song.

[11:06] Patrick Oliver Jones: One of my favorite parts of attending the gala are when you bring up some of the kids that you've been able to perform for. And how are kids like that chosen? Obviously, being on a stage like that is much different than being in the shows and the care facilities.

[11:35] Joe DiPietro: Well, our actors and our office staff get to know the kids. I mean, some, as I said, are there unfortunately for like extended periods of time. It's not just a short hospital stay; some are there for years, literally. So the kids get to know the actors, and they actually get to know the kids. So when we're putting together the gala, first thing obviously we have to approach the family and say, is there something you'd be interested in doing? But basically, we sort of try to pick the kid who we think really would react well to, you know, because you're on stage. So it's lights and sound and applause and, you know, people running around backstage. So you need someone who you think is going to enjoy that.

So I just try to pick a personality like on stage where you just feel like it's going to really respond well to this theatrical event and being the star, you know, as we say, the star of the show. And you know, they just sort of get the time of their life, and they're always fantastic. We've never had a young man or woman who was anything but exuberant on stage.

[12:32] Patrick Oliver Jones: Well, I would say that the performers that you get on stage as well have also been so exuberant, people that have loved OMB as well, you know, besides just wanting to help with the gala.

[12:41] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, I mean, we've had over the years, I mean, people have been very, very generous with us, very generous with their time. Jennifer Hudson sang one year for us.

[12:50] Joe DiPietro: Right, right. You've had some big stars, as well as people hosting it, like this year's John Oliver and other people, Jude Law. You've had quite a list of performers.

[12:58] Joe DiPietro: Helen hosts, Sir Ian McKellen, who was brilliant. Now, one of those is your Memphis star, Montego Glover, who has been to several galas. What was it like the first time you heard her sing? You must have known this girl is something.

[13:11] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, well, Montego auditioned for my show Memphis for the first production of it, which was at North Shore Music Theater, God, a while ago. And she was, you know, we were all younger, and she walked in, and we were like, who is this? And you know, she was unbelievable. And we cast her, and then we never looked back. I mean, we had, I think, four out-of-town productions. That show had starts and fits, like many shows. And not only did she sort of grow into the role, but I think what happens when you have an actor like that, you start writing the role for them. You get to know them, you see them on stage, you know their strengths. And Montego also, I believe, is from Chattanooga, Tennessee, so she grew up right near Memphis.

So she was my southern research assistant, right? Montego, so how would you say this line? And she was sometimes like, no, you know, I would say this instead of this. I'm like, thank you. So she was great. Yeah, no, she performed our show on Broadway for three years. I mean, she was just fantastic.

[14:13] Joe DiPietro: And what I always tell young actors is, I wish you could study Montego's work ethic because she is my definition of a total pro, which is the highest compliment I can give anyone. She comes to rehearsal prepared. She comes inquisitive. She comes with smart questions. She's willing to try anything. She's a total leader. She's part of the group, but she also knows if she's a star that she's sort of the leader of the pack. So she was just a joy to work with. And I hope I think I will work with her again sooner than later. But yes, and so she's always come out to Only Make Believe, and she, you know, she's a favorite. Like, you know, people in the audience who are, you know, we got a lot of, besides theater people, come to see these great performers.

You get a lot of business people coming, and they're like, oh, I gotta go to another charity thing, what's the, you know, grouching, grouching, grouching? And then they're like, oh my god, this was like this was a Broadway show. And you have people like Montego, you're like, Who is that? You know, she's fantastic. So we basically try to invite Montego every year without us taking advantage of our relationship with her. Yes, but she always comes out.

[15:19] Joe DiPietro: Well, you've had quite a few people from your shows, and another one is from your very first Broadway show, All Shook Up, Cheyenne Jackson, who starred in that. But from what I understand, he was originally the understudy. He wasn't the star yet.

[15:29] Joe DiPietro: Yeah, that was All Shook Up, and that was in the early 2000s, and we were casting it. We were going to Chicago for a tryout, but it was already set to come into New York. And Cheyenne came in, must have been in his 20s then, and I think he had done a couple of understudy roles. I don't think he had ever originated a role on Broadway, if memory serves. And he came in for the understudy, and he started singing and performing. We're like, oh my God, fantastic. So we took the understudy, and we had to cast someone else for that lead role. And we kept hearing, oh, you know, the deal with this actor isn't done yet. But we were like, and he had won a Tony Award. He was sort of a big deal. And we were like, oh, I'm sure you know, you hear that all the time.

Like you never worry. And then literally one week before we're supposed to start rehearsals in Chicago, we get a call. Chris Ashley, the director, gets a call from our producer saying, Hey, so how good is the understudy to playing Chad, this, you know, the Cheyenne guy? And then Chris is like, oh, well, he's great. He auditioned, you know, like, why are you asking? He goes, Well, do you think he can handle the role? And it's like, he's like, what? The producers and the other actor had a parting of ways. It's very unusual, very, you know, that late, especially, right? And so Chris calls up to the agents and says, So can Cheyenne come back tomorrow to audition? Because we lost our leading actor for the role itself.

I found out later from Cheyenne, which I assumed he was like, wait, what? What's happening? What's happening? So he spent two days relearning all this material. And then he came in and re-auditioned for us. And he, you know, that voice is unbelievable. He certainly fit the tab of the charisma thing. And we were like, well, you know, he's never done this before, you know, originated a role, which is very different than understudying, but he could be great. And there's no choice right now to get someone more experienced. So let's do, let's hand it to him. And all credit to Cheyenne, who was also just a super, super pleasure to work with. He did exactly what I always tell actors to do when they ask me for advice.

When you get an opportunity, be ready for it. Like he, I don't know if he took voice lessons or not, but I know he hired an acting coach. He got in super good shape. He did everything you want someone to do who's gonna be a leading man on Broadway like that. And he had, you know, he literally had a week to start working. I mean, it was a ridiculous, you know. You remind me, understudy, I'll copy the lead and, you know, I'll go on and I'll be fine. And he really just upped his game, and I saw him transform himself into a star in a very short period of time. So all credit to him. And then he, you know, helped us out with Only Make Believe one year too. So yeah. No, he was a great example of, you know, you have to be prepared, you have to get out there, and when opportunity comes, you gotta know where it is, and you gotta really grab it. And he really did.

[18:27] Joe DiPietro: While nonprofits like Only Make Believe certainly focus their efforts on making a difference in the lives of others, they also have to focus on raising money to continuously fund their noble efforts. The OMB gala is just one part of that fundraising. So to learn more about how you can help, check out onlymakebelieve.org.