My Top Ten (Ok, 12) Musicals With Bryan Fonseca

   This is my buddy Bryan Fonseca and I. Bryan is one of the greatest working director/producers in American Theater. And he’s one driven, committed-to-social-change-through-art, hard-working badass. Since the mid-1980's, Bryan was co-founder and Artistic/Producing Director of the Phoenix Theatre, here in Indianapolis. His clear vision, hard work and tireless energy was primarily responsible for the Phoenix growing from a tiny storefront operation to a nationally-recognized, regional professional theater. In the process, he created a whole new modern, professional theatre ecosystem here and he has changed this community for the better. And turned me into a tequila devotee (note bottle on table.)
   One of the joys of my life is that during all this time, I've worked on over 100 productions with him, either as performer, composer, sound designer, or music director/producer. Groundbreaking (and critically/ commercially successful) productions like "Three Penny Opera", "Hair", "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", "Bat Boy: The Musical", "Urinetown", "Spring Awakening", "August: Osage County", "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson", "American Idiot" and original productions "Zippers Of Zoomerville" and "Pure Prine". 

   This May, the Phoenix opened the doors of a new, multi-million dollar facility, built upon that lifework and legacy, and celebrated it's 400th production - our re-imagined revival of the "lost" Kurt Vonnegut musical from the late-1970's, "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater." Halfway during the run, before the paint was (literally) dry in the new building, the Theatre and Bryan parted ways. 

   I know for a fact there was at least one person as surprised as I was, by that turn of events. 

   But what you gonna do, except keep on keepin’ on? So:
   
   By September, a diverse group of company members and collaborators were celebrating the birth of the new Fonseca Theatre Company, based in the River West neighborhood, minutes west of the IUPUI campus. The Company will be housed at a new theater at 2520 W Michigan Street, but until the new building is ready, performances are being held at the wonderful arts/culture center Indy Convergence, one block west of the new Theatre To-Be, at 2611 W. Michigan St. (Please visit the official website, www.fonsecatheatre.org - and sign up on the maillist. Visit the facebook page and give it a thumbs up at https://www.facebook.com/fonsecatheatreco/)

   I am here to tell you all that Bryan's life-mission - to produce new works of theatre that mirror the myriad cultural and political issues we confront - remains very much alive. As does his commitment to building a more inclusive and culturally-diverse Indianapolis. It's just located a little further west of downtown now. 

   And so,  we are about to launch our next musical project together, “The Ballad Of Klook and Vinette”, which opens this Friday night and runs through February 17th. (Shows Friday, 8pm, Saturday 5pm and 8pm) , Sunday at 2PM.) It's another astonishing find by my bud Bryan, book and lyrics by British playwright Che Walker, music by Anoushka Lucas and Omar Lyefook. It's a socially-conscious, soulful love story, the two-person cast of LaKeisha Lorraine and Dwuan Watson is incredible. It's going to be a powerful show, I want you all please to attend. And it's got me thinking about all the other musicals we've had a crack at. Here's my Top 10 (OK, 12):


12. A Very (Fonseca) Xmas, 1 - 12 (2006-2017)
    I'm pretty sure I am the only collaborator of Bryan's to work on all 12 of his Xmas shows. He loves Xmas. He loves Xmas music. I loved doing those shows with him. So many highlights through those years: Bryan's idea to mash-up Handel with Leonard Cohen on "Hallelujah" (brought to fruition by the talented Brent Marty and I), a spirited take on "Must Be Santa" from Dylan's Xmas album (!?!), and the Jenni Gregory/Michael Shelton duet of my Xmas tune, "That Time Of The Year", complete with a little mini faux-Red Key Tavern tableau.  And the very first one in 2006: Jack O'Hara wrote a musical homage that I arranged, "The Burning Bird". Ah, yes, indeed. And we burn on brightly still, in some comfortable new digs-in-the-making, a little bit west of a cavernous, gray concrete tub.

11. The Three Penny Opera (1986)
    The first one.  Ground zero for our high-spirited assault on the then-current conventions of musical theater. Amazing cast, including Millicent Wright (who just starred here in the Fonseca Theatre opener "Building The Wall" this past September) and David Alan Anderson as MacHeath. ("I don't really sing", I think he said. "We don't really care", we think we said.) I had written some music for two plays in the 1985-86 season, "Accidental Death Of An Anarchist" by Dario Fo, and "Centaurs" by Marcia Cebulska, Then one night, pretty late I bet, probably at this neighborhood drunk bar just bought by this witty, blonde architect dude who loved jazz (David Andrichik), Bryan said: "Hey. What about The Three Penny Opera, set in some weird, post-apocalyptic future?" (Well, it WAS the '80s.) I could see it, hear it in a flash, obsessed as I was with Prince since "Dirty Mind", so, I said, yeah, and we'll do the music like Prince. "Can you do that?" Sure. The only music direction I had ever done was in bands, or arranging for studio clients. Hundreds of hours of work lay ahead of me. I couldn't wait.

10. Hair (1987)
   The next biggie. Even though we painted my old, white Econoline van all psychedelic and turned it into a big drive-around ad for the show, this wasn't a purely 60's retro approach. We tried to incorporate what was going on in our lives at the time. It was the tail end of the Reagan era, and I remember initial cast chats where we tried to figure out what we were trying to say. And we were young, and partied our asses off, and had a great time.

9. Bat Boy: The Musical (2001)

8. Spun (2014) 
    A rock musical from Detroit (book by Emily Woodson, music by Jeremy Schonfeld) about a dysfunctional brother/sister rock duo from Detroit. A bit of a rocky co-production with another Company, but it, well, rocked in the end, due in large part to powerhouse performances by Chris Roe and Lisa Ermel. And I got to meet current musical compadres Danny Marquis (drums) and Dietrick Klooster (bass). Rock.


7. The Zippers Of Zoomerville (2009, 2011)
   Book/lyrics by afore-mentioned legendary Indianapolis counterculture writer/raconteur Jack O’Hara, music by Jack and myself. A lovingly-biting satire of Indy 500 culture as a Gilbert and Sullivan-styled mockeretta. One of the few shows Bryan produced twice, beloved by many who saw it...

6. Spring Awakening

5. American Idiot

4. Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson.
    There is no "Hamilton" without "Bloody, Bloody". Here, here to the late, great Michael Friedman, who wrote the music and lyrics. Eric Olson kicked ass as our Jackson. MAriel Greenlee kicked ass on the choreography.

3. Pure Prine (2009-present)
   A lifelong John Prine fan, "Pure Prine" is Bryan's love letter to one of his heroes, one of the great American songwriters. 30 or so Prine songs, played and sung sung by six people in a bar, no dialog at all , telling a moving tale of the intertwining lives of these characters, of us all. A 2011 production in Chicago (co-produced with Scott Vehill of the Prop Theatr (sic) drew raves from the Chicago Sun Times. 
2. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (2018)

1. The Ballad Of Klook and Vinette (2019)