GRIMM: A New Musical
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Ken Kruper
July 25, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Composer, Lyricist & Musical Director.
Are there boundaries as to what kind of theatre you will take part in?
In terms of the content or the process and execution of a particular work: absolutely not. Being involved in theater requires having an open mind toward all possible options and remembering that every brilliant idea usually seems ridiculous at first. The only boundary I can afford to set in theater is working on a piece that I don’t fully believe in; all other boundaries should be pushed.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
My Show is the only one in FringeNYC that is both appropriate for children and narrated by a chorus of charred corpses. It's a delicate balance.
In your own words, what do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
GRIMM is about all the different aspects of what it means to be a child: the good and the bad. It's about our childhood love of the supernatural, whether it's Harry Potter, E.T. or Superman. It's about the lack of control that we all felt as children and that seemingly unquenchable desire to take charge of our destinies. It's about a child's deepest and darkest fears of all things that go bump in the night. But ultimately, like all good fairy tales, it captures a child’s intrinsic sense of right & wrong, good & evil, fair and unfair; the “black and white”-ness of it all that somehow gets skewed and turns to gray with age. My biggest hope for our show is that the children who see it will understand and relate to it and the adults will get to be kids again for a short period of time.
Which “S” word best describes your show: SMOOTH, SEXY, SMART, SURPRISING?
Surprising. I think that our young audience members will be surprised by the magic our cast creates every performance while the adults will be surprised by how much they can enjoy and be moved by a show that's intended for children.
If you had ten million dollars that you had to spend on theatrical endeavors, how would you use the money?
A portion of it would go towards the BIG Theater Co., which is mounting our production and is committed to creating innovative, original works. Another portion would sustain my lifestyle while I did nothing but compose music. The remainder would be used to rig the Tony Awards and get me that "Best Score" trophy I've been eyeing.
