The majority of Hopkins undergraduates are self-described ‘former pre-med students.’ That is, their stories have similar underlying themes.
A student who arrives at Homewood and realizes it is nothing like what he or she expected or that they do not like the work they are doing. The normal response is to change one’s major.
Two students with a similar experience, however, decided to write a musical about it. “Music School: The Musical” will be debuting May 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Arellano Theater.
Juniors Joey Harrell and Alex Rosen are third year undergraduates, both majoring in Vocal Performance at the Peabody Conservatory.
Both began to notice an annual trend of decreased performance opportunities for students.
“We saw that opportunities were imbalanced,” said Rosen, “[and] we thought we could change that with the show,” Rosen said.
The two saw the musical as an opportunity for those students who had become disillusioned by their minor roles in opera choruses, and who were unimpressed by the small scenes programs at the school. Harrell and Rosen saw the musical as a chance for other students to be on stage again, in a full production and renew their passions for theatre.
Regrettably, it turns out that big theater productions are not the norm at Peabody.
“[Peabody is] not the place where you will run into large scale musical theatre productions,” Harrell observed.
This statement places emphasis on Peabody’s inclination towards a more ‘classic’ approach to music, a trend that leaves many of those with musical theatre backgrounds, or voices not ready for mainstage opera roles, without options.
As students from extensive musical theatre backgrounds, Harrell and Rosen began to see opportunity in what was lacking.
”We decided that if there weren’t going to be opportunities available, we would make them ourselves,” said Harrell.
They eventually managed to accomplish this formidable challenge. However, it was by no means an easy process.
After two years of toying with what was really more of a joke than anything else, Harrell and Rosen had made little progress. They had only a basic plot and some roughly developed characters. “We brainstormed a lot and had a few different plots in mind,” said Rosen.
“It was such a huge project and no one was really convincing us. Nothing came of it,” Harrell noted.
It seems, however, that Harrell’s latter statement was not completely accurate; something did come of it. After getting serious about the musical, the two writers have achieved the creation of a story that boasts originality and sincerity.
“After a lot of rewriting, we began to see the beginnings of a real plot, one that held together and had an accessible and unique message... The show grew into a story about complex relationships and not just the success of one or two people,” said Rosen.
“Originality... with book, lyrics and music,” said Harrell. He produced and directed through collaboration with Rosen – originality that was achieved only after overcoming a series of equally novel challenges. “Alex and I… had absolutely no idea how to write a musical. We understand music, we understand performance, but writing a show is something completely foreign, but [after] hundreds of pages of notes, plot sketches, and [deleted] scenes, the show… started to write itself,” said Harrell.
“[The characters’] adventure is purely fictional,” said Rosen.
Harrell describes the show as deriving from his and Alex Rosen’s own story of disillusionment. “[The musical is] a parody of the basic idea of arriving at music school and being a little shell shocked,” said Harrell.
“When the school’s opera department abruptly cancels the fall opera [the characters] change the school forever… [by] writing a musical,” he added.
“[The show] follows their journey, and the journeys of all the other students affected, as they defy all odds by writing and producing the musical,” explains Harrell.
For the astute reader, it is clear that in a way, the story is theirs. The enthusiasm of the real-life Joey and Alex is very clearly mimicked by their fictional counterparts. “This [enthusiasm] is what gives the show life,” continued Rosen. “This is what resonated with our peers,” he added.
It was through this enthusiasm that Harrell and Rosen gained the confidence of their colleagues and, quite possibly, the means to make the musical possible.
Directing and producing is an inherently difficult task in itself. Harrell notes that the challenge magnifies when, friend and peers participate in something that has no guarantee, nor precedent to suggest future success. It is in this aspect that the aforementioned credulity makes all the difference. The show, in other words, is reliant on faith both in the story and in the ability of those coordinating it – a tall order for nascent writer-directors.
This will be Rosen’s and Harrell’s first written musical. The two hope to use the May 5 show to improve the overall production.
“[The goal will be] to workshop, revise, orchestrate, and then start planning for a fully staged production in the fall,” said Harrell.
They plan to submit the musical to theatre festivals and workshops, but are at the moment focused on improving and eventually putting on a final product for audiences.
Another major focus is, of course, on the money. This workshop will have been staged with a total budget of $500, making its completion something of a feat. Considering the lack of external help, Harrell and Rosen see the upcoming performance as a much-needed fundraising opportunity as well.
The debut will be a good indication of the show’s potential, and a trying moment for the two artists. Harrell and Rosen will undoubtedly be looking to impress their Homewood peers in the form of a memorable show – perhaps even aim to change the school forever.
The success of the show will be measured in monetary terms - the artists remain hopeful that Johns Hopkins Alumni, Faculty, and Deans will be impressed enough to support its completion. The writers can be contacted at musicschoolthemusical@gmail.com, and also have a Facebook page at Music School: The Musical.
The Homewood student body will be the final judge, however, and determine if indeed the show can live up to the name of Mr. Harrell’s favorite song in it: the ‘Greatest Musical Ever.’
