Bobby Cronin: “DAYBREAK is an emotional roller coaster”

Notion Theatre Company presents the European premiere of DAYBREAK a new musical written by the American composer Bobby Cronin with additional lyrics by Brett Teresa. The show will run at London’s Tristan Bates Theatre from 5th to 30th June 2012 starring Suzy Bastone, Matt Stevens, Tom Senior and Kayleigh Louise-Smith. Hayley Cusick directs this production and Richard Bates is the musical director.

Billy Cullum and Michaela Cartmell-Hull –creators of the Notion Theatre Company– tell us why they decided to chose DAYBREAK as their new producing project: “We created Notion Theatre Company to showcase new talent. We look for new musical theatre writing along with new talent to bring the writing to life. We have worked with extraordinary actors and actresses who have gone on to great things! Our first production was a short run of EDGES by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul at the Landor Theatre in June 2011. Bobby Cronin´s agent came to see this production and approached us in the hopes of us taking on DAYBREAK. We were sent the material for the piece and instantly fell in love with it. A year later and here we are only a few weeks away from our opening night. In comparison to our past productions which involved a large cast, DAYBREAK is catered for 4 people. It´s always a risk to keep people engaged with such an intimate production but we have no doubt that this production will keep the audience hanging on the edge of their seats. The story is extremely gripping and literally takes you on a roller-coaster ride of life. We can´t believe how lucky we are to have such an incredible cast & creative team behind us. They make the job of producing a show extremely easy. I cannot wait to showcase Bobby Cronin´s gem of a piece to London. We think it´s going to be a SMASH!”

Bobby Cronin –who released the album ‘Reach The Sky: Bobby Cronin Live At the Beechman’ featuring some Broadway stars at the end of 2009– is currently in London supporting this production. He tells us more details about DAYBREAK and about his work in Musical Theatre.

HOW HAS THE REHEARSAL PROCESS OF THE EUROPEAN PREMIERE OF ‘DAYBREAK’ BEEN?
It was great! It has been mostly rehearsals/meetings with our wonderful MD Richard Bates and director Hayley Cusick. Our cast is phenomenal and I had an intense rehearsal process with them.

HOW IS THIS LONDON PRODUCTION OF THE SHOW? WHAT SHOULD AUDIENCES EXPECT?
DAYBREAK is an emotional roller coaster. I want the audience to go on the ride and leave the theatre believing in the power of truth, the power of change, the power of self-worth, the power of family, the power of dreams, the power of communication, and the power of love and self-love -- (all without being preachy or corny). See, everybody makes mistakes and everybody feels lost at one time or another, but you must believe that there is a light at the end of that dark tunnel if you want to truly "live."

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU THE FACT THAT TWO PRODUCTIONS OF THE SHOW ARE OPENING ALMOST AT THE SAME TIME IN LONDON AND IN NEW JERSEY?
It means a lot to me! Being a "go getter", I started my career doing as many concerts as possible so that my work could get out there. This has/had its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage was that I became known as "that concert guy" who could write good songs. Nobody knew that I was writing scores and that I had several musicals in development. Now that all of those projects are finished (W2ML with book writer Alicia Dempster; ´TIL DEATH DO US PART with book writer Allen Mogol; A CHRISTMAS CAROL with Angelyn Benson, and DAYBREAK with Brett Teresa), it is thrilling to be able to say that my MUSICAL is being produced in two countries! Not just a song. Not a concert. But an original book musical, not based on a movie or novel or play. I am very grateful that Notion Theatre fell in love with the show as much as the New Jersey Playwrights.

HOW WAS ‘DAYBREAK’ BORN? WHEN AND HOW DID YOU WRITE IT? AND HOW WAS THE CREATION PROCESS?
About 3 years ago, I was told that I needed a "small, producible musical", so me being me, I set out right away to do so. I racked my brain and looked through my "project ideas" folder (which I have had for about ten years now) and started to create a framework for DAYBREAK starting with the Golden Gate Bridge which is the most notorious suicide structure in the world. I have lost several friends to suicide and am a supporter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (http://www.afsp.org/ ) and wanted to explore this idea in a musical. And while this creative process was just starting, my father´s health was suffering, eventually leading to him falling into a coma. I would drive to the hospital in Boston twice, sometimes three times a week, and on those long car rides, I started thinking about my relationship with him and how I felt about all of the ups and downs we´d had. This was the true spark for what is now DAYBREAK. While the story is entirely fictional, there are many, many personal moments in the show.
I loved writing this score! It is passionate, darkly humorous, witty, emotional, haunting, textured, and technically challenging. The harmonies are very tight, so that there is always tension. These characters start the show at the height of despair and end the show seeing the daybreak, feeling the weight lift off their shoulders, so to speak. So I needed to create a score that would give that musical journey for both the actor and audience.
I worked on writing the show for about a year and a half and then did a reading in NYC with some fantastic NYC actors (Kasey Marino, Sheri Sanders, David R. Gordon, Jennifer Dinoia), the brilliant director Johanna Pinzler, and my have NYC musical director William Demaniow. We did a few readings over the next year and, with the guidance and support of Brett Teresa, the show went on to win the 8th Annual New Jersey State Playwrights Contest, and was chosen for performance to benefit the LGBT Center of NYC starring E. Clayton Cornelious (SCOTSBORO BOYS, JERSEY BOYS), Sheri Sanders (ROCK THE AUDITION), LaQuet Sharnell (MEMPHIS, LYSISTRATA JONES), and Ray Lee (ANYTHING GOES).

WHICH IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE STAGING OF THIS LONDON PRODUCTION?
I have been fortunate to have had honest and open discussions about the show, the score, the character journeys, the complexities of the harmonies, et al with our director. A lot of the visual ideas are written into the script but it is always exciting for a writer to trust a director´s eye to breathe new life into a piece. Hayley is a bright, smart, courageous woman who I am aching to see tackle the piece. I will be at some rehearsals and run throughs to answer questions and give character histories, etc...but I know that Notion and the creative team will bring out the darkness of the show, the humor with and the light at the end of the show´s tunnel.

YOU HAVE ALSO WRITTEN THE ORIGINAL PIECE ‘THE CONCRETE JUNGLE‘ FOR THE LONDON ARTS EDUCATION SCHOOL, THAT ALSO OPEN IN JUNE. WHAT COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?
Yes!! I am thrilled about this project as well. The talent at ArtsEd is astounding and I am continually blown away, daily, in rehearsal by the work that we are creating. THE CONCRETE JUNGLE is an original book musical, a romantic comedy about young twenty-somethings living and loving in NYC. It is a touching portrayal of how one´s insecurities can get the best of them while trying to follow a dream in one of the most challenging cities in the world. The show mostly takes place in a bar on the Upper West Side called The Concrete Jungle where Abby, our main character, slings drinks while waiting for her big break as a poet and hoping that someone might see past her lackluster appearance (for NYC standards) and love her for what´s inside.

IN FEBRUARY 2011 YOU WERE IN LONDON FOR THE CONCERT ‘THE SONGS OF BOBBY CRONIN’, FEATURING SOME WEST END STARS. HOW DID YOU REMEMBER THAT NIGHT? WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU?
I hardly remember that night! It was like a dream come true! The talent on that stage singing my music was astounding. My agent James Beresford and the wonderful people at SimG Productions made my London debut a classy, top-notch, beautiful evening. Simon Beck did some great arrangements for the band and the performers really took to the material, singing their hearts and souls out! The night meant the world to me. The fact that it sold out made me realize that London was excited about new writing, and that West End performers were excited to work with an American writer. That night changed me...for the better (yes, that´s a nod to the extremely supportive Stephen Schwartz).
It´s funny, but doing concerts are actually quite difficult because you don´t get to show that you can write a score for a musical, you show your "song writing" skills. A musical is more than songs and more often than not, at a concert, you have to give your "hit" songs, your power ballads with high notes. I love that people will now have the chance to hear two different scores, lush harmonies, comedic and dramatic tunes, big ensemble numbers, etc... things you cannot do at a concert.

YOU HAVE WORKED IN BOTH NEW YORK AND IN LONDON. HOW DIFFERENT OR SIMILAR BOTH CITIES ARE REGARDING SUPPORTING YOUNG MUSICAL THEATRE COMPOSERS?
Both cities are amazing!! Truly! NYC has large theatre companies, small theatre companies, concert venues, contests, writing classes, organizations, and so much talent that a composer has vast amounts of opportunities right at their fingertips. And, the acting community is always looking for something exciting to sing, to develop, to work on. Without actors, composers just put dots on paper. Actors breathe life into the work, literally making it sing.
In London, I have been overwhelmed by the people excited about new composers. I have met with people from all different positions in the West End community (producers, casting directors, actors, other composers, choreographers, directors, etc...) and everyone has been eager to help, to connect, to advise, etc.
Both cities deal with their own financial difficulties, because so much funding has been cut for the arts, but there are still people looking to help keep this beautiful art form alive and flourishing.

WHICH MUSICAL THEATRE COMPOSERS DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?
I love Aherns & Flaherty! William Finn, Alan Menken, Stiles & Drewe, Jerry Herman, Jules Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Michael John Lachuisa, Andrew Llyod Webber, Frank Wildhorn, Maury Yeston, Jason Robert Brown, and R&H.

COULD YOU COMMENT ON YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS?
My pop/rock musical W2ML (WELCOME TO MY LIFE) written with Alicia Dempster has been optioned for Broadway. We´ll do a workshop this fall once the creative team is locked into place. (SO EXCITING!!) I also finished a large musical with Allen Mogol called ´TIL DEATH DO US PART about the murder of a golden-tongued preacher by his seemingly perfect wife.
I am just starting two new projects: SUNSET CITY, a romantic musical comedy set in a retirement community, and I am so thrilled to officially announce that I have recently been given the rights to turn the claymation film MARY & MAX into a musical, which will be unique theatrical stage experience.

Tom Senior as Jamie and Kayleigh Louise-Smith as Kelly in DAYBREAK