From the Huffington Post
'Legacy Falls,' Daytime Soap Opera Parody Musical, Hits New York Musical Theatre Festival
Putting a cheeky and occasionally gay spin on the world of daytime soaps, the new musical “Legacy Falls” has the added benefit of a leading man with real-world credentials.
The show, which premiered July 16 as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, takes a no-holds-barred (if facetious) approach to the popular television medium. Taking its title from the name of a fictional American program, “Legacy Falls” promises to “dish the dirt on soaps,” skewering all the hirings, firings and behind-the-scenes catfights between co-stars, some of whom are hiding little secrets of their own.
“Legacy Falls” may seem like a winning format for a reality series, but according to composer-lyricist James Burn, daytime dramas provided ample source material “ideally suited” for musical theater, particularly in a show intended as a satire.
“The success of a musical comedy relies, in large part, on creating a world where it can seem natural and believable for people to burst into the song, so I was looking for that place,” Burn, who also wrote the show’s book, told The Huffington Post. “It’s a land where you can still see divas and hunks roaming free in their natural habitat … there’s an inherent theatricality there.”
Still, when it came to putting “Legacy Falls” together for its premiere American run, Burn sought to add a much-needed “dose of the real world” that would help lend the show a extra dash of credibility. Enter Kevin Spirtas, best known to audiences as the villainous Dr. Craig Wesley on “Days of our Lives.”
With a stage resume includes stints in “Silence! The Musical” and “Hairspray” as well as Broadway turns in “The Boy from Oz” and “A Chorus Line,” Spirtas seems like the perfect choice for the character of Edward Trafford, a 30-year soap veteran who gets outed to his cast mates after falling in love with Daniel Morrison (Wilson Bridges) despite playing a straight man on the fictional series.
Though Trafford’s sexuality poses ethical questions for the future of the show-within-a-show, Spirtas said his personal experiences in the world of soaps couldn’t be more different.
“In my own life, I never led with being gay; I was always acting and always working,” the 49-year-old out actor said. “In this day and age, I don’t feel like [an actor’s sexuality] is an issue anymore. At an earlier time I did – don’t get me wrong – but at my age now, it’s clear that the roles that I’m supposed to be doing are going to be doing regardless.”
Of course, “Legacy Falls” is a comedy -- and as Burn points out, he and director/co-writer Ian Poitier never intended their show’s gay subplot to be “issue-driven,” but rather reflective of “the personal stories” of actors who work in the “ridiculously camp and glamorous world” of daytime soaps.
Spirtas shared those sentiments. “Edward has to come to terms with his truth…he finds that through this unexpected relationship, he can love himself and make the right choices in the next chapter of his life -- choices of freedom, choices of truth,” he said, before quickly adding, "But there are happy endings all around.”
From BroadwayWorld.com
Olivier nominee Tara Hugo talks LEGACY FALLS at NYMF.
Today we're speaking with Tara Hugo, Olivier nominee for THE THREEPENNY OPERA at the Donmar Warehouse, star of JoAnne Akalaitis and Philip Glass' THE BACCHAE at the New York Shakespeare Festival, singer, lyricist and all-around talented actress.
Hugo is reprising her 2010 London role in the new musical LEGACY FALLS, a soap opera farce currently playing through July 24th at this year's New York Musical Theatre Festival. LEGACY FALLS follows the hirings and firings, backstabbing and bitchiness, romance and catfights of the soap biz.
Below, Hugo talks about starting fresh with a new cast and her favorite scene in LEGACY FALLS
Hugo is reprising her 2010 London role in the new musical LEGACY FALLS, a soap opera farce currently playing through July 24th at this year's New York Musical Theatre Festival. LEGACY FALLS follows the hirings and firings, backstabbing and bitchiness, romance and catfights of the soap biz.
Below, Hugo talks about starting fresh with a new cast and her favorite scene in LEGACY FALLS
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me, I know you're busy with rehearsals.
Not at all, not at all. I just got back. We had a full day of it, getting geared up for tomorrow.
How are rehearsals going?
It's going great! It's like Edinburgh -- you don't get to live in the theater for a while like you normally would in a production. You go in, you get used to the space within an hour or two, and you do your tech, and the dress, and you're on. It's all in one day. So, I think we're all a bit like, "Oh, God!" It's the unknown. Whereas normally you would spend a day or two -- if you're lucky even a week -- in the theater where you're performing. But it's good. We have a great company. I love this piece. I've been living with it since 2010.
So this time around, what are some of the differences between the production in London and here at NYMF?
Well, first of all they cut the script. There was loads of great stuff in it -- there was just too much great stuff, so they trimmed it. I think they trimmed about half an hour off of it, so we lost certain scenes, but it's still intact, the best parts of it. It's a great group of actors. And I would just say it's different. Everybody has their own personality, and it's fun to see what new people bring to the roles. And for myself, the challenge has been to start fresh with a whole New Group and find new things, but not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Because I evolved to a certain point when I performed it in London. I did have some trepidation about it when I knew I was coming over, and I was the only original cast member. Because I had built up a rapport with some of the actors over there that I played the major scenes with. So I was thinking, "Oh, no. What will these actors be like?" as you do, but I love these people -- they're great. We have a fantastic company and there's a lot of love. So that's good!
Right! And with Kevin Spirtas in the cast -- who has experience with soap operas - what's it like working with someone who has been behind the camera on that end?
Yes! Well this is a theatre piece completely, but he also has experience in theatre. He's a wonderful actor, and I love playing with him. He's brought in some good insights into the soap opera world in our discussions about how true this script is. Even though this is more of a farce, as far as the hirings and the firings and people hanging on to their jobs or never knowing if they're going to get killed off -- all that stuff -- which is great fodder for comedy, he sort of verified that that all goes on. [Laughs.] Seriously, behind the scenes. So it's great to just have his insight into it. And from the beginning, Ian Poitier wanted that in London; he brought in soap stars for our opening night. But we're not doing television piece, we're doing a theatre show, so it's more research, I think, making it real.
Do you have a favorite song or scene, or one that you really connect with?
James Burn has written this wonderful scene where the character I play -- she's a real soap opera diva, she's sort of a household name, she's been on a soap for years, she's the queen -- and when the new management comes in, her position becomes precarious, and so she -- we all do in the piece -- we get more and more desperate to hang on to what we know. And so he's written this great scene where she's confronted with the newer people that they bring into the soap, which are, in her opinion, less talented. They're young, image-conscious, all about hair and body, and she believes that it's a craft, you know. And so she's pretty much losing it at one point because everything is changing, everything is switching, and she takes it out on the young actress who she considers a bimbo, and then she ends up revealing to her a bit about herself. So, it's a reveal moment in the piece. And he's written this great song called "Larger Than Life." I think that's my favorite.
But there are so many great scenes where he hits such a balance. It's really smart comedy. He never plays down to the audience. All the lines are based in some kind of truth but they're totally fluff -- it's farce -- and I love it. I'm just so excited about it, and I've remained excited about it.
James Burn has written this wonderful scene where the character I play -- she's a real soap opera diva, she's sort of a household name, she's been on a soap for years, she's the queen -- and when the new management comes in, her position becomes precarious, and so she -- we all do in the piece -- we get more and more desperate to hang on to what we know. And so he's written this great scene where she's confronted with the newer people that they bring into the soap, which are, in her opinion, less talented. They're young, image-conscious, all about hair and body, and she believes that it's a craft, you know. And so she's pretty much losing it at one point because everything is changing, everything is switching, and she takes it out on the young actress who she considers a bimbo, and then she ends up revealing to her a bit about herself. So, it's a reveal moment in the piece. And he's written this great song called "Larger Than Life." I think that's my favorite.
But there are so many great scenes where he hits such a balance. It's really smart comedy. He never plays down to the audience. All the lines are based in some kind of truth but they're totally fluff -- it's farce -- and I love it. I'm just so excited about it, and I've remained excited about it.
You can tell, it's good!
What attracted me to it, other than -- "Oh my God, this is wonderful!" -- was that it's funny. It's smart funny. It's not like a skit where the audience isn't necessarily in on the joke before you tell it. I think it sneaks up on you. So it's really good writing, the book. And the songs, you remember them, they're real songs. I think it's very special. It's different. I mean, what a great subject -- behind the scenes on a soap opera!
