“Sing Street” the Musical: A Casebook Experience at New York Theater Workshop
by Wes Braver
When you spend a lot of time seeing theater, it’s easy to forget that the performance itself is only one part of the journey. So much of the creation is invisible — it happens long before you step into the venue, perhaps long before you even bought the ticket. New York Theater Workshop’s “Casebook” program aims to let theater lovers in on the process, showcasing the many parts that make up the whole. A few months ago I had the treat of attending the eight-week course with around thirty others — some senior subscribers, self-described “theater moms,” drama majors, and assorted enthusiasts, to see the preparations for the new musical Sing Street.
Now announced for a Broadway debut on April 19, Sing Street is the story of a group of teens making music and discovering young love during the 1980s in Dublin, Ireland. The musical is based on John Carney’s 2016 film, which features some original songs mixed with songs from the likes of Depeche Mode. It’s an indie movie, but it got a pretty wide release after achieving some degree of viral success. I happened to see it, and was pulled in by its infectious tunes and the real heart of its characters. Penning the play version is Enda Walsh, that excellent Irish playwright whose last musical venture, Once, was one of the big hits of the past decade. The director is the masterful Rebecca Taichman, whose work on Paula Vogel’s “Indecent,” won her the Tony a couple years ago. So I knew this ‘Casebook’ was likely to be special, and the promise of getting to be in a room with those artists was something I couldn’t pass up.
The classes each week focused on a different aspect of the medium of theater, and usually included in-depth discussion and exploration with an artist or group of artists working on that aspect for Sing Street. We would also observe rehearsals in progress, and early on got to tour the stage at NYTW to see the inner workings of the set up close. That tour was enlightening: having seen shows at this theater for years, I had no idea how transformative it would be to see it without a set in place, and all of the backstage. NYTW is now one of the premier off-broadway theaters, especially after transferring two hits this past season: Hadestown and Slave Play. But the venue itself is Minimal dressing rooms, and they’re all shared — when Greta Gerwig and Oscar Isaac perform Chekhov’s Three Sisters there later this season, they will be getting ready right next to the rest of the cast.
We also learned about the way the production designer’s dealt with the various instruments. Custom-built wooden stage pieces on wheels, and wireless pickups allowed their actors full mobility. After all, the show is mostly about a band, and the stage picture can get static if you’re just looking at the same visual arrangement of instruments. The sound designer helped us understand in detail how wireless technology allowed all of this to happen — so the actors can play the music and avoid tripping up the excellent choreography by Sonya Tayeh (known now for her work on the hit “Moulin Rouge”).
The highlight of the class had to be our conversation with playwright Enda Walsh and director Rebecca Taichman. Not only generous in letting us observe their process, they were more than willing to answer questions from our motley crew. They described their approach to the play in detail, noting the challenges of approaching the tone of the show. It’s teen characters, it’s new wave 80s music, but it’s ultimately emotionally serious. Walsh and Taichman are known for work that is decidedly mature and adult, so they noted that the key here was in the performers. Most of the characters are under the age of 20, and although it’s common practice in the theater to cast 20-somethings to play teens, they stuck with the real thing for this show. The authenticity pays off. Led by Brenock O’Connor (whom audiences may know from his guest star as the devious young ‘Olly’ in “Game of Thrones”), the young cast excels at delivering the heartfelt songs with sincerity and joy.
Near the end, we attended two performances a week apart and compared the production’s evolution pre-tech week and post. Having worked in theater myself I knew how radical that transformation can be, but nothing prepared me for it at this level: it went from being a sketch to a fully realized portrait. Thanks to the ‘Casebook’ series, we could appreciate all the moving parts in NYTW’s well-oiled machine.
