Larry Pressgrove: A Pianist's-Eye-View of [title of show]
While the four stars of [title of show] sing and make jokes about their quirky musical's journey to Broadway, a lone figure sits at the piano behind them on the Lyceum Theatre stage, receiving an occasional fond shout-out for his labors. The accompanist in question is Larry Pressgrove, who has served as title of show's music director in all its incarnations over the past five years. Pressgrove's resume is both extensive and eclectic: music director for Cats on Broadway and national tour; for Les Miserables on tour and Colm Wilkinson's final performance as Jean Valjean, with the National Opera Theatre in Shanghai; and assistant conductor for The Phantom of the Opera on tour. As a composer, Pressgrove's credits include The Angle of the Sun, Bed No Breakfast and Comfort Food. What's it like for this talented musician to take center stage on Broadway? Larry tells all.
As music director of [title of show], I have the usual musical director thoughts running through my mind. Should I vamp one more measure before continuing on? Is this the right tempo? Can I accomplish that page-turn cleanly, or will it get caught on the binder clip? How many times will that guy in the third row cough?
I've been music directing since I was 18 years old, so I'm used to wrestling with those types of questions. What's different this time is that I also play "Larry," and instead of sitting in the pit with my back to the audience, I sit upstage left and I'm facing the audience. It's a whole new world from up there.
SPOILER ALERT: I am kind of in the cast and kind of not in the cast. I can't really say much more in case you haven't seen the show.
First of all, the audience can see my face, so I have to "act" as if I've never seen the show before. You would think that would be hard because I've been working on [title of show] since its humble beginnings—what is it? Five years now? But I have a blast every night watching the festivities go by. I love hearing audiences experience these ideas for the first time and noticing the subtle adjustments that Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff make so the jokes will land. I've discovered that comedy is a lot like music. It requires phrasing, accents, pauses and a little improvising.
Because I am watching the actors' backs during the show, I get to track the status of wireless mic cords. During the first couple of days of technical rehearsals, as we were just beginning to build the show in the theater, I saw a lot of antennae sticking out of butt cracks and wires flailing around. But that's all been taken care of. Now I spend a little time every night wondering where they are hiding those battery packs. I could swear those wires are inserted directly into their skulls.
One thing I didn't anticipate was that some of our show's fans would want me to sign autographs after the show. I've spent years in orchestra pits and have marveled at the skill of the musicians, only to see them walk out the stage door without anyone knowing who they are. So some nights I pretend I'm signing for all those unsung artists.
Mostly, I get to see this wonderful experience called "Broadway" happen to four special friends. Hunter and Jeff wrote a musical that truly reflects who they are, and I get to see audiences embrace their ideas. I get to hear Susan sing her "rice krispy treat" line just a little differently every night and still get a reaction. I get to hear Heidi sing "A Way Back to Then" every performance and marvel at her technique and her heart.
And I get to be a part of a show I've helped to create, which is now on Broadway. That is a rare experience, and I'm cherishing every minute!