SOUTH BEND Most of musical theater’s large hits do not begin in South Bend, however College of Notre Dame musical theater professor and director Matt Hawkins says that is about to vary with “My Coronary heart Says Go.”
“My Coronary heart Says Go” is a pop-inspired musical that follows the story of Indigo, a first-generation school pupil who defies her father by dropping out of medical college to pursue a profession as a songwriter.
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After practically 5 years within the making, the brand new “My Coronary heart Says Go” makes its world debut on the South Bend Civic Theater April 14-23.
“On this journey, Indigo meets a brand new pal named Clara, and he or she has her personal sort of actually intense fights together with her mom,” mentioned Hawkins, the present’s director. “Then, finally, Indigo and Indigo’s father discover a new mutual respect and understanding, after which, Clara truly experiences a fairly intense tragedy at residence that permits her to see the significance of household and human connection.”
If this storyline sounds acquainted, it is most likely as a result of the primary model of the musical which, on the time, was titled “Silly People” premiered on stage at Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Middle in 2019.
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The unique musical was written by then Notre Dame pupil Jorge “Jay” Rivera-Herrans, who primarily based a lot of the story on private experiences. After getting into Notre Dame desiring to main in medication, Rivera-Herrans switched his main to movie, tv, and theater as a freshman, with out telling his mother and father. This choice, he informed The Tribune in 2019, was initially rejected by his household, academics and the docs he stalked in highschool.
Following her 2020 commencement from Notre Dame, Rivera-Herrans acquired the primary Profession Launch Fellowship from the Present Shepherd theater consultancy group, which works with writers, impartial producers and theater corporations to develop new work. Because the on-line launch of her first ‘saga’ on Christmas Day 2022, her ‘Epic: The Musical’, a musical retelling of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’, has turn into a viral social media sensation.
Following the debut of “Silly People,” Hawkins, who made the present attainable via his New Works Lab musical theater program at Notre Dame, was awarded a scholarship from the college to proceed creating the musical. Early within the pandemic, he and Rivera-Herrans labored on modifications and enhancements with theater professionals at Apples and Oranges Studios and Chicago’s Goodman Theater.
“I received a whole lot of skilled artists collectively for a two-week on-line intensive throughout COVID, and we principally rewrote the script many occasions. We rewrote every part,” Hawkins mentioned. “Since then, we have revamped a whole lot of the music as nicely.”
The transformation of the musical additionally meant dropping the unique title, “Silly People”, which, in line with Hawkins, “had a sort of adverse connotation”. The brand new title, he mentioned, represents the present’s theme of “comply with your coronary heart.”
“‘My hearts say to go’ is a lyric within the ‘I Need’ tune from the present,” she mentioned. “Indigo was serving to help in coronary heart surgical procedure at first, and it is like, ‘Nicely, I am working on somebody’s coronary heart, and I do not even know what my coronary heart is saying.'”
Make a musical
The music and screenplay for the unique model of “Silly People” have been written by Rivera-Herrans when he was a pupil in Hawkins’ New Works Lab musical theater class in Notre Dame’s movie, tv and theater division. Conversely, the script for “My Coronary heart Says Go” was written by Hawkins, whereas the music was written by Rivera-Herrans. Hawkins mentioned it was a “large change” from the 2019 Notre Dame present.
“For the individuals who noticed the primary model, the center, the youthful vitality, the hopes and goals, the eagerness all of that’s nonetheless there,” Hawkins mentioned. “What we have principally executed is we have made somewhat bit extra room for the adults, for the mother and father. There’s a whole lot of parent-child relationships on the present. I feel we have additionally made room for fogeys to have their very own emotional arcs.”
Revision:Notre Dame’s “Silly People” is a intelligent new musical
When it was carried out at Notre Dame, Hawkins mentioned, he was excited by the potential of “Silly People,” however felt its character and story arcs “simply did not match.” In “My Coronary heart Says Go,” he mentioned, audiences know all of the characters higher than they did within the Notre Dame model of the present.
“I had a whole lot of religion in music. I believed music may virtually stand by itself,” recalled Hawkins. “And since there’s a whole lot of vitality and vitality across the music, I believed there was one thing to the story; I simply did not suppose we have been executed but. So revamping it makes the story deeper. It is identical to once you’re writing a time period paper; you actually do not need to simply write your first draft and hand it in.”
For Rivera-Herrans, it was initially troublesome to chop issues from the unique model of the present.
“It is arduous to not get hooked up to one thing you spend years engaged on,” he wrote in an e-mail to The Tribune. “Now, it would not actually faze me as a result of I acknowledge that the principle focus ought to at all times be on making the piece look pretty much as good as attainable, and that usually requires slicing issues out and attempting once more.”
Rivera-Herrans mentioned she felt the brand new tackle the present is “extra targeted and streamlined” and its tone is “extra constant”.
“After the 2019 manufacturing, I used to be extraordinarily happy with the musical. Nonetheless, after a while, and we took a more in-depth look, we discovered alternatives within the script to additional flesh out and develop sure storylines and characters,” he mentioned. written. . “I am pleased with each model of the present.”
A historical past of South Bend
Civic Government Director Aaron Nichols first discovered of “My Coronary heart Says Go” when Rivera-Herrans starred as Usnavi in Civic’s 2018 manufacturing of “Within the Heights.”
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“After we heard about his new musical at Notre Dame, we supported him and celebrated his success, not understanding that in just a few years we’d be a part of the evolution of that present,” Nichols mentioned.
As a group theater, Nichols mentioned, she believes Civic has a duty to inform and rejoice the tales of South Bend. As a result of Rivera-Herrans accomplished his diploma from Notre Dame, Nichols considers “My Coronary heart Says Go” a narrative of South Bend and Rivera-Herrans “one in all ours.”
“It is a story about by no means giving up in your goals, and I feel it is a good story for this second,” Nichols mentioned. “It looks like a darkish time to be dreaming, so I feel having this type of celebration of actually stepping out on a limb and taking dangers and believing, not simply in your self however in your voice, is a extremely essential factor to debate at this juncture in our historical past”.
The solid of “My Coronary heart Says Go,” which Nichols described as “an exquisite hybrid” of Notre Dame college students and members of the South Bend group, additionally has significance as a South Bend story.
“That is the sort of factor that I am so pleased about,” she mentioned, “as a result of it is sort of breaking down the silos between our tutorial group and our downtown or South Bend group. There are folks learning in a elite universities working with blue-collar employees in our group and having these life experiences that collide with one another, I feel is a extremely nice option to construct empathy, to construct compassion and understanding each methods “.
Making Broadway extra accessible
Just like the present’s casting, Hawkins strives to make performances of “My Coronary heart Says Go” accessible to all members of the group.
He mentioned these within the theater business have lengthy seen a Broadway present because the “finish all of it, be all of it” to reaching success within the business. Nonetheless, Hawkins believes this makes theater much less accessible to most People.
“If somebody actually needs to go see a present in New York, it’s important to have the monetary capability to pay for that aircraft or prepare ticket to get there, it’s important to pay the ticket itself to see the present, it’s important to keep there, it’s important to eat meals there,” he mentioned. mentioned. “I imply, it is actually, actually costly, in order that takes away from the affordability.”
So as a substitute, Hawkins determined to divert the time, vitality and assets he may have spent attempting to get the present to Broadway to supply a studio recording album of the present’s soundtrack, that includes Broadway expertise. The album options names like Javier Muoz, who took over from Lin Manuel Miranda because the lead in “Hamilton” on Broadway, and actress Jessie Mueller, who received a Tony Award for Greatest Featured Actress in a Musical for “Stunning : The Carole King Musical” and was nominated in the identical class for “Waitress” and the Broadway revival of “Carousel”.
“It was wonderful,” Rivera-Herrans wrote. “They’re all so gifted {and professional}, and it has been an honor to work with them! I really feel nice concerning the solid recording; all of the artists introduced their A-game and I am thrilled for the world to listen to.”
The album can be launched shortly after the debut of “My Coronary heart Says Go” on the Civic. Hawkins mentioned the plan is to push the album on social media to garner curiosity within the present, particularly from newbie theater teams.
“So any highschool or group theater that has no cash principally, as a result of all of our arts funding is being reduce off, can say, ‘What is that this musical that hasn’t actually been executed?'” Hawkins mentioned. “After which we as Notre Dame can say, ‘Oh, you are able to do this. How are you going to do that for a extremely low worth.'”
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After the album will get folks’s consideration, Hawkins hopes folks will “fall in love with the music” and need to see the present.
“However as a substitute of simply seeing it, they will do it themselves,” he mentioned. And (Notre Dame) will present the script, the music, and even some assist with the design and choreography if they need as a result of, keep in mind, many highschool drama academics are identical to the historical past instructor that’s. additionally the theater instructor”.
E mail Tribune employees author Claire Reid at cereid@gannett.com.
On stage
- What:“My Coronary heart Says Go”
- The place:South Bend Civic Theater, 403 N Major St., South Bend
- When:19:30 14-15 and 20-22 April and 14:00 16 and 23 April
- Price:$35-$27
- For extra info: Name 574-234-1112 or go to sbct.org.