“It’s surrounding him, it’s making him uncomfortable and encroaching on his personal space.” In this New York’s crowded skyline, the buildings-Chrysler, Empire State, Freedom Tower-appear in a perspective that doesn’t truly exist, another reminder of the real-but-beautifully imagined world in which we’re spinning. The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes So I recently came across this musical called The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes about a guy who hates musicals but gets stuck in one. Howard Barnes does provide that hero’s journey, but it also spends a great deal of time and energy referencing many American musicals in a way that will fascinate. Howard Barnes : John David Scott Maggie : Brenna Wagner Von Schwartzenheim : Nick DeSantis Grace : Kate E. A Village Original from The 2013 Festival of New Musicals, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes is equal parts satire, romantic comedy, and love letter to the American musical. “The musical kind of harasses Howard,” Mumaw says, laughing. Book and Lyrics : Christopher Dimond: Music : Michael Kooman: Cast. In a blink, Howard’s bland life transforms into one that’s enticingly superficial-“playing with the archetype of bright, colorful musical theater and exaggerating it beyond even what people might expect,” Mumaw says-and finally into vibrant, real, three-dimensional life.Īnother consideration: the imagery of the iconic zoo that is New York City. “This show wants to celebrate both the new and the old-school, including ways of thinking about scenery, movement and magic on stage,” he says, before adding this cagey coda to the end of our interview: “Expect the unexpected.” That’s why, unusually for Mumaw, his research for this new show began with looking at old shows, diving into the physical paradigms of musical theater from the golden age and beyond. The next morning, his life has turned into a musical. “It’s a three-dimensional world, but everything is bland, banal, uninteresting.” When a wedding invitation arrives at Howard’s cramped New York apartment, from a woman who rejected his own proposal years earlier, he plummets into an emotional tailspin. That is, until the day he wakes up to discover his life has become a musical. “In the beginning, his world is neutral and flat,” says Howard Barnes’ scenic designer Christopher Mumaw. Howard Barnes is a perfectly average American guy: he likes baseball, grilling, and his daily routine. THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES Music by Michael KoomanBook & lyrics by Christopher Dimond Directed by Keith Rabin Jr.Music Directed by Tanner Kell圜horeography by Stephanie HesseJennifer Patten - Asst. (Photo by Mark Kitaoka) The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes might be an ill-advised title for a musical. 13 at Village Theatre in Issaquah, that concept is applied both literally and liberally. Howard (Joshua Carter) bumps into Maggie (Taryn Darr) at a Rangers game. What ensues is a hilarious romp as Howard, who has never seen a musical in his life, tries to find his way out of his new, maddening reality of overly-exaggerated characters and ridiculously catchy numbers.įor spouses who are often dragged along to musicals and who find the theme of breaking into song to communicate emotions absurd, Howard Barnes is a relatable character who openly acknowledges the ludicrous nature of this musical reality.Theater brightens many lives, but for the titular character in Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond’s new musical The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, premiering Sept. One day, Howard wakes up to find that his quotidian routine has mysteriously morphed into a musical, complete with strangers on the street breaking out into song and dance that no one but him can seemingly see. This seemingly impossible feat is accomplished in a simple but uncommon way: The musical revolves around the mundane existence of Howard Barnes, an average, sports-loving, office-job-working man in his early thirties.
But that’s what audience members are finding at the world premiere of The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes at Village Theatre, a show that caters to people who love and hate musical theatre alike. The Howard Barnes World Premiere Company - Shoot the Puck 3. Jeff Steitzer, Greg McCormick Allen, and The Howard Barnes World Premiere Company - Welcome to Today 2.
It’s not very often that one gets to see a world premiere of a musical – nonetheless one that is extremely unique, particularly funny, and surprisingly touching all in one. The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes by Kooman & Dimond, released 13 September 2019 1.
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