Bill Daugherty
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
A nytheatre voices cyber-interview
Bill Daugherty is the recipient of numerous awards for his work as a singer in cabaret and in musical theatre. He is the creator, director, and a performer in this new musical revue. Bill was a pioneer member of Camp Broadway and has, for more than a decade, been on the faculty at New York University's CAP21 conservatory. Learn more about Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?.
Pictured: Bill Daugherty
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? Songs and Stories from The Great Depression is billed as a “new musical revue”. Could you tell us what that really means and what audiences will experience?
When the idea of doing this piece first came to me, I knew that the music from the era of The Great Depression was full of really amazing songs — many of which even the most avid devotee of vintage songs might not know. I've spent my lifetime listening to the stuff I missed out on by having been born a little too late for my own good. So, I knew that the Harburg/Gorney song, "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime", needed to be the signature tune and I built around it from there. Unlike "When The Lights Go On Again" — which I wrote and directed and that ran for nearly two years at The Triad prior to this, I chose not to use dialogue but instead to make it a bit more like a Spoon River Anthology. I wanted to use accounts from the lives of people who lived through the heartache and struggles of the 1930's. So, "Brother..." developed into a 2 Act Musical Review which gives the audience a glimpse at what Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood contributed to the era starting with the pre-crash confidence, the uneasiness of the nation as the stock market plummeted, the ever-optimistic yet poignant songs of looking for a brighter day and, eventually, the recovery as we entered the 1940's. So... you'll find a cast of six actors, 3 musicians and 24 period songs — with a bit of dancing, a few voiceovers from major figures of that time and the re-creation of the actual words of people who thought to record their experiences for future generations.
The title includes “Stories” in addition to songs. Does that mean we can expect a certain amount of dialogue or how exactly are the stories told?
Members of the cast assume several characters throughout the show — at one point recounting major headlines of the day; a section where victims of The Dustbowl give first-hand testimony as to what they endured in trying to survive the devastation that swept through the plains; the words of the people who "rode the rails" — the hobos of our nation — and what it was like for them to wander the country in search of a job or a meal; a really touching moment where a few of the many thousands of letters written to Mrs. Roosevelt are read by the actors and then, eventually, a narrative describing the course of action taken by FDR which helped us to climb out of the chasm we, as a nation, had found ourselves in.
After you thought up the idea for this revue, how did you go about picking and choosing the material you would include and were there particular favorites you had to leave out?
This was probably one of the hardest parts for me. I'm a collector of vintage music and have a collection of over 60,000 records and CD's — with the focus primarily from 1900 to 1960. Once rock and roll came around, I lost interest in what was being written. So... I started with well over a hundred and fifty songs I knew could easily work in a show about The Great Depression. There were some gems I unearthed in my research that just floored me and I knew I would be building sections around those numbers — just because of the sheer brilliance of the piece. Case in point, "Dusty Road". Some may know the Nelson Eddy recording of this powerful song. I had to cast one role specifically for that number — and I have to say that it closes the first act like no other song could. We had to put in a few well-known numbers like "We're In The Money", "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again" — but we tried to make interesting use of them and with the phenomenal arrangements our talented musical director, Doyle Newmyer, penned — they're a real treat to hear again.
It seems that this is very topical material. What do you think audiences can get from the stories and songs that are part of your show?
When I first conceived this show, it was in March of 2008. Our country hadn't begun the slide yet, so it was by sheer coincidence that this ended up being so "topical". But, you know, the most humbling moment for a writer or director is when the piece is finally put in front of an audience and you hold your breath and wait to find out what the reaction is. You know in your mind how the show plays for you, but you never can tell until that first night if you really have a show or not. Well, opening night the crowd was incredibly responsive and afterwards there were comments like, "This is so relevant to what we're going through right now — it's spooky!" or "I had no idea that people had NOTHING and NO ONE to turn to back then!" and one of my favorites was, "I am moved beyond words — this material is important and the honesty of the performances is inspiring." I was pleased beyond words to know that people were entertained while being given a glimpse into the harsh reality of something we, as Americans, swore we'd never see again... yet, here we sit in another challenging and rocky moment in US history.
What’s it like being part of the cast of a production and also being the director?
Well, few people are as privileged in their professional lives as I have been by being the benefactor of an incredibly generous and supportive producer. Max Weintraub is one of my closest friends and, at the age of 88, is an active part of the team. He even greets the audience every performance and gives a curtain speech to set the tone. Who better than a man who was there? So, let's just say that as I've grown older and found my way around the business a bit more broadly, I've discovered I have a knack for taking a concept and developing it into a pretty good piece. I include myself in these pieces mostly because I can... ha! I'm such an anachronism that I've basically pigeon-holed myself out of the loop in show biz. I don't really care for the majority of what I see getting produced and I'm certainly no chorus boy anymore — and even if I were, I wouldn't be right for the pop/rock material these young actors are asked to do, now. Imagine Eddie Fisher singing something from Spring Awakening and you'll understand my plight. I'm old-fashioned and so are my sensibilities and so are my productions. In that way, Max and I are peers, and happily so. So... for the record... I'm one lucky son-of-a-gun and I don't, for a minute, take it for granted! I get to cast and work with people I know, love and respect — and I even get paid. What are the odds?
Any thoughts for some simultaneous regional productions of this timely revue, or do you have other future plans for yourself?
We're eager to take this show on the road. As a matter of fact, "Thoroughbred" (which is our production company) has two other revues, as well, that are ready to do in rep. The problem is, there really isn't a circuit anymore, and the viability of even taking a small ensemble like ours on the road is difficult to do largely due to the fact that there is just no one coordinating that sort of thing on a moderate scale anymore. And it would have to pay enough for all of us to give up day jobs for a while to do it. I teach musical theater at CAP21 in affiliation with NYU and I'd have to have a pretty good reason to jump ship and tour — but, hey, we're eager to hear ideas!!! As for future plans... I'm currently in the development of a new musical based on Ellis Island called "Island Of Hope" which I'm writing with composer Scott Davis. The book and lyrics are mine and we'll be developing it as a new work with Eliza Ventura at CAP21. It's a pretty amazing period in our history and I'll be basing much of it, like "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime" on real life stories of the brave immigrants who, overcoming nearly insurmountable odds, made their way through the gates of Ellis Island.
October 13, 2009
