Carolina. Telling ghost stories and ghost lore was a singing the male lead ghost who I sing on the record.
big part of growing up in South Carolina. Being there We’ve been working together for ten years. He really
kind of triggered a pre-adolescent, spooky style of understands my sensibility. He’s a great singer. He’s
being that I used to experience as a kid. So, right away just kind of a raffish character. I’m really excited to get
there was an internal connection to the setting and him on stage and see what he does.
the mood of the piece. Actually, Kyle, Keith Powell Rage: Now, it’s just the ghosts who sing all the songs?
and I went down to Charleston in January of 2008 to DS: Yes. There are songs that happen in between
do a writing retreat. While we were there we went on the scenes. Our challenge from the very beginning
one of those…it’s kind of cheesy but they do a ghost was how do you integrate the actors into the songs
tour of Charleston and tell all these ghost stories. We in some way? And how do you integrate the ghosts
immersed ourselves in that kind of narrative style. into the scenes in some way to make this whole thing
That really informed the tone of the songs. work? It’s a little bit of a very different conceit for a
The funny thing about ghost stories is that they’re piece of musical theatre. I think we’ve had some re-
meant to be scary but there’s also an aspect of them ally good solutions to that issue. This is the first time
that is kind of whimsical. They almost have a sense of that we are properly staging the piece.
humor. I tried to really play that up in the song lyrics. Rage: It sounds very avant-garde to me.
When the ghosts are singing, “It’s better to be dead,” DS: (laughter) There’s an aspect of it that is avant-
it’s their sardonic way of looking down at the pathos garde in terms of the structure and the set-up but in
of these sad human beings who are living their kind fact, the music and the story itself are not avant-garde
of pathetic little lives. The ghosts have kind of been at all. I think the story is engaging and quite moving
there and done that and quote, unquote, risen above and also, quite funny.
it all. At least, that’s what they tell themselves. Rage: Thank you. I’m looking forward to seeing the show.
Rage: Your last collaboration on Spring Awakening working DS: Great, great. I can’t wait.
Mare Winningham will portray “Lilly” in Whisper House.
with Steven Sater was so successful. How does this collabo-
ration feel for you working with Kyle Jarrow?
DS: Kyle is a very different kind of writer than
Steven, which is fine. Steven is very immersed in po-
etry and the Greek classics, somewhat more obscure
kinds of things that are important pieces of literature
but a bit on the fringe. Where as Kyle is a little bit more
populist in a certain way, in terms of his writing style.
The big difference in this collaboration is really that
I wrote the lyrics, and then Kyle and I made some
adjustments here and there. The story is really Kyle’s
and the songs are mainly mine. What was so fun
about that, for me, is obviously I had written lyrics
for my own records in the past, but I had spent the
past three or four years mainly working on theatre
stuff with Steven. So, I hadn’t really written any lyr-
ics at all. It was so great. I had three years of pent-up
subconscious material that was waiting to come out.
I won’t say it was easy to write these songs but they
just came very naturally and that was a lot of fun.
Rage: Please tell me about the cast of Whisper House.
DS: The great actress, Mare Winningham is playing
Lilly. We’re really excited to have her on board. A
young boy named Eric Brent Zutty plays Christopher.
The director and Kyle auditioned him and they are
“over the moon” about him. I haven’t met him yet but
I trust their judgment in these matters. Then, we have
a great Filipino actor, Arthur Acuna, who is playing
Yasuhiro who’s the Japanese fellow who works at the
lighthouse. Most importantly, for me, we have Holly
Brook playing a female ghost. I’m very thrilled about
that. I’m also thrilled that my good friend, David Poe is
january 2010 | RAGE monthly 11
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