Question:  How did you become interested in musical theatre?

Answer:  When I was a youngster growing up in Detroit, the Shubert Theatre was scheduled for demolition.  My mother wanted me to see it before it faced the wrecking ball. She bought tickets for us to see the last show to play there, Gypsy. I was captivated by the performance and knew the entire score by heart within a week. That’s how it all started. 

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Question:  When did you start writing music?

Answer:  I started writing music around the same time I saw Gypsy -- maybe a little earlier.  My first melodies sounded something like the pop music of the era. My brother and sisters tease me to this day by singing some of those first songs. I never had much interest in pop music, however, and those early melodies quickly evolved into music of a theatrical genre. My songs are reminiscent of many styles and eras -- but somehow they all sound like they were written for musicals. It must be the way I hear them in my head and sing them.

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Question: Did you take music lessons and study composition when you were growing up?

Answer:  I started taking piano lessons when I was seven years old. At piano recitals my teacher would always have me go first because I loved being in front of an audience and had no stage fright. I loved to perform but I hated to practice. I studied piano off and on for many years as well as guitar from some very accomplished teachers, but I was not a star pupil. My best instrument has always been my voice. 

Everyone has always begged me to sing for them with the exception of seven people who have never wanted any part of it -- my three siblings and four children! As an adult I took some arranging lessons with several people, which was useful. I have arranged some of my songs but I generally prefer to leave arranging to others while simply offering some direction.  I believe in doing what I do best and delegating to those who can do other things better. Arranging falls into that category.

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Question:  What is the process you follow to write a song?

Answer: You have probably heard about Mozart and how music would simply appear in his head. That’s how it is with me. When I have a thought or idea or am exposed to a new environment, music appears in my head, often with the first line or two of a lyric. Years ago I carried a hand held tape recorder around with me so I could preserve the melody.  Back in the day, those recorders were not small! Today I simply use the app on my phone. I record the musical idea when it comes to me or it may disappear forever. If I assign a lyric to the tune it helps me remember.

Years ago I would sit down at the piano when I had time and write the melody out with chords on staff paper. Today I have a keyboard that is hooked up to Pro Tools software. I can play the music, then look at it in piano roll view or in music notation format. Ultimately, I bring the music into Finale which is a music notation software and perfect the sheet music. They say that some people think in words and some people think in pictures. When I was in therapy years ago my psychoanalyst hypothesized I thought in music. I believe this to be the case.

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Question:  Have you written other musicals besides Bernhardt on Broadway?

Answer:  Actually I wrote a full length musical (music, book, and lyrics) when I was in graduate school. It even won an award. Victoria! was about Victoria Woodhull, an eccentric American suffragette. It called for a large cast and had a lot of catchy melodies. But I was very young at the time, not much more than twenty and not mature enough to move forward with it.

During the last decade I have written two other musicals: Mrs. President Lincoln and 2020 The Musical.  Mrs. President Lincoln is about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln through his wife’s eyes. I would like to produce that show in the future. I created 2020 The Musical in advance of the 2020 election with twenty songs that I arranged myself. The pandemic put the kabash on performing it.

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Question:  Why did you choose to write a show about Sarah Bernhardt?

Answer:  For some time I had been considering writing a show with the working title, Leading Lady. It was going to be about a versatile actress who had starred in many musicals. My thought was that it would give me the opportunity to write different styles of songs from each of the fictitious shows my protagonist starred in. Then I stumbled upon the idea of writing a show about Sarah Bernhardt. Sarah was not new to me. When I was growing up my mother had always told me I was a little Sarah Bernhardt whenever I became histrionic, which I must admit was quite often.  I think I must have flown out of the birth canal with my arms spread wide and singing.  In any case, I no longer needed to have a ‘make believe’ star for the show I was to write. I had a real one.

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Question:  Can you provide a short overview of Bernhardt on Broadway?

Answer:  Bernhardt on Broadway was originally a one one-woman stage musical with eleven songs in which I toured a decade ago. It was set in the late 1890s. The stage show was reminiscent of the Golden Age of Musicals when you could count on leaving the theatre with a tune dancing in your head and a lyric tugging at your heart.

I have totally reworked the script for the screenplay and added four songs. It is now set in 1912. There are speaking parts for ten characters as well as some non-speaking parts. The major characters are Sarah Bernhardt, of course; Pitou, her eccentric and long-time assistant; Lou-Tellegen, her leading man and sometimes lover who was more than three decades younger than her; and a reporter from The New York Times. Each of the three new main characters gets his own song, which helps with character development.

Bernhardt On Broadway is a ‘no holds barred’ exposé about the world's first superstar who formed her own theatre company and traveled the globe performing to sold out crowds from Australia to Brazil, Russia to Canada. Bernhardt is always relaxed and forthright, talking about her present and reminiscing about her past – personally and professionally. The songs are fun and catapult the action forward. This is a musical disclosure of a woman who captivated several generations of theatergoers, performing over 150 parts during the course of her career. Bernhardt initiated celebrity product endorsements, hobnobbed with royalty on a regular basis, and starred in the first full length silent film.

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Question:  Why was the stage show written for one-woman only?

Answer:  It was a pragmatic decision. I figured it would be easier to produce a show with one character, certainly less costly, which seemed particularly important at a time when our economy was so depressed. And I could even perform it myself to get it off the ground. I have performed all my life as well as spoken and sung professionally in costume on numerous communication topics. I have a doctorate in Speech Communication and Theatre and found the theatrics were an appealing way to meaningfully differentiate myself from others. 

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Question:  Did you really need to read over 100 books as well as articles and reviews to complete your research for Bernhardt On Broadway?

Answer: I did. There certainly was a great deal of redundancy in the research. The book that provided the best overview with lots of detail was Madame Sarah by Cornelia Otis Skinner. It provided eighty percent of the information I used. For many, that would have been enough. But I continued to read, searching for additional pieces of information that could provide that extra zest I was looking for. What Reynaldo Hahn, a composer and Bernhardt’s friend, shared in his book was very different from what May Agate, one of Bernhardt’s, wrote in her biography. What Bernhardt’s granddaughter, Lysianne, wrote about was different from what Suze Rueff, a friend in later life, had to say. Reading all those books was like prospecting for gold. And I was truly fortunate to uncover many nuggets with which to season the script. The screenplay goes way beyond offering all sorts of colorful information. It provides an authentic representation with psychological elements that shaped the woman Sarah Bernhardt was to become. 

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Question:  Who is your target audience?

Answer:  I’d like to believe that anyone could enjoy Bernhard On Broadway. But that is unrealistic. And besides, independent filmmakers don-t have the luxury of creating works that have mass audiences. My target audience includes people who like musicals. It is, after all, a musical with fifteen toe tapping songs with clever lyrics. Those who are drawn to historical drama/comedy like Downton Abbey will find a lot to like in Bernhardt On Broadway.

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Beyond that, there is an overriding theme of persistence and perseverance we can all learn from. Sarah Bernhardt in many ways grew up in an environment where she was neglected and unloved. She is truly a role model for young women the world over. Bernhardt summoned up the determination within herself to overcome all obstacles that were cast in her way.

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Question:  Why do you compare the songs you write to those of the ‘Golden Age?’

Answer:  I have always admired musical composers like Kern, Gershwin, and Rodgers as well as operetta composers like Kalman, Herbert, and Romberg for their ability to write music so contagious that it stays with you for a lifetime. The lyrics of Ira Gershwin and Lorenz Hart are so pithy, you can hear them over and over and still be amazed by how clever they are. My greatest admiration is for Cole Porter and Irving Berlin who had the ability to write incredible music and lyrics.  They are my heroes and it is on their shoulders I’d like to think I stand. My melodies are memorable and get stuck in people’s heads. I’ve gotten complaints about that! LOL I work hard to shape lyrics that complement the music and leave listeners wanting to return and listen to them again and again.

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Question:  It’s too early to know how movie audiences will respond to Bernhardt On Broadway. What was you experience when you toured with the stage show?  

Answer:  The world premiere for Bernhardt On Broadway was at Maxim’s in Chicago where the show was well-received and presented on a series of Thursday evenings.  I subsequently had some wonderful experiences performing across the country. I had a fascinating interaction with my audience in a small theatre near Carmel, CA where I performed before about 150 people. Half way through the show someone in the audience started to talk with me! This was not an interactive show, you understand. I maintained my persona, French accent and all, and responded to the man. And then, there were seven or eight people talking with me! This went on for close to ten minutes. When the repartee finally died down, I raised my hand to my right cheek and said, “Mon Dieu. Where was I?” Someone in the audience told me and I continued with the performance. Talk about breaking the fourth wall! My audience accepted me as Madame Sarah.

I have been told by numerous people in attendance that they do not feel like they are watching a show about Sarah Bernhardt but that they are actually in her presence. Even young people in the audience have resonated positively with the show -- and that was a concern of theatre management because most young people do not know who Bernhardt was. I met a woman in the lobby after a performance at a fringe festival in New York who was there with her ten year old granddaughter. She told me that at the conclusion of the performance the young girl had told her she wanted to be an actress when she grew up.

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Question: Do you have anything else you’d like to share at this time?

Answer: Not now. But I am happy to answer additional questions here on this website or on the Bernhardt On Broadway FaceBook page. Questions can be submitted here.

For further information, see www.BernhardtOnBroadwaymovie.com.  To schedule an interview with the playwright and composer, please call 734.xxx.xxxx or e-mail BernhardtOnBroadway@gmail.com.