posed to be a ‘Broadway musical’. It’s a big show but the story
is actually very specific to a small
but extended family and more
specifically, about the strange connection between the two main
characters. I think the score does a
great job of doing what they tried
to overdo with the set on Broadway which is create the sound and
feel of the early 60’s. In this pro-
he said, noting that his creative
staff bubbled over with innovative
ideas, insights, and suggestions
during production meetings.
The character of Carl Hanratty
will undoubtedly evoke memories of Tom Hanks and that’s fine
with Coon. He says he won’t try
to emulate the performance of
Hanks because he knows that’s
not what the audience wants, but
“It tugs on the heartstrings,
it’s funny, it’s charming...
it really is a classic theatre piece.”
duction, it’s going to be very much
about the story without losing any
of the spectacular elements of the
score.”
Wioncek agrees. He says that
while rereading the book and
watching the movie countless
times, he discovered the full depth
of the story. “It tugs on the heartstrings, it’s funny, it’s charming…
it really is a classic theatre piece,”
he has recently rewatched the film
to see how Tom approached the
role. He noticed that the film tells
parts of Frank’s story that aren’t in
the musical but provide an excellent backstory for the actors. For
Coon, the more information the
better.
“I want to find my version of
Hanratty which involves research
and bringing my own life and ex-
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