'No Day But Today' — Actor Adam Chanler-Berat on 'The Jonathan Larson Project'
Fans of the recent reboot of "Gossip Girl" will likely recognize actor and playwright Adam Chanler-Berat as one of the three teachers who bring back the blogger who wreaks havoc on some privileged students at Constance Billard, an exclusive school in the Upper East Side of New York. But it on the stage where the out, 38-year-old actor has made his mark in in a wide variety of projects, from Sondheim ("Assassins," "Sunday in the Park with George," where he played George at the Huntington in Boston) to Broadway's "Peter and the Starcatcher," "Amélie," and "Next to Normal." His current, off-Broadway project is one very close to his heart: "The Jonathan Larson Project." (For more information, follow this link.)
"The Jonathan Larson Project," the show press release reads, "brings to the stage the extraordinary unheard songs of the writer who revolutionized Broadway. This powerful new musical asks how we can make a difference in the world today, with Larson's voice reaching through time to inspire audiences. From presidential elections to environmental activism to creating and connecting despite every obstacle, Larson's songs speak to our present time with stunning resonance.
Listen to Adam Chanler-Berat and Tavi Gevinson Singing Assassins' 'Unworthy of Your Love'
"At the same time, 'The Jonathan Larson Project' reflects the journey of an unknown young artist, struggling against rejection, making ends meet as a waiter in a diner, and finding his voice... which he has no idea will someday lead to triumph and enduring fame. The show includes cut songs from 'RENT' and 'tick, tick... BOOM!' as well as songs that have never been performed in a theater before. Fortunately for the world of musical theatre, Larson gave us more to see — and that work has finally hit the stage."
The show's five-member cast includes Chanler-Berat, Taylor Iman Jones, Lauren Marcus, Andy Mientus, and Jason Tam. It was conceived by Jennifer Ashley Tepper and directed by John Simpkins.
Even prior to this show, Chanler-Berat felt a strong connection to Larson, having played the composer/lyricist's alter-ego, Mark Cohen, in the 2011 off-Broadway revival of "Rent," which was directed by Michael Crieff, who directed the original and who, like Larson, writes for musical theater, notably with "Assisted," which he developed with the investigative theater group The Civilians. The musical, which Chanler-Berat wrote with Julian Hornik, uses a docudrama approach as it explores life in a memory care unit of an assisted living facility.
EDGE spoke to Chanler-Berat about his affinity for Jonathan Larson, the timelessness of his songs, and working with the social action theater group The Commissary.
EDGE: Tell us about "The Jonathan Larson Project."
Adam Chanler-Berat: "The Jonathan Larson Project" is a song cycle of never-before-heard, undiscovered Jonathan Larson songs.
EDGE: The show is opening about a week after what would have been Jonathan's 65th birthday. Was that a planned celebration?
Adam Chanler-Berat: I think it was a complete coincidence that the day we moved into the theater was the day of his birthday. There have been a lot of strange dates lining up. The anniversary of his death was while we were in rehearsals. Many synchronistic things were happening -- the theater is on Second Avenue and Eighth Street, about four blocks away from the New York Theater Workshop where "Rent" first premiered, around the block from where "Rent" takes place, and a couple of blocks away from where he lived. It feels like Jonathan is in the air. He was walking these streets where we are.
EDGE: It does seem rather timely for this show.
Adam Chanler-Berat: Absolutely! When I first heard the music from the show and the way Jonathan was writing through tough times in this country, in this city, and in his community, I was listening to it, and I was feeling, in some ways, if you're hearing what Jonathan had to say, it's a guide for surviving. I think people feel that way about "Rent." I think they will feel that way about this show, too. It's a sort of map to get through some really tough shit.
Watch this clip of the cast of the "The Jonathan Larson Project" in rehearsal.
EDGE: It must be thrilling to perform Larson's lost songs.
Adam Chanler-Berat: Jonathan's work is a huge part of why I'm a musical theater performer. It is why I fell in love with musical theater. My first job in New York was "Next to Normal," directed by Michael Greif. Then Michael and I went to do the off-Broadway revival of "Rent." I now write musicals myself, and my collaborator just got nominated for and won the Larson Award this past year. So, it feels like Jonathan has constantly been circling my career.
To take these hidden gems that no one's ever heard before, this incredible treasure trove of musical theater goodness, exposing it to the world and letting people hear new Jonathan Larson music, is amazing. I am grateful to be able to be a part of the third-ever Jonathan Larson musical. It's really exciting, and I feel honored to be able to show more people work that they maybe wouldn't expect to come from him. We have a limited vision of what we know of as a Jonathan Larson song, and this show gives him more breadth, and he gets to spread his wings a little bit. You hear some Sondheim influence, and more sort of cartoon satire songs from him. It will expand the frame of what you think of as Jonathan Larson's music.
EDGE: Is there anything new to be learned about Jonathan from these songs?
Adam Chanler-Berat: I think so. If anything, the audience will see a different side to him.
EDGE: Has Jonathan's music changed you?
Adam Chanler-Berat: Oh my God, yes! I first heard Rent, on my "pizza box" Mac computer. I believe it was the very first album I ever purchased. I felt like this is the kind of musical that speaks to me.
This is about a community of people that he was writing about, and I see myself in and feel a part of. "Rent" and "The Real World" were my first pop culture exposure to queerness. As a queer man, those early models were huge and influential. I feel like I wouldn't be the person that I am today without my early exposure to Jonathan's work.
EDGE: Performing someone's music must give you a little foresight into their thoughts and feelings. What do you think Jonathan would think of his success?
Adam Chanler-Berat: There's a lot of lost footage that's part of our show, and you get to hear from Jonathan in it. In the creation of the musical, creator Jennifer Ashley Tepper and director John Simpkins were showing us a lot of home videos, and you really got a sense of who he was. He's become so iconic as a legendary figure in the pantheon of music theater. To hear that he was just a writer trying to make great art, pay his bills, and survive is amazing. There's one video where he's giving an apartment tour because there was a fire in his building or something, and you see him going around, and he says in the video, very offhand, "I'm working really hard, and I feel like I'm really close. I can feel it." It's heartbreaking to hear him say that, because he had no idea how close he was.
I think he would be thrilled with the success that he has. I think to be able to be afforded the luxury of not worrying about money and being able to write would have made him really happy and relieved.
EDGE: What do you think will delight or surprise audiences, especially Rentheads?
Adam Chanler-Berat: Well, you'll have the experience of listening to the show and hearing little whispers of "Rent." Is that a 'Proto-Rent,' or is that the next jumping-off point? You get to listen to all of these whispers of melodies, or things that feel familiar to you but are also new and different. There are Easter eggs and nods to the musical vocabulary that we expect when we hear Jonathan's music, the iconic "Rent" imagery.
I think there will be things that certainly feel like fun Easter egg moments and that feel familiar. There's a cut song from "Tick, Tick, Boom." He wrote a song for one show and then tried to put it into "Rent," but [the song] did not make it into the final version. The show's ethos is so steeped in the history of what Jonathan was working on, and we celebrate that at the same time, giving you access to all of this new, fresh sound from him.
EDGE: Do you have a dream role, even if the musical has closed?
Adam Chanler-Berat: Oh man, I don't know. I love working on new material. I think part of what's fun about this show is that it feels like we're working on a new Jonathan Larson musical. How we have grappled, shaped, and crafted the material feels like it's being made in the room. I love that experience. I love to do that. So, I feel like my dream roles are ones that haven't been written yet.
EDGE: As a founding member of The Commissary, what can you tell us about it?
Adam Chanler-Berat: The Commissary is a digital theater collective created during the pandemic after the George Floyd murder. It started as a space for people to meet and reconnect creativity and discuss the social upheaval and the social reckoning happening in this country. Then, those two things combined into this beautiful technique, which we borrowed from the Wooster Group but adopted and adapted into our version. We wanted to go back to intellectual giants, these great thinkers of their time, as a sort of touchstone, and we would channel their work and their words both as a balm for our broken hearts and also as a means of sharing their words with the world now.
We had a show called "Lessons in Survival" at the Vineyard Theatre as part of their season. I'm hopeful that we will continue to create in this community space. Every now and then, there's a bat signal that we shoot out, and whoever can meet will. I feel like it's a community that's on standby whenever you need it because it was a beautiful way to survive some tough times. We're in tough times again, so I wouldn't be surprised if we have to call upon the Commissary again.
"The Jonathan Larson Project" is playing at the Orpheum Theatre in New York City's East Village. (For more information, follow this link.)