Great White Way hits the Arden

Two of the best, cutting edge Broadway composers are poised to visit St. Albert for a concert, as well as to coach a master class.

Tony Award nominees and multiple award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are two of the hottest young writers in North America. The composer-lyricists have compiled A Christmas Story, The Musical due to open with St. Albert Children's Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 27.

They have also won accolades for Dogfight, Edges and James and the Giant Peach. In addition, the New York based duo is a television songwriting team for NBC's Smash and the Disney Channel's Johnny and the Sprites.

But on Friday, Dec. 5, the musical-theatre duo make a concert appearance at the Arden to celebrate the Canadian premiere of A Christmas Story.

“For our show we're going to perform songs from different musicals and different theatrical ventures. We're going to give a little sampling of different shows,” says Pasek in a pre-arranged telephone interview from New York.

Grateful and at times overwhelmed by a continual upswing of success, the songwriting pair is also eager to start learning forums for performers and the audience. They are hosting a master class as well as providing an opportunity for songwriters to present their tunes and learn the process, says Paul.

“In the master classes we have an opportunity to teach from the perspective of a songwriter. We can help identify important moments and shake out those moments to make the storytelling a journey,” Paul explains.

The Pasek-Paul success has spiked so dramatically in recent years that during the last Tony Award season they were wined and dined for 40 days attending incredible parties, lunches, meeting their heroes and soaking up the glory.

“It was a thrilling experience being part of the Tony Awards. When I went to school, theatre was a big part of my life and the Tonys were like the Super Bowl. When we were nominated, it was so unexpected,” Pasek notes.

But before they became Pasek and Paul, a much-in-demand songwriting twosome, they were a couple of University of Michigan students.

Paul was born in St. Louis but raised in West Port, Conn., whereas Pasek grew up in the small town of Ardmore, Pa., just outside Philadelphia.

Pasek's middle-class family often played show tunes and in middle school his creative juices started flowing with drama. Paul, on the other hand, learned to play piano and guitar.

In his own words, he says, “I was part of every possible permutation of music. I was in the school band, a garage band, an a cappella band and a choir.”

The two eager musical theatre students met at university and within a year had found their groove as friends and as a musical theatre writing team.

“When we discovered you could be songwriters, directors, producers, the world opened up to us,” Pasek says.

Dissatisfied with the small roles they were cast in, the then 19-year-olds decided to write their own material. They created the coming-of-age song cycle Edges in 2005.

“We launched it on YouTube and Facebook and it spread quickly to people our age who were interested in musical theatre.”

Edges kick-started a new era in musical theatre and in 2007, several months after graduating, the pair became the youngest winners of the American Theatre Wing's John Larson Award. Today, Music Theatre International licenses Edges for worldwide performances.

“Edges happened at a unique time in theatre history. It was posted online, but it's never played in New York. We were lucky in the beginning as new ways and avenues opened up to composers.”

A Christmas Story was a different tale in more ways than one.

“It fell into our laps. But we had to work at getting the gig. The producers were looking for songwriters. Our name came up several times from several different mouths. We were asked to audition and give it a try,” Paul says.

“We were asked to hand in some song samples but due to some miscommunication, the deadline came earlier than anticipated. Basically we didn't find out until the day before that the songs were due. We spent the next 36 hours writing hypothetical songs and the rest is history.”

While Paul was familiar with the storyline, A Christmas Story was never part of Pasek's family traditions.

“But I did realize why it's iconic,” Pasek states. “It's not about Christmas but about a nostalgic look at simpler days. The music captures those special moments – not the awesome easy ones, but the ones where the turkey burns and the kids fight. That's the Christmas you look back with nostalgia.”

Paul displays a sharp wit even as Pasek anchors the team, yet both are articulate, confident, polite and definitely passionate about their work. Surprisingly, even after a decade of novel experiences and accolades, there is still a sense of wonder in their voices.

Paul's parting words were, “We're thrilled to come to Canada and grateful to our hosts for bringing us.”

Pasek and Paul are hosting several workshop sessions on Friday, Dec. 5. Participants can audit the master class for $20 and songwriters can apply to present a song to work with the composers Pasek and Paul for $50. Visit www.ardentheatre.com/events for more information.