Q: You’re currently touring with Broadway smash hit &JULIET. What are the challenges to a tour for this show, and what are the most exciting parts? How is the process different from the run in NYC?

As the Associate Music Supervisor for the touring production of & Juliet, I am in a unique position in that I oversee all things music, but I’m not actually on the road full time. Because I also have a full-time position on the Broadway production, I spend the bulk of my time in NYC, where I play and conduct the Broadway show while auditioning and rehearsing new cast members for both the Broadway and touring companies. I then travel out to visit the tour every few weeks to note the show, work with performers and musicians, etc. It’s both a challenge and a privilege having the opportunity to maintain multiple & Juliet companies. One of the trickiest elements is the schedule - making sure I am able to be where I am needed when I am needed! But as someone who loves travel, getting to check in on the tour is consistently a highlight for me. There’s something special about being able to step away and see the production again with fresh eyes, as well as to see how it plays in different cities and markets. Because I am typically away for 6-8 weeks at a time, there is an increased element of trust placed in the team on the road to maintain the integrity of the show. I am grateful to work with such a wonderful team - most importantly, our touring Music Director, Andre Cerullo, who keeps the show in excellent shape.

Q: How did your background in psychology from Harvard shape or influence your approach to working in music and theater, if at all?

I often joke that I use my psychology degree more than I would use a music degree! When I initially decided to study psychology, I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to do career-wise, and I figured that psychology - which I found fascinating already - would be relevant no matter where I landed. Working in the arts especially, you are constantly surrounded by different personalities and folks of all ages and backgrounds at different points in their careers and lives. My job is a constant exercise in meeting people where they are and doing my best to understand how to best support each of my colleagues. Everyone learns differently, everyone requires different things to thrive - and my goal is always to enable the people around me to do their best work. I think that my background in psychology (and specifically the psychology of education and pedagogy) helps me to accomplish this goal, especially when I’m teaching singers.

Q: What first drew you to music direction? When did you realize this was the professional path you wanted to pursue?

My path into music direction was definitely very non-traditional (if the concentration in psychology didn’t already give that away!) Whilst I grew up playing instruments, performing in theater, and singing in choirs, I didn’t actually consider working professionally on the music side of theater until the summer after my sophomore year at Harvard, when I interned at the American Repertory Theatre. As a music intern on The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, I had my first window into the multitude of roles within a Broadway music team. It was there that I first began to learn the difference between a music director and a music supervisor, an arranger and an orchestrator, a vocal arranger and a dance arranger. I gained a new appreciation for how many people it takes to carefully craft the score of a new (or revived) musical, and it was then that I first discovered that one of these could be a career path for me! The summer after I graduated from Harvard undergrad, I had the incredible good fortune of serving as a music assistant on the ART’s production of Finding Neverland - after which I was set to begin graduate school at the Harvard School of Education. It was on that production that I met David Chase AB '86 - music supervisor extraordinaire - who, it turns out, had been a biology major at Harvard before going on to become one of Broadway’s foremost music supervisors and arrangers. It was David who gave me the opportunity to move to NYC - with enough work lined up to be my “fall semester” - and I haven’t looked back!

Q: You have an enormously impressive resume. How do you decide which projects or roles to take on?

Thank you - I feel so privileged to have worked on the productions I have. At the end of the day, the most important thing for me is the people - I want to work in rooms with humans who treat each other with respect and kindness. After that, it’s about the work itself - I’ve certainly worked on several shows that don’t necessarily speak to me, but it’s always an even more powerful and fulfilling experience when I love the material and feel drawn to it in some way. I love theater that makes you think, but I also love theater that provides pure entertainment and escapism - there’s such a need for both. I’m personally most drawn to realistic productions that look at how humans think and interact (there’s that psychology degree at work!) and I equally enjoy any opportunity to work with kids (and there’s that education background at play, too!).

Q: What skills do you think are most essential to succeed as a music director on Broadway today?

Working as a music director requires a combination of many different skills. I think it’s important to note that everyone brings their own unique skillset and that no one person can ever be the best at all of these elements, and so at the top of this list is knowing what you do and don’t do well, and being willing to: A) admit what you don’t know, and B) learn, learn, learn! In terms of specifics, the basics include having a deep understanding of music, of course - music theory and reading, typically some level of piano skills, and often the ability to work in some sort of music notation software and/or DAW. Beyond this, a lot of the job of a music director is to be a conduit for the score, to interface with the creative team (director, composer, etc), and teach the cast and musicians. Just as important as musical skills are the abilities to interact with others well and to create an environment that makes people want to learn and do their best work. You’re often navigating a lot of different (and sometimes difficult!) personalities, and — especially if you are conducting the show — you are at the center of it all. Being able to stay calm and cool under pressure is key!

Q: You’ve been part of so many high-profile productions, including COME FROM AWAY, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, and the ONCE ON THIS ISLAND revival. What’s been the most creatively rewarding show you've worked on, and why?

Such a good question - there are so many ways I could answer this! I’ve found so many productions to be rewarding in different ways. The Once On This Island revival would definitely be at the top of the list - Michael Arden is one of the most genius creatives I know, and watching his vision for this revival unfold was an incredible creative experience. Working alongside AnnMarie Milazzo on the vocal design of the show was particularly special - she writes in such a unique way, and her complex vocals, mixed with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s exquisite score, challenged the company in a way that yielded something amazing. Every actor had their own vocal line throughout the full show - the scores were MASSIVE - and it created a sonic experience unlike anything else! Getting to play a part in navigating these vocals - and then maintaining them on the national tour as well - was incredibly creatively rewarding.

Q: How does music coordination/direction differ between a live theatrical production and a televised event like JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Live or SCHMIGADOON!?

While televised productions like Jesus Christ Superstar Live! and Schmigadoon! are like stage musicals in many ways, the television element also changes the working process in a variety of ways. Things start out quite similarly - assembling a score, teaching music to actors, and figuring out an initial mapping in terms of how the staging and music interact. After the initial staging in the studio, things begin to diverge! One of the biggest differences is how much more time is spent in the recording studio. Music is often prerecorded in stages - some live on set, some in a studio - depending on the production. On Schmigadoon!, for example, our supervisor/orchestrator produced demos to be performed to on set, and we then went into a studio with a full orchestra after the filming process was complete. On JCS Live!, however, the orchestra was playing live on set during the filming! All of the above requires an immense amount of organization, but the musical process - what is live, what is recorded, when certain elements are recorded - varies greatly from project to project.

Q: What changes have you observed in the Broadway music space over the last decade, especially for women in leadership roles?

In the past decade - particularly the past few years - there has been a marked increase in mentorship opportunities and community for women in musical leadership roles. On one of the first professional shows I conducted, I had a woman in the audience come up to me after the show and tell me how amazing it was for her to see a woman conducting. I worked with another male contractor who said he was glad I had decided to participate in a talk-back because it would be good for folks to see there were women in the band. I’d like to think we’re past the point of this being a novelty, but we’re still in the middle of doing the work. Organizations exist now to connect women at an early stage in their career with those who have been doing it much longer, and to put those women in rooms where they can observe, learn, and make connections. When I first started out, women were harder on other women. Now, women are championing other women. It’s a remarkable shift to witness and play a role in, too.

Q: You were named one of Broadway’s Women to Watch in 2021— what advice do you have for women and/or nonbinary musicians looking to break into the industry?

Never stop learning, and immerse yourself in environments in which you can do so. Because my degree is in psychology, the bulk of the knowledge I use every day is knowledge I learned in the room by studying the folks around me and absorbing everything I could. No job is too small, especially if it means you are able to spend time learning from the folks you admire and honing your own skills. As a woman, a particularly important realization I’ve come to is that your own leadership style is valid. I’ve spent the bulk of my career in rooms full of men, and I’ve learned some incredible things from many of them. But I’ve also learned that I will never lead a room in the exact same way, because I’m my own person. I’ve found that leading with empathy is actually a massive strength, and I can use my own anxiety and insecurities to help those in the room who aren’t as confident or as loud as their peers. I think leaning into what makes you you, and at the same time not being afraid to take up space, is massively important.

Q: How do you build and maintain your musical network when working across so many different mediums and companies?

Part of what I love about my job is how many different elements there are and how many different amazing people I get to work with from day to day. For me, wearing multiple hats makes me stronger at each and allows me to enjoy each even more. As a contractor and coordinator, I have the opportunity to hire musicians for various projects, and this is one of the primary ways in which I’ve built up my own musical network of sorts. There are few better feelings than being able to bring someone well-deserving onto a new project. It’s also a great reminder of how important it is to treat everyone in the room with kindness - the person sitting next to you at a reading one day might be the person to hire you the next. Everyone I work with is so multi-talented and brings such a unique skill set to the table, and it’s a privilege to be able to match those talents and skill sets with projects and collaborators that will allow them to thrive.

Q: Do you see any exciting shifts happening in how music is being developed or integrated into new theatrical productions?

I think one of the biggest and most exciting shifts we’ve seen over the past decade is the integration of technology. The impact it has had on music within theatrical productions is vast - at an initial level, it enables the use of synthesized sounds that can be used to provide fascinating colors alongside acoustic musicians. But beyond that, it also links music to other departments of the show in an exciting technological way. On the majority of new musicals, conductors are now also responsible for triggering something called time code - a series of code that actually runs directly to other departments such as lighting and video and allows for their cues to sync directly with the music. This enables video content, lighting effects, and even sound cues to be triggered by the conductor, ensuring that they will happen at the precise desired moment within the music. While it can put a lot of pressure on the conductor, this inter-departmental integration is hugely exciting. 

Q: If you could MD or arrange any show, either classic or brand new, what would it be and why?

I am most excited by new works - having the opportunity to be a part of something from the ground up and bringing an unheard story to life. I’m particularly drawn to musicals that sit more in the folk and pop vernacular, while incorporating musical theater storytelling. I’m an absolute nerd when it comes to musical motifs, creating interstitial music and underscoring, and really looking at how music can achieve ultimate emotional impact as a storytelling tool. For me, that’s the perfect combination of my love of music and my love of psychology!