Interview: Kelly McIntyre in LOVE IN HATE NATION at Two River Theater

Love in Hate Nation, an original rock romance set in a 1960's Juvie Hall will be performed at Two River Theater from November 9 to December 1. The show features book, music and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Joe Iconis and it is directed by John Simpkins. Love in Hate Nation has music direction and vocal arrangements by Annastasia Victory, music supervision and orchestrations by Charlie Rosen, with choreography by Mayte Natalio.

Love in Hate Nation uses classic "bad girl" movies as the inspiration for the story of young people caught between eras of a changing America. Sixteen-year old Susannah Son is carted off to the National Reformatory for Girls (a.k.a. Nation) to get her head put on straight. There she meets the aggressively incorrigible Sheila Nail, and a relationship forms which leads to an all-out "revolution in the institution" as they attempt to break out of the boxes society has created around them. Girl Group Wall of Sound harmonies are filtered through a punk rock spirit in this rebellious and romantic new musical.

The cast of Love in Hate Nation includes Sydney Farley, Amina Faye, Jasmine Forsberg, Lauren Marcus, Kelly McIntyre, Lena Skeele, Emerson Mae Smith, Ryan Vona, and Tatiana Wechsler.

Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Kelly McIntyre who plays Sheila Nail in the show.

Kelly is pumped beyond belief to be joining Love in Hate Nation at Two River. For the past few years, Kelly has toured as the headliner for the National Tour of A Night with Janis Joplin, as well as countless regional productions of the show at lovely theaters such as McCarter, A.C.T. and Laguna Playhouse. Kelly is a current solo vocalist for Revolution: A Beatles Symphonic Experience throughout the United States with select Symphony Orchestras. Select NYC credits include: Beau, The Accidental Club, Days of Rage, For Tonight, and Into the Sun. Kelly also has a rock and roll band, "She's Everist."

What was your earliest interest in music?

I started taking piano lessons when I was around 5 or 6 years old and started performing on stage in musicals in the second grade. However, from the beginning of my life, music was always playing in my house. My parents always played albums from the 70's, 80's and then some rock from the 90's and still to this day, artists from those decades are my biggest inspirations musically. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Who have been some of the musical artists whose careers you've admired?

I really admire the careers of a lot of women in rock and roll, such as Janis Joplin and Pat Benatar. They were trailblazers and authentic and wrote songs that people truly listened to, and learned from, and felt. They were frontwomen at a time when it was hard to be that, and because of them I found it easy to feel confident as a lead chick rock singer in this career.

Tell us a little about performing "A Night with Janis Joplin" and why it has been a significant show in your career.

Performing with "A Night With Janis Joplin" was definitely the first show I had ever done in my life that I finally felt like myself on stage. I will always have endless appreciation for that gig! I was allowed to be messy, and raw, and honest and loud. It taught me who I was as an authentic performer, as well as singer, and it also gave me the gift of learned stamina. I could go on and on about how wonderful the band and the cast and the crew family was as well, not to mention to get to tell the story every night of one of the most badass women to have ever existed was just the icing on top of an unbelievable opportunity cake. That show definitely shaped me as a performer and shoved me and my career in the right direction.

We'd love to know a little more about your band!

This past year I formed my band "She's Everist"! I had been sitting on years and years of original rock songs that I had written while on the road, and finally one day I got the guts to just start it and since then, we've been doing shows monthly in New York City at various venues! Even though we are taking a small hiatus for this fall because of various gigs throughout the band, people can look forward to more shows and new songs and who knows, maybe even an EP coming this Winter! If you love 90's punk rock and killer musicians, you should come to the next "She's Everist" show! You can follow us for news and videos on our instagram: @sheseverist

These are exciting times for you to be starring in a world premiere musical. How do you like working at TRT?

Working at TRT has been so wonderful! Everyone who works at the theatre is at the top of their game and truly a master at what they do, as well as the most helpful and sweet! They really make it hard to have a bad day here. The best part about working at TRT is working on "Love In Hate Nation" there! It is such a lovely place to birth a new musical and we are so lucky that everyone involved at the theatre cares deeply about New Works and helping the show succeed as much as possible!

Can you tell us a bit about your fellow cast members and the creative team for "Love In Hate Nation?"

The cast members of "Love In Hate Nation" are all beasts. Everyone is lovely, everyone is talented out the wazoo, everyone is hard working, everyone is hilarious, everyone is smart, everyone is caring, it truly is mind blowing to me how lucky I feel to have a cast as stellar as this one. I feel supported and lifted up every single day, and I'm not just saying that! The creative team is all in the same boat, too! Some of the most hard working, caring, unbelievably smart, witty and intuitive people I've ever worked with. This creative team rewrites something in the show almost every day, and every single time it's better than the last draft. That is insane to me, and I feel so lucky to be in a room with such smart people!

What would you like audiences to know about the show?

That it's completely badass. You won't stop singing these songs for weeks after you've seen it! You'll fall in love with every character. You'll see yourself in these girls. You'll laugh your ass off. You'll clap and stomp along. You'll cry because this show is telling the stories of women and humans that have not gotten to share much in the past. This show is completely special, and all I wanna say is that you have to come.

Can you share any of your future plans?

After "Love In Hate Nation" closes, the plan is to go back to NYC and perform more with my band! That's all I've thought about so far!

Anything else, absolutely anything you want BWW readers to know.

Everyone who is on stage and backstage for "Love In Hate Nation" is SO excited and proud to show everyone this piece, and we truly hope that this show gives an opportunity for audience members who aren't your everyday theatre goer to come and enjoy and new musical! It's badass, and it's for everyone, and we are so ready to rock out!

You can follow Kelly McIntyre on the following Instagram accounts: @kellymcintyre22 @sheseverist

Ticket prices for Love in Hate Nation range from $40 to $70, with discounts available for groups, seniors, and U.S. military personnel, their families, and veterans. A limited number of $25 tickets are available for every performance; $25 tickets may be partial view. Tickets for patrons under 30 are $25 and include the best available seats at every performance. The show will be performed in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, NJ. Tickets are available from https://tworivertheater.org/ or by calling 732.345.1400.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kelly McIntryre