Feature: BEYOND BROADWAY: Building Bridges Across Arizona Theatre

A Beyond Broadway concert doesn't stay on Broadway for very long.

That is, an evening might begin with a familiar show tune before veering into rock, country, or pop. Along the way, performers share the personal stories behind the songs that have shaped their lives. Before the night is over, audience members may even find themselves competing in a spirited game of "Name That Tune."

"Our whole... what makes us unique is we veer into other genres," founder Zach Wetzel said.

That approach has come to define Beyond Broadway, the performing company Wetzel founded with veteran Phoenix music director Jay Melberg. What began two years ago as a Broadway cabaret has grown into a company presenting concerts throughout Arizona while producing one full-scale musical each summer.

Yet when Wetzel talks about Beyond Broadway, he spends surprisingly little time discussing productions.

He talks instead about geography.

For decades, Tucson and Phoenix have nurtured vibrant theatre communities, but artists in the two cities have often built their careers independently of one another. Wetzel has been intentional about bringing those communities together.

"I've lately been trying to do both cities," he said. "We're trying to break down the barriers between the cities. Bring everyone together."

That philosophy also explains why the company has remained intentionally small.

Rather than expanding quickly, Beyond Broadway has focused on concerts throughout the year before producing a single summer musical.

"We've survived because we've kept it small," Wetzel said.

The concerts are built as much around the stories behind the songs as the songs themselves.

"So each song that is chosen has a specific purpose," Wetzel explained. "Every single song is like, where was I at my point in my career when I sang this song? And so then each song, the performer is telling a story about what that song means to them, where they were when they sang it, why they're singing it."

The result is less a concert than an evening of shared stories.

That relationship extends to the audience through an interactive "Name That Tune" segment that has become one of Beyond Broadway's signatures.

"Everybody loves that," Wetzel said.

When the company turns its attention to fully staged musicals each summer, the same philosophy applies.

"We try to pick something that nobody's doing," he said.

This summer, Beyond Broadway presented THE GUY WHO DIDN'T LIKE MUSICALS, an offbeat horror comedy that introduced local audiences to a title few had encountered before. Next summer's production will be TWISTED, a musical parody that retells Disney's ALADDIN from Jafar's perspective.

The company's collaborative approach extends beyond its programming. Wetzel spoke about bringing artists from Tucson and Phoenix together, citing collaborations with Tucson actor David Gunther and makeup designer Matthew Copley alongside Phoenix performers and creatives.

"There aren't a lot of organizations that have their foot in both," he said. "Our goal is to find talent across Arizona and use it all."

That collaboration didn't happen overnight.

"We didn't attempt our first musical... until after we'd been working together for a couple of years," Wetzel said. "I wanted to really make sure that we were good to go."

"It's been kind of our journey," he said. "Like, where do we fit? Where do we belong? And it's okay if we don't belong everywhere."

Wetzel says the company's name also reflects its desire to venture beyond traditional Broadway programming by producing musicals audiences are unlikely to find elsewhere.

After spending time with him, though, I came away thinking the title suggests something more.

Beyond Broadway isn't simply about looking beyond one musical genre. It's about looking beyond city limits, artistic boundaries, and finding ways for Arizona theatre artists to collaborate.

Photo credit: Gary E. Hirsch

For more info, visit https://www.zachwetzel.com/beyond-broadway