Previews: TELL ME ON A SUNDAY at FreeFall Theatre

On September 5 – October 5,  freeFall Theatre opens its season with Tell Me On a Sunday, the “rarely produced” Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that director Eric Davis calls “a legendary piece from early 1980’s musical theatre,” brimming with hits that have echoed across Broadway, the West End, and cabarets for decades.

The production promises both intimacy and spectacle, starring Julia Rifino in what Davis describes as a “tour de force in a vehicle that shows off her exquisite talents.” If you’ve ever witnessed Rifino on stage, you can “begin to imagine what a breathtaking performance she will give in this legendary solo vehicle, supported in freeFall’s production by a cast of three male dancers and backup vocalists and a band of five.”

At its core, Tell Me On a Sunday is an emotional journey—a one-woman show charting the romantic highs and lows of a young English woman searching for love in New York. Davis and his creative team are committed to “get to the honest truth of the matter,” striving to create a rapport so strong “the audience will be invested in her search for love.” With three male dancers representing the men in her life (Maiky Ayala, David Tanciar, and Mark Wildman), the storytelling takes on new visual depth, while the score—packed with Webber hits—ensures the audience is swept up in the era’s musical magic.

Davis’s long-standing partnership with music director Michael Raabe adds another layer of creative collaboration to the production. “Our partnership has been successful because we each bring very different skills to the table, but we have a very strong respect for the other’s point of view and abilities,” Davis shares. This mutual trust fuels the duo’s inventive approach, which this time includes Davis himself designing costumes and multimedia elements. The result? Audiences will be “whisked from location to location in this jet-setting musical,” with every detail capturing the glamour and grit of the 1980s.

For Rifino, stepping into the spotlight of this demanding role is both a challenge and a joy. “One of the challenges I’m excited to work through is finding the emotional honesty in each song while maintaining my vocal technique, especially during the more demanding pieces,” she says. Her approach is to embrace stillness and levity within the performance, a strategy that “gives me more room to play.” The journey of her character, Emma, resonates on a personal level: “Her determination to remain hopeful, even when faced with painful setbacks,” inspires her to “honor that in developing her character.”

Of all the songs in the show, the title number stands out for Rifino as the most emotionally demanding: “ ‘Tell Me On a Sunday’ has been the most emotionally demanding song because it embodies the quietest sense of defeat and numbness that comes from repeated heartbreak. You’re watching a woman who knows this pain so well that she’s already fantasizing about the ‘ideal’ way to be left.”

Fresh from her turn as Sophie in Mamma Mia at American Stage, Rifino finds herself pushed in new directions by the intimacy and emotional complexity of this solo role. “It requires me to have more trust in myself and my choices, and demands a certain level of self-confidence that I’m ready to embrace at this stage of my career,” she reflects. She’s especially enjoying the chance to play a “character that’s a bit older and more experienced than a young girl in her 20s,” exploring “satire, nostalgia, and even playful cynicism.”

And what does Rifino hope audiences will take away from Emma’s story? “Life’s biggest questions about love, connection, and self-discovery often have the simplest answers,” she says. “The more wholeness we can access within ourselves, the more naturally love and connection can flow into our lives. That’s something that can be applied to all areas of life, not just romantic love.”