Interview: Theatre Life with Nick Blaemire
The talented writer/actor on why Safety Not Guaranteed is his third collaboration with Signature Theatre and more.
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Today’s subject Nick Blaemire is currently living his theatre life at Signature Theatre as the book writer for the new musical Safety Not Guaranteed. The show runs through April 12th in Signature Theatre’s MAX space.
As a writer, Nick has had two musicals premiere at Signature Theatre. Glory Days (Music and Lyrics), which then went to Broadway for a way too brief run and Soon (Book, Music, and Lyrics). Other writing credits include Space Dogs, Descendants the Musical, and A Little More Alive.
As a performer Nick played Mendal in the National Tour of Falsettos opposite the killer performer Eden Espinosa. Read on to see what that experience was like.
Other performing credits include Calvin Berger, Dogfight, Godspell, Alter Boyz, and the Broadway musical Cry Baby.
On TV you might have seen him in Fosse/Verdon on FX or an episode of The Good Wife or The Blacklist.
Nick Blaemire is a highly talented writer and performer who never disappoints with his end product. That might be one reason why Safety Not Guaranteed is Signature Theatre’s third collaboration with this high-end artist.
Grab yourself some tickets for Safety Not Guaranteed and see for yourself.
Nick Blaemire is truly living his theatre life to the fullest and that is “My Next Story.”
Did writing or performing come first in your artistic journey?
Performing. I started when I was a little kid and didn't write my first song until I was 15.
Where did you receive your training?'
I started out at Bethesda Academy for Performing Arts, now Imagination Stage -- an amazing place, where I got hooked quickly, and I met Tim Reagon and Elizabeth Kitsos, two teachers who believed in me and made me feel like I had something to offer. Tim worked at Sidwell Friends School, and he thought I might benefit from their arts program, so I followed him there, and he was right. That's where I met John Elko, a teacher who taught me about Sam Shepherd, Gertrude Stein, and the rush that comes from taking risks. But the big pivot point came from an after-school program called the Musical Theater Center, where I met the guys who I would eventually write Glory Days about. We spent so much time talking about how musicals worked – I credit a lot of my writing education to them, and those late-night car rides after shows where we'd pore over the mechanics. I followed one of them, Brian Spitulnik, to the University of Michigan, where I was lucky to meet Mark Madama, who pushed me harder than any teacher had before, and so many students who became family in the ensuing years -- including Benj Pasek, who is the reason I met my wife.
What were your first professional writing and performing jobs?
My first professional job out of school was playing Calvin in Calvin Berger, a really smart pop musical adaptation of Cyrano by Barry Wyner, that he set in a high school. I also played the titular role in Theatreworks USA's off-Broadway production of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie with songs by Bobby Lopez. I was very mediocre. Then I was cast in the national tour of Alter Boyz, which I was a little better in, and then I did Cry Baby on Broadway while I was writing Glory Day(s) on Broadway. I had an eventful first couple years in New York. Now I’m boring and only do 1 or 2 shows a year and spend the rest of the time tinkering and dancing around the living room with my kid.
%20with%20Tyler%20Dobies%2C%20Preston%20Truman%20Boyd%2C%20Erin%20Weaver%2C%20and%20Joshua%20Morgan%20in%20Safety%20Not%20Guaranteed%20at%20Signature%20Theatre_%20Photo%20by%20Daniel%20Rader.jpg?format=auto&width=1400 "Interview: Theatre Life with Nick Blaemire")
Erin Weaver, and Joshua Morgan in Signature Theatre's
production of Safety Not Guaranteed.
Photo by Daniel Rader.
Can you tell us where the idea for Safety Not Guaranteed came from?
The movie! which came out in 2012 and is so funny and evocative, with such rich themes -- and a score by Guster’s Ryan Miller. I met Ryan at a party, and it just clicked: "oh that would be a very cool musical." And now it is! if I do say so myself.
Your previous two musicals at Signature Theatre Glory Days and Soon had you as the composer, and book writer and composer respectively. For Safety Not Guaranteed, you wrote just the book. Was that a conscientious choice?
It was. I love writing songs, but I also love Guster, and I knew they were the right band to write this score. I also knew they'd never written a musical before, and that perhaps my songwriting experience could be helpful in that regard, in terms of figuring out how their songs could push the story's plot forward, with lyrics that we can understand on the first listen and combining their unique and vibrant aesthetic with the harsh demands of a musical. It's been really fun to push them, and myself, to make a show that both feels exciting to them, and to a Broadway fan who has never heard of them.
%20in%20Safety%20Not%20Guaranteed%20at%20Signature%20Theatre_%20Photo%20by%20Christopher%20Mueller.jpg?format=auto&width=1400 "Interview: Theatre Life with Nick Blaemire")
Photo by Christopher Mueller.
This is your third musical that Signature Theatre has premiered. What is it about the venue that makes it so welcoming for a creative to have their work presented there?
It's one of the few theaters in the country that take risks on new musicals. A lot of theaters pick the most commercial things they can find that they're sure will be worth the financial investment -- and I understand that logic, musicals are not a great business model to begin with, so why raise the level of difficulty? Because there are many shows, all of Sondheim’s included, that were not surefire commercial ideas, but I’m so glad someone took a chance on them. Signature believes in that kind of a challenge, and the cultural significance of shows that may not have easy answers, and that resonate with the complexity of who we are. They’ve cultivated an audience in DC who is interested in those kinds of shows. All three of my experiences at Signature have been revelatory -- the shows got way better, the audiences embraced them, and I got a chance to bridge the gap between art and commerce without having to capitulate to either side.
National Tour of Falsettos the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A..
Photo courtesy of the artist.
You played Mendel in the National tour of Falsettos in which you shared the stage with the powerhouse performer Eden Espinosa. Can you please tell us what that experience was like?
It was the best, like working in a Michelin star restaurant. The material (or ingredients, if you're still into this metaphor), the collaborators, the venues, the role -- top shelf in every respect. Talk about a show that takes risks, pushes the envelope, reframes the form, and digs deep. It's a masterpiece, and the experience of working on it was just as rich -- playing the Ahmanson in LA, singing to the golden Eden Espinosa every night and trying to make her laugh, getting yelled at by the late great Bill Finn, traveling the country with James Lapine and hounding him for his theater stories -- it was a peak experience.
Do you have any upcoming writing or performing projects you would like to tell us about?
Oh sure! I can't tell you about half of them, which is cool/annoying, but the ones I can tell you about I’m really excited for. My musical Soon, which indeed started at Signature, is working on an off-Broadway remount of our successful production from last fall at the East Village Basement. I'm also working on a musical with Ethan Slater called Edge of the World which is also in the process of setting a production; and I'm in development with Tom Kitt, Van Hughes and Kathleen Marshall on adapting the film August Rush. I'm also itching to do Space Dogs again, which I wrote and performed with Van, so maybe we'll get around to that too, we'll see.
Special thanks to Signature Theatre's Publicist and Marketing Manager Zachary Flick for his assistance in coordinating this interview.
Theatre Life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.
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