Interview: 'An Image For ROAM is An Eternal Flame': Ramin Karimloo And Diego Rodriguez on ROAM

On 23 November, ROAM A New Musical premiered in a staged concert production at the Shaftesbury Theatre. The show, with music and lyrics by Alexander Sage Oyen and a book by Michael Dovid, tells the story of a nomadic clan and their familial relationships using a roc-pop-Romani fusion score.

We had the chance to speak with Ramin Karimloo, who plays Yoska, and Diego Rodriguez, who plays his son, Pesha. We discussed what it has been like preparing for the one-night performance, what it is like performing in revivals versus new work and get their thoughts on mirrors in a rehearsal room!

So how did each of you first get started in the world of theatre?

Diego: When I was in high school, I started doing theatre because my sisters were in choir, so they needed guys for the musical. So that's why I ended up starting doing theatre! But I did music because I played cello, and then I ended up going to the University of Michigan for musical theatre performance. In 2024, when I was finishing up school, I got an offer to be in Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard revival in New York. I played Artie Green, and then I covered Joe Gillis. And then my next job was Evita, and now I'm doing this musical!

Ramin: I began so many years ago now! It's something I taught myself to do. I've never trained a day in my life as a singer or actor -  just went to the library, got any books I could on Stanislavski, Uta Hagen . . .  I am a daydreamer - I love to be a storyteller, a troubadour.

My whole life's been about instincts. I thought, “I can get a job in England.” I don't know why. I have nothing to base that on. Just thought I would do it! Then ended up working with the Tabard Theatre covering Pirate King [Pirates of Penzance]. For the audition, I didn't know many theatre songs, but I was a big fan of Brian Stokes [Mitchell] so I sang “Make Them Hear You” for Pirates of Penzance! [Laughs] And thankfully, they were very complimentary, and they liked the rawness of it. And then I just learned on the job, and kept learning as I went. That's one thing I always knew - you can never stop learning. That's the immigrant mentality in me. You work hard and you got to figure it out. No one's going to hand you anything - nor should they - and you got to grind and put the hours in and be open to learning.

And what made each of you want to be a part of ROAM?

Diego: So off of my first jobs, I ended up working a lot with the Jamie Lloyd Company, and this past summer, I was hearing lots of talks about this new musical. I’d just left New York when the reading was done there in April! Rupert Hands, our director, he was the Associate on Sunset and Evita, so the whole summer, he was saying, “I've got this really cool show. It's a cool opportunity, really cool music. You can play some guitar . . . Ramin's gonna be in it, he’s gonna be your dad!” That was the big pull - “Ramin can be your dad.” 

And it's really exciting because it's an opportunity to create a new role. And it's a story that is centred with family and connection. I feel like I have that family within the team itself. Working with them is already feeding what the environment we're having on stage is. It’s ensemble members that I've done long contracts with, and they've been smart to cast a group that've worked so well together. I was most attracted by that - this aspect of familial connection. No matter what, anywhere you go, there's this blood connection between you and this group of people that's gonna surpass anything. Nothing can stop that tree, the roots that is family. That was something that was exciting for me. And also the opportunity to come back and and do something in London again after this fun summer. I was also looking forward to that!

Ramin: I'm at that point in my life where I want to look at challenges, especially stuff I don't understand. This started when I was in Funny Girl. I wanted to open my doors towards producing and creating. And if my connection to anything means anything, then I want to serve. I want to be part of that, help new work have door open. So that was my main thing - looking for things where I'm more than just an actor. I can serve on a bigger scale and create work. I met Cori [Silberman], our lead producer [Bandits Roost Entertainment] through that, and then obviously met Alex [Sage Oyen], our composer, and writer, Michael David, and I believed in the people. So then I was like, “Well, let's just do the demo!”

The story has evolved and the show has evolved, but my investment was in the people - in Alex, Michael and Cori, I just trusted their vision. And, subsequently, my relationship with the show started growing. I hear the music, I'm like, “Okay, let's record a bit more,” because this music is fantastic, to the point where, when I think of it as a producer, I'm like, “We might have to cut that song, but what do we cut? We can't have it all. It's too long!” And then working closely with Michael on the script and my character, and then my understanding of it too - that's been the joy of it, and that's been my commitment to it. I believe good work will come from good people, because I know their intention is to put out something meaningful, something universal and something that's ultimately entertaining as well. 

Can you tell us a bit about the show and the characters that you play?

Diego: This show is about a group of Romany people, a clan. Alex and Michael created this show that talks about this smaller community of nomadic lifestyle people that hasn't really been given an opportunity, particularly in musical theatre. The the blend of that culture and allowing it to be on stage, it's got such a cool and exciting sound! The story follows this buzzing family as they're trying their best to remain underneath the views of everything else that's going on. It's a really fun clan! I play Pesha, one of two sons. Stefo is my older brother - that's played by Jordan Luke Gage - and Yoska is our father, and he's played by Ramin. 

It's a turn of generation - do we continue with the traditions that we know and what we believe in, what's kept us surviving as this underprivileged community thus far? Or do we break from that and try to find a new way to live while the times are changing? I'm this younger brother that really cares about my family, and our clan, but I struggle with the idea that I have this older brother that's in charge of everyone. I don't really have the opportunity to be the leader, but I desperately want to. 

Ramin: What I like about ROAM as well, it's been handled brilliantly from the Romany culture. They've worked with Romany consultants, and they've tried to handle this sensitively so it represents properly. This show is more than that as well, because it's got to be universal, so people can relate to it. And now, as an actor, I'm trying to create Yoska. You look at the themes and all that can transcend where it comes from. For Yoska, his redemption versus vengeance, the sense of who are we when everything we thought has turned out to be lies.

And how have the rehearsals been going?

Diego: It's been fun, but also, it is a task! The writers have been checking in culturally with the sensitivity of paying tribute to this culture's first representation in musical theatre. How do we grab that sound that is so embedded in their culture, apply it to a narrative story and have their music sail us along with it? We're really trying to find out, “What can we bring to the table to help show this exciting new sound?” And the rhythms are really exciting! 

But also, it's a full day! This is definitely going to be a task to put up, but it's going to be so worth it and exciting. If we do it correctly, it'll be such a fun energy. And all I hope is that when people come to watch this show, they bring energy that's ready to amplify that excitement and that fun community. We're trying to rock out with everyone and allow them to feel the beauty of the celebration that this community brings. And hopefully, the story and all these questions between characters soar through as well. But the one goal that we're already checking off is that we are really letting the excitement of the show build. You can feel it when you enter the room and it's an exciting job to get to every day!

Ramin: I really feel like Yoska because I've been in Japan, then I flew to New York! It's a bit of research, the whole nomadic life. But it’s great [at rehearsal] because I finally got to dig into the scenes. Because you do your own work and you start doubting yourself. I've got all these questions, because I had no one to bounce these ideas off of! 

 It's great that it’s collaborative. And that's what's so good about the process of these shows! We're doing a one-nighter, but it's not about being perfect. It never should be about perfection. It's about magnifying the imperfection of the human story. That's what makes us beautiful as individuals - our imperfections. If we're all perfect, everyone's going to be the same. How boring is that? But imperfection, conflict, that's the intimate part. And when it comes to putting ROAM on for one night, we're all going to see a vibrant moment of the life of the show, the infinite possibilities of what this can be on that one night, and then it's going to keep growing from there.

And what is it like working on a new musical like ROAM versus a revival, which you both have experience with?

Diego: What is exciting is it's vulnerability, it's imperfection, it's getting dirty. The most exciting thing for myself is, when I did Sunset, it was the West End transfer to New York, so it was set - I was just fitting myself into that. And similarly, with Evita, that was really fun to create a bit, but it was based off that 2019 production at Regent’s Park. So even though I was allowing myself to be this mysterious narrator and creating a lot of that track for Che, it still was just a little more. So now we're totally thrown in the deep end! 

We don't have many weeks of rehearsal, so the day that we have this one-off, it's going to be the most enticing and the most real and true if I just step into what this character is and allow the performance for Pesha - all the questions that he has in these big, heart-wrenching moments of the show, of falling in love or lamenting about, “What can I do to protect my family?” I have to let that live through me more, rather than try to just tell this story. Be the conduit, like Ramin said, for the words of what the show is.

So it's been really fun, but the biggest doubt I need to get out of my head is that perfection. You can't even think about perfection - it's just a process! This whole experience is a process. We're trying to put on one performance for a night that will leave people like, “I wish I can go back and see it again,” or just humming the song as they leave the theatre. It'll give more life to this later. I've never done a one-off workshop production, so it's pretty fun to feel that! 

Ramin: Today, singing through “I’ll Play the Villain,” I recorded that demo back in 2023, and I'm so brave in the studio. I'll hit some notes. I'll be like, Yeah, this range, I’ve still got it!” And now I’m like “I gotta do that live! I didn’t think this through!” [Laughs] Oh, there's still some notes in there. But when I did Les Mis, when he sings “24601” at the end of “Who Am I?” It's not meant to be pretty! 

In “I'll Play the Villain,” in the studio I was maybe patting myself on the back saying, “I’ll hit these notes, and we'll go for it,” but it's got to be animalistic, because there's a reason Yoska does that, and it's why Alex wrote it like that. So I have to let myself do it. In my head, it's like, “Stop worrying about being perfect. Be dirty, be raw, be human, be imperfect” because that is exactly what the story is, especially in that moment for my character. And it was invigorating! Who's going to judge us? And those who do want to judge us, well, I have no time for them. We have to tap into the imperfection of it all. 

And the worst thing in rehearsals are mirrors!

Diego: Right? I hate them! But it's helping with the choreo. 

Ramin: But when you're acting and you see yourself, that's where I'm like, “What am I doing with my life right now? 

Diego: “Why am I in this room?”

Ramin: “What are these words coming out of my mouth? Who do I think I am?” [Laughs] 

Diego: But it's that feeling, though, and it's going to be so exciting. The moment we step on stage at the Shaftesbury and we put the show up for an audience, we have to let it be invigorating. It's gonna feel like an event! I cannot inhibit myself to be the person to get in the way of that. It's such a fun exercise in itself. I think that's the most exciting lesson - how can I be the best artist and collaborator I can be in a short time and let it be the most successful thing that it can be? So it's fun, but it is vulnerable. 

And final question, how would you each describe ROAM in one word?

Diego: It's hard - we're discovering it in the moment! Generational.

Ramin: Off that, I'll say “human.”

Diego: It does feel very human! An image for ROAM is that of an eternal flame. The flame that guides you as you go on your journey, the flame that is the burning fire that will not die, that will survive, like a flame in the wind. And as alive as a flame is in itself, there's also a vulnerability to it. How can we continue to keep it going?

ROAM ran on 23 November at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

For more information on the show, click here.