THEATER

THEATER Backstreet’s Back in the Day

Howie D’s new musical makes its world premiere at the Rose

Millions of people across the globe have been inspired by the wildly successful pop hits of the Backstreet Boys, whose music has graced radio airwaves for more than 20 years. Howard Dorough, aka Howie D, has been one-fifth of that musical powerhouse since the beginning, signing on when he was just a teenager. Now Dorough is going solo and hitting a different kind of stage: musical theater.

This month, Omaha’s Rose Theater is home to the world premiere of Dorough’s newest venture, Back in the Day, a coming-of-age musical pulled from Dorough’s own adolescence. Back in the Day, written by Dorough and his musical partners, Tor Hyams and Lisa St. Lou, opened Jan. 31. Directed by Matt Gutschick, the musical also stars Dorough — no doubt

by Beaufield Berry

prompting the show’s soldout status. (According to show organizers, some tickets sold as far away as Japan!) For true Backstreet Boys fans, this Omaha production is the first opportunity to see one of their favorite stars on stage in a more accessible way. Back in the Day chronicles Dorough’s early life, long before fame, as a middle schooler navigating life’s challenges. Raised by two loving parents, with different ideas about what Dorough should do in life and an overachieving older sister, young Dorough faces the question, “What do I want?”

I got to sit down with Dorough and his creative team to discuss this exciting show and its path to Omaha. Gutschick, the Rose’s artistic director, first discovered the musical while on a panel in New York, where the creative team was workshopping an early draft of the script at New Victory Theater, which showcased the work to a broader theater audience.

“We conducted two workshops here in Omaha that focused mostly on elements of story that needed sculpting to either provide sharper humor or more authentic voice in the dialogue,” said Gutschick. “Finally, we held a workshop in New York to hone in on the music and the really important work of ensuring the dialogue bridges into and out of the songs logically.”

In a musical workshop, the script can change rapidly. Songs and ideas are brought in or thrown out, and the show becomes a true collaboration between the team, which includes the partnering theater. “For a show that only runs for about an hour, it takes a lot of line-by-line testing to ensure the piece is hitting the mark,” said Gutschick. “Those changes will continue throughout rehearsals — a line that doesn’t sound right here, a lyric that needs an update there, etc.”

For the writing team, the end result was a jump from where they originally started.

“We started working on Howie’s new album and just mid-through we were, like, this is something bigger ... which coming from our background just made sense,” said Tor Hyams, alluding to his and St. Lou’s extensive experience in writing for musical theater. “I asked them, ‘What should we write about?’ and they were, like, ‘Well, your life story is pretty interesting,’” added Dor

The world premiere of Back in the Day runs through Feb. 16 at the Rose Theater.

ough. “So we went that direction, dealing with everything from being shy to being bullied to being in a multiracial family, being in an older sibling’s shadow ... we started creating a record that was very current and relevant for kids, and as we were doing it we realized we had something more than an album. We had a musical on our hands.”

“The songs borrow beautifully from a lot of pop music sounds — everything from Lenny Kravitz to Wicked, to Ariana Grande, Florida Georgia Line. All of those pop music languages make their way into the piece, and it makes it so much fun to listen to,” said Gutschick, referring to the original songs penned by Hyams, St. Lou and Dorough.

“The story is so relatable to anyone, so that’s where we started writing from. And, along the way, we discovered more and more experiences we all shared,” said St. Lou.

Dorough, like many performers, found his early beginnings in live theater. “I think my first musical was with my older sister, Pollyanna, who’s actually a character in the show,” he said. “That was the Wizard of Oz, and that’s how I got my start in the business. I was always doing a ton of children’s theater. That’s really come full circle now, doing this at the Rose, where you guys have such a great children’s educational department here. I wish I had this level of education available to me as a little kid.”

The catalyst for writing Back in the Day was Dorough, who is the father of three sons, finding himself having a hard time connecting musically to his children.

“I could connect with them through movies that were out and things, but with music it was harder. It made me want to write music with kids in mind.”

The result is the show, and it’s corresponding album, dubbed Which One Am I? The first video single from the album featured three generations of the Dorough family: Dorough’s mother and his oldest son, who has also been bitten by the performance bug.

“He’s taken voice and dance lessons, he’s been in musicals and now choir. He tossed between wanting to be an entertainer and be on his tablet. He even asked if he could play young Howie in the show,” Dorough said with a laugh. “He had a great time on the music video. He had a little anxiety, just like Daddy, but I explained to him that I get nervous every day before I go on stage, but it’s OK. I’ve learned to channel the creative butterflies to help keep me on my toes, so I got to share that with him.” Although set during Dorough’s childhood, long before he had his own children, Back in the Day is all

about family, specifically Dorough’s, whose mother is Puerto Rican and father was Irish-American. This biracial identity was at the root of many adolescent insecurities and confrontations. Wondering “Which one am I?” leads to some deep reflections on identity and weaves itself throughout the show.

Finding the right actors to play Dorough’s parents and siblings in a culturally correct way was no easy feat, but the Rose was up to the challenge.

“The cast is a mix of Omaha-based performers and professionals from around the country,” said Gutschick. “Most of them share an Omaha connection, which is exciting as we think about how to take a universal story about a kid finding his voice and translate that into a production for our specific community. “Howie identifies as bi-racial, and this forms a significant element of the story, which focuses on how he found a solid group of friends in the performing arts club at his middle school. We have an audience that spans the entire city, and it excites us to know that many children are going to see their experiences reflected on that stage.”

Not only connecting identity to their performers but also being able to meet the stage stamina of a Backstreet Boy night after night was a requirement.

“Howie has incredible stage presence after spend

Howie D takes a selfie in the Rose’s main stage theater.

ing so many years performing around the globe,” said Gutschick. “Backstreet Boys concerts are incredibly fastpaced, athletic events. So we wanted to bring that energy into the production of Back in the Day. That meant finding actors who could build out the world of the play while matching Howie’s performance energy and vocal skill.”

When asked what he’s most excited to share with Omahans from this show, Gutschick said, “I’m pumped that our arts scene in Omaha is at a place where someone of Howie’s experience and stature in the entertainment industry thinks it’s a cool place to share his work. We want audiences to see themselves in this story and confidently pursue the activities and the people that make them the best versions of themselves.

“We are thrilled to be sharing Howie’s story with our audience, and to bring the Backstreet Boys fans to the Rose, some of them for the very first time.”

Dorough said he’s been impressed with Omaha creatively. “I’ve always wanted to get back to being on the stage,” he said. “Never did I think it’d be a children’s musical of my own or in Omaha, Nebraska … but I’m excited about both of those things. I feel like I can really spread my wings here.”

Don’t fall victim to an online dating scam!

Learn more at bbb.org/scamstudies

WAKEY, WAKEY by Will Eno

January 30th – February 23rd, 2020 bluebarn.org

Sat. February 28 NEBRASKA ALL STARS __________________________

Cuban & Tropical

Sat. March 28 SABOR

Latin & American Favorites

Thurs. April 9 TABLAO

Modern Flamenco _________________________________

Fri. May 1 MARIACHI OMAHA _________________________________ Mariachi Show

1030 Capitol Ave, Omaha, NE 68102

917.748.4337 jewellomaha.com

GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY: