About Me

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A long-time Toronto-area Actor and Singer, Jeff Madden is now focusing on Teaching acting and singing in the GTA. Jeff starred as "Frankie Valli" in both the Toronto and Australian productions of JERSEY BOYS, winning the DORA award for outstanding performance in a musical by a male actor. Jeff is busy back at school, getting his MEd at U of T's OISE.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Jeff Madden is UnCovered - Broadway World Special Featrure

 

BWW Special Feature: Jeff Madden is UnCovered

Fri, 11/15/2013 by Jeff Madden

(photo by Pierre Gautreau)




Acting Up Stage, one of Toronto's top musical theatre companies, is kicking off their 10th anniversary season with its annual smash tribute concert in which the songbook of a legendary singer/songwriter or group is re-examined through a storytelling lens. On November 18, in UnCovered: Sting and The Police, ten of Canada's top Musical Theatre vocalists will perform 19 of Sting's hit songs, featuring new arrangements by Music Director Reza Jacobs, backed by a cracking onstage four-piece band and three-backing vocalists.

I'm thrilled to be a featured vocalists at this concert. And, to give you an inside look into how a show like this gets brought to life through the eyes of a performer, BWW has asked me to share some of my own experiences.




This story has a familiar beginning. A long time ago, in a land far, far away...

May 21, 2013. I'm in Australia, where I'm starring as Frankie Valli in the Australian production of JERSEY BOYS. Mitchell Marcus, Artistic and Managing Director of Acting Up Stage emails to ask if I'd be interested in singing at this year's concert.

In typical Mitchell Marcus fashion, his email is warm and full of detailed planning about the concert:
"We'd love to have you back if you are willing."

The first thing I feel is excitement, immediately followed by hesitation. I ask myself, "Can I go there?" The song choices are in their hands. Sting sings really frickin' high. His music is an tricky mix of progressive pop with elements of edgy pop, rock, reggae and worldbeat. I sit on it for a few days. But, the more I think about it, the more I realize I am a good fit for this. My voice is flexible, I can do it. I've known some of these songs since I was a kid - my eldest brother Chris had a bunch of their records. I think I can bring something cool to this. And, most of all, I think it'll be fun.

May 24. I write Mitchell back:
"If you're down, then I'm down."

He replies:
"Amazing! Welcome aboard!"

Then, I take a deeeeeeeeeep breath. Agreeing to do a concert like this is a leap of faith. Concerts of this sort are very different than the typical theatre job. Usually when you're cast in a show, you have a long rehearsal period to feel comfortable with the material, and lock in enough repetitions so that you're not nervous about, oh, I don't know, remembering your lyrics. But in a concert like this, you get ONE rehearsal, and ONE run-through on the day of the concert. That's it. You have to be positive that this scenario will not make you jump off a cliff. Or provoke you into another drunken stupor. 'Cause those don't end too well, am I right?

So, it's kinda scary. But, for me, the fear makes me work harder. I like challenges - they make life exciting. So, when I'm not screeching like Frankie Valli, I start listening to a lot of Sting and The Police. And then after a week or so, I let it go.

August 1. I'm back home in Canada. I still have no clue which songs I'll be singing at the concert. I resist the temptation to call Mitchell and Reza and ask for specific songs. Two reasons - one, that would put extra pressure on Mitchell and Reza, as they have to line up great song choices for the eight other singers, too. And two, not knowing makes it more fun... and scarier. Humph. I let it go.

September 9. I get an email asking me to confirm a date and time for my rehearsal with Reza. It's only a three-hour slot. And, still no song choices. Humph. I take another deeeeeeeep breath. I let it go...ish.

September 30. Finally. Mitchell emails:
"I hope we aren't being too presumptuous, but we are hoping you might consider doing 2.5 songs... Reza and I would love it if you would perform:
1. Message in a Bottle (solo)
2. Every Little Thing She Does (solo)

3. Don't Stand So Close To Me (as a duet with Sara Farb)
Have a listen. If you have any concerns or discomfort, please send Reza a note."


I'm frickin' thrilled with the songs. I already know each one fairly well, but not so well that it wouldn't be a challenge. And singing with Sara Farb - ooh, that sounds good. I bet our voices would sound really good together. I'm happy.

I write Mitchell back right away:
"This is all fantastic. Love the songs, love the ideas, love the Farb. :-))"

October 1. When I first decide to sing a song, I do my research. I listen to the original, obviously, and check out any cover versions on YouTube. I ask myself what the music is saying to me, what images or emotions are evoked from the sounds. I ask myself what the singer's voice is telling me, and also what it's hiding. Then I examine the lyrics themselves. I get them down on paper, and rearrange the structure to make it more like a monologue. Sometimes I'm surprised by what's in there. In advance of my rehearsal, I do this research for my three songs.

The cool thing about the type of concerts that Acting Up Stage do is that Reza Jacobs will create a brand-new arrangement for the band based on our discussions at rehearsal. It's all about supporting the story that we want to tell in the song. It's such a brave and creative move on their part, and I totally embrace them for it. Doing this research ahead of time will only help the process along.

"Message In A Bottle", if taken literally, is the story of a lonely man trapped on a desert island. He sends out his S.O.S. and hopes someone rescues him. But it seems it's all a metaphor for a lonely person searching for love. One lyric stands out in the second verse: "Love can mend your life, but Love can break your heart." There's lots of interesting elements to discuss in there. Exciting.

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" seems to be saying two very different things. The chorus is a celebration of this amazing love the singer has. But, the verses tell a story of being frighteningly unable to communicate that love to the other person. This song could go in many different directions. I'm excited to see where it goes.

"Don't Stand So Close To Me" is perhaps the most theatrical of the three songs. It tells the story of a teacher and his much younger student and an affair that may or may not have happened between them. I'm excited about their idea to do this song as a duet, and I wonder just what Reza has up his sleeve. How will we break up the lyrics? The point of view of each character is ambiguous, which leaves many options. There is potential for lots of singing in harmony, singing in unison; really the options are endless. The amount of unknowns here is very scary. And very exciting.

October 21. Finally. My rehearsal with Reza. The goals of this rehearsal are many: to make sure the song is a good fit for me, to come up with a dramatic arc that will frame the song, to settle on the key, and to discuss the overall arrangement for the band. Mitchell drops by, too, to help out. Three songs, three hours. GO!

We start with "Message In A Bottle". We sing it through. Then we discuss the story arc; the elements of despair, loneliness, longing, and then action. Why so much repetition in the choruses - is it a mantra, is it frustration, is it anger or desperation? There's time passage in "A year has passed since I wrote my note" - how does that colour things? Then, after all this time, all this loneliness and frustration, the third verse begins with this discovery "I don't believe what I saw - a 100 billion bottles washed up on the shore." Would that bring in joy or celebration? The man realizes he's not alone - there could be some comfort there. I feel like I know where we're heading. This is good. And then, just when I think we're moving on, Reza asks me a question:
"Have you ever heard a Muslim Call to Prayer?"

Maybe I heard him wrong. I mutter back:
"Uh, what?"

And then the song goes off in a whole new territory. We discuss what that might sound like, and how this idea might colour some of the lyrics. I silently accept the challenge. This reminds me of a favorite lyric of mine from "Man", a song from THE FULL MONTY. "I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm gonna get there soon..." We move on.

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is next. We sing it through. We discuss what type of person might say these words. We like the idea of a young guy, a bit shy or nerdy, maybe an IT computer guy. Maybe the girl he's in love with works at the office with him. Maybe they've dated, but what if she doesn't even know he exists? What if he's actually never spoken to her at all. This opens up the notion of all this being in his head, the imagined relationship of a mentally unstable young man. Reza's mind spins off in many interesting musical directions, and my ears start to smile. It's inspiring to watch him create on the spot and exciting to think where we'll end up with this one.

Sara arrives and we run through "Don't Stand So Close To Me". I knew it. It sounds amazing. We spend the bulk of the time trying to decide who sings what lyrics. It's shifty. The same line sounds one way coming from me, and sounds differently from Sara's point of view. But which way is better? All the options are interesting, but time is short and we need to settle on a road-map. Why? Because of our conflicting schedules, Sara and I won't see each other again until the day of the concert. Holy crap. I try not to think about that.

We explore some more. "Wet bus-stop. She's waiting. His car is warm and dry." Wait - is the teacher a predator and she the innocent victim? Or is the student a Lolita-type character? This song is like a full three-act play. Reza and Mitchell are super engaged, trying to look at the big picture of story arc, and help us decide which version of the truth we want to tell. Or is there a truth? Maybe, we should leave it a bit ambiguous, for each audience-member to figure out for himself. One thing is certain, this one has the potential to blow the roof off Koerner Hall.

And then it was over. But I couldn't let it go.

In the week that follows I listen to my recordings of the rehearsal and digest the ideas. But I'm left with so many questions. This is the really tricky thing about a concert like this - there are so many options, so many different ways to do things. And virtually no time. Suddenly, Reza's voice pops into my mind, uttering some wise words from our rehearsal:

"One mustn't become overwhelmed by the amount of blank canvas, one must welcome it."

This guy's like Yoda. He's right. I tell myself, "Create. Decide. Move on. Don't look back." I do, then I let it go.

October 31. Over the past ten days, Reza has rehearsed with all the featured singers and backing vocalists to start creating the charts for these songs. Think about that for a minute. 10 singers. 19 Songs. Then, think about this: Reza still must create 19 orchestrations the four band members, and 19 vocal arrangements for the singers. And there's two-and-a-half weeks to go. He may go grey by November 18th.

November 2. Uh-oh. Both my kids come home from school sick. The annual post-Halloween cold. Hooray. I immediately make a list of vitamins and supplements to buy. Colds and crazy singing don't go together too well.

November 8. 10 days until the concert. I'm keeping the cold at bay. I need to interview Reza for another article I'm writing about this concert, so we catch up on Skype. But, we also take the opportunity to share a few thoughts about my three songs.

Most thoughts just confirm the work we did before and ease the mind. But some thoughts inspire us to make some fairly large changes to the arrangements. Key changes are added to one song. Rubato sections are added to another. Melody notes are changed in all three. The artistic process is so fascinating. This kind of discussion happens on a second pass through the material, after enough time has passed for things to drop in. Hopefully, the result will be that much better.

November 11. One week until the concert. The 'keeping the cold at bay' thing is not going so well anymore. I try not to freak out. Instead, I get Sara on the phone so we can clarify the vocal arrangement and the harmonies for "Don't Stand...". Getting back on the same page makes me feel better. Sara is also singing lots of other material at the concert, and is trying to get ready to nail that stuff, too. This process is happening in 20 different living rooms spread across Southern Ontario, as everyone is on their own, focusing in on the final product. At this point in the process, the pressure is high. The creation phase is almost over, and the performing muscles need to be turned on.

November 12. Six days until the concert. The other article I wrote for BWW goes up online this morning. It looks good. I'm happy to help spread the word. Here it is: http://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/Torontos-Stars-UnCovered-Sting-and-The-Police-20131112

November 13. Five days away. I'm drinking throat tea and sucking on zinc lozenges. Reza sends six text messages in a flurry. He's been tweaking the charts a bit:
- "Transition to your verse in don't stand do close will now have three bars not four"
- "That means you will hear the three note pattern four times"
- "Like this."

And then he sends a video of him singing it. I pee myself a little bit.

Later that night, I text him of an idea of my own:
- "I'm thinking of incorporating the middle-eastern thing into the ad lib section over the ending 16 sending out an sos's. (What have you done to me?!?!?)"

He replies:
- "It's the New Terrorism. We're coming at ya via music theatre"
Amazing.

November 14. Cold, go screw yourself.

We're almost there. In a few short days, it will be show time. The 18th is going to be crazy for me. I'm actually teaching three musical theatre performance classes at Sheridan College in Oakville from 1:30-6pm, which I'm going to squeeze in between my sound check in the morning and the concert itself at night. So that should be, um, busy. Hopefully I'll make it in one piece. The pressure is on, but I'm laying low. Thinking positive thoughts.

When you look at the big picture, I'm amazed. What an incredible amount of work by a large number of artists and administrators - and all for a concert that will last but two short hours. About 1000 people will witness its passion, its exuberance, its angst and its joy. Fans of musical theatre will love it. Fans of pop music will love it. People from all walks of life will be brought together in the collective celebration of music, of story-telling, of creation, of daring, of letting go, of accepting challenges, and of the power of the Performing Arts to enrich our lives. It's going to be epic. And then it will be gone forever.

And I'm so proud to be a part of it.
http://actingupstage.com/productions/uncovered-sting-the-police

Toronto's Stars UnCovered - live on Broadwayworld.com

Toronto's Stars UnCovered: Sting and The Police
(photos of Musical Director Reza Jacobs and Artistic Director Mitchell Marcus, Acting Up Stage Theatre)

Next Monday, November 18th, Acting Up Stage launches its 10th Anniversary season by presenting the One-Night-Only tribute concert UnCovered: Sting and The Police at Toronto's beautiful Koerner Hall. This annual tribute concert has become known as a "don't miss" event for local lovers of music and/or theatre. This year should be no different, with such notable vocalists as Jackie Richardson, Thom Allison and others (including myself), singing classic hits like "Message in a Bottle", "Roxanne", "Desert Rose", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and "Fields of Gold".

It's hard to believe, but the Acting Up Stage theatre company is already 10 years old. Thanks to the wise stewardship of Artistic and Managing Director Mitchell Marcus, it didn't take long to become one of Toronto's best, having been awarded with 32 Dora nominations since its inception. I had the pleasure to speak with Mitchell Marcus and his long-time musical director Reza Jacobs in advance of the concert to find out how it all started, and why they think it has become such a smash hit.

REWIND. Some eight years ago, with his company barely off the ground, Mitchell Marcus was suddenly struck with an idea. Inspired by an event in New York City, he wanted to produce a tribute concert featuring well-known Pop songs, but sung by the stars of Toronto's Musical Theatre scene. Having this idea coincided with his meeting Reza Jacobs, freshly back from finishing his MFA in Graduate Musical Theater Writing at NYU - Tisch, who had a similar idea for theatrically re-arranging the music of The Beatles. "That meeting felt serendipitous, and the idea for our first tribute concert was soon born," said Marcus, over the phone from his office.

Since their Beatles concert in 2006, Mitchell has chosen to tackle the music of Paul Simon (a concert at which I also sang), Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, and last year's concert Tapestries: The music of Carol King and James Taylor. In Mitchell's words, "the goal was not to put a cover band of Musical Theatre stars together, but rather to take great songs, and give them to great singers who also happen to be great story-tellers".

FAST-FORWARD. This year the concert shines a light on the music and lyrics of the seemingly ageless Englishman Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, aka Sting and his former band, The Police, one of music's most influential New Wave groups. Beyond simply doing a concert of popular music, Reza Jacobs explains exactly how he and Mitchell choose the songwriter to feature in concert.

"It's the perfect union of both of our guts. It has to be something that I respond to musically, and that I feel I can do something with - that there's a reason to re-tell these things. There has to be a theatricality in the writing in order for us to make it work. That's part of Mitchell's mandate - it's a musical theatre company so we want to pick songs that tell stories."

Sting's music has never neatly fit into the Pop/Rock genre, as it features elements of jazz, reggae, world-beat and even classical music. Jacobs feels that for a concert of this type, this diversity is an asset. "I feel great about Sting's music. There's a lot going on in there, and the stories are clear enough that you can do something with the songs. We're always trying to hit that mix of entertainment and story telling, and Sting's songs lend themselves to that really well."

Marcus agrees. "The best material for this are pop songs where there's a character and a plot and a story - and Sting is a great example of that. Many of his songs read as if they were a monologue. And he offers a large catalogue of material to apply this concept to."

For many people, what elevates this night from 'concert' to a 'theatrical event' is the brilliant orchestrations and arrangements that Reza Jacobs creates, and how cleverly they are matched with the incredible vocalists. It may only run one night, but Marcus notes that to make the night as special as it can be, planning starts "10-12 months in advance, when we sit down to choose who the featured singer/songwriter will be."

Jacobs jumps in. "Then, about eight months out, Mitchell and I talk through all the potential songs from their catalogue. We also put together a dream-list of actor/singers, discuss possible matchings of songs with the singers, for example, who would be the right vibe for Sting's music, what kinds of things we might want to do with his songs. Then we give ourselves a long gestation period to let it sit."

PAUSE.

Shortly after this meeting, invitations were sent out to their 'dream-list' of actor-singers to gauge their interest and availability. (I can tell you that I received my invitation in May, a full six-months out.)

Then, in early September, after he "spent the summer listing to those songs on my iPod", Marcus met with Jacobs to nail down a set-list of roughly 20 songs. Then, only six weeks before the concert, Marcus "would send a list of two or three songs to our singers as a suggestion. Some people said 'Perfect, let's do it', and others said 'that's not really speaking to me' so we might change it up, by bringing in one of the other songs from the short-list."

How did they match the song with the vocalist? Jacobs breaks into a smile. "It's a huge juggling act. It's finding the songs people want to do, and that are a good fit for those people, but making sure that we leave enough good fits for all the other people, too." Marcus summarizes it this way. "Ultimately, we want to best showcase the skills of everyone we had."

Pre-planning done, it was now time to crank the creativity up a notch. As Musical Director, it falls to Jacobs to devise arrangements and instrumentation that suits the story-telling while staying faithful enough to the original version to keep the audience happy. It's a huge and difficult task, one that he delights in comparing to, of all things, cooking.

"I don't have just one way that I cook. Sometimes it's a question of 'what do I have in the fridge and what can I make?' Other times I'm going to go out and buy specific ingredients to make a specific meal. So, with these concerts, it's a little bit of both of those techniques. I know I want a percussionist, I know I've got a piano. So, what are the other ingredients? A lot depends on the Hall. I've tried going with an amplified sound in Koerner Hall and it doesn't work. That Hall wants acoustic chamber music, so that starts to limit things. Rather than going with a loud electric guitar or an instrumentation that resembles The Police and Sting, I would go with a violin, and instruments that are more chamber music as opposed to a rock band."

Jacobs extends the food metaphor further. "Since the Band will be onstage, this instrumentation also visually creates an expectation of what the show is going to sound like. It's just like eating, right - you start eating with your eyes, even before you take a bite. So when people come into the Hall, it has a classical music vibe. If they see a violin on stage they know right away it's going to sound different - they start eating with their eyes. If they saw a drummer, a bass player and a guitarist, they would think 'Oh, this is going to sound like the originals'."

PLAY. The real fun begins with only four weeks left before the concert when each vocalist comes in for their one - and only one - rehearsal day. With Jacobs chiming in from the piano, Marcus and each vocalist "discuss the character and plot hinted at in the songs they will sing - which doesn't get discussed in a purely pop concert." And after a few hours, the road-map for each of the songs is devised.

Jacobs explains further. "As far as making the arrangements with the singers, it's very collaborative. Artists often know themselves better that I could ever know them. So, I like to rely on intelligent artists like you and Jackie Richardson and the Trish Lindstroms of the world who have good instincts about what's going to work and what's not going to work. It's a true collaboration. We talk, we meet, we jam, then we go away. I throw together an mp3 that has the road map of what we talked about, and send it to the vocalist. Then we'll make some more adjustments. Collaboration is at the heart of the whole thing."

From watching some concerts and taking part in others, one thing I look forward to is discovering how the whole evening fits together. Like the best cabaret shows, which particular songs are chosen and the order in which they are played can provide further emotional resonance and depth to the proceedings. Marcus explains how one of the wonderful additions to this concert in recent years has been the addition of spoken-word, to further highlight the interweaving themes.

"One thing we've found is that integrating the voice of the artist that we're featuring is a really great extra ingredient to the evening. There was an awkward formality to the evening in the beginning, I mean, no artist does a concert of 20 songs without speaking between the songs. So, now we scour through the artist's interviews or memoirs and collect a catalogue of great quotes - maybe they relate to where a particular song comes from, or enlighten a reflection on the scene we've created within one of the songs. Maybe they're funny, maybe they're serious. Either way, it breaks it up for the audience, it adds some insight and depth, and it feels more like a complete package for the audience."

The quotes are delivered by the vocalists, at just the right moment. But don't worry - Mitchell assures us that no one comes out 'playing' Sting and talks to the audience. "No part of this is impersonation. We are all collectively re-interpreting Sting and his words and stories, so why not the quotes too?"

With hits like "Message in a Bottle," "Roxanne," "Desert Rose," "Don't Stand So Close to Me," and "Fields of Gold", and the level of artistic excellence on display, Marcus believes there is something in it for everyone. "It's got a hybrid nature - there's a wide group of people who would be interested in it. Corporate groups bringing clients, Musical Theatre fans, Pop music fans, Nostalgia fans, you name it." Marcus modestly neglects to mention one final reason to get down to Koerner Hall on Monday night - to lend your support to this truly fantastic Canadian Musical Theatre company. Don't miss it.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

BWW Interviews: Gabi Epstein, Funny Girl

My 3rd article for BWW.com is up. The link is below.

I put together this interview piece from some email exchanges between myself and Gabi Epstein, the star of the show, and Avery Saltzman, the director of the show. I think it turned out quite well.

Most fascinating to me was Gabi discussion the notion of a 'perfect' role for her, and the discussion of the difficulties in playing a real-life person so closely associated to another famous actor. In this case, Gabi is playing Fanny Brice, but all people will think about is Barbara Streisand.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/BWW-Interview-FUNNY-GIRL-Gabi-Epstein-20130925

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

BWW Interview: The Cast of PIG

Hi Folks,

My second piece for BroadwayWorld.com was live September 18th, 2013. It's a feature interview of the three cast members of the world premiere production of the British play, PIG.

As an actor, I have always found the process of rehearsing a world premeiere to be incredibly difficult, yet incredibly rewarding. Bruce Dow, Paul Dunn, and Blair Williams star in the show and were not only extremely gracious, they were quite forth-coming in the interview. I tried to pry up the floorboards a bit, and see what they all had going on underneath. Turns out there's a lot of stuff under there.

Check it out!

http://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/BWW-Interviews-Cast-of-Torontos-PIG-20130918

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, Gotta Pitch?

Hi Everyone,

I am now writing some features for BroadwayWorld.com... and the first one is up!

It's called "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, Gotta Pitch?". It's a feature and interview of MLB pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and his love of Broadway Musicals, including Jersey Boys.

Please check it out by clicking the link below, or copying and pasting it into a new window.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/toronto/article/BWW-Special-Feature-Gotta-Sing-Gotta-Dance-Gotta-Pitch-20130910




 That's Quinn Van Antwerp on the left - he was a Bob in Jersey Boys in Toronto, Broadway and the US Tour.

Cheers, 

Jeff