Friedman 1

Kimberly Friedman
Contemporary Musical Theatre
David Sisco
26 March 2019

Writer Interview & Spotlight

Once a drummer in the rock band Uncle Izzy, David Eric Davis became a huge triple
threat in the Musical Theatre world. While working on an album for a friend, he was told he had
“catchy melodies, clear stories, clear characters and he should be writing for Musical Theatre.”
He went home, cleaned his wounds and took his friends advice. The next day Davis began
writing his well-known musical ​Brooklyn Crush.​ After successfully writing that musical, he
​ hrough many different life
believed that his friend was his catalyst into Musical Theatre.​ T
experiences and opportunities, David went on to become a composer, lyricist and director. Even
though he didn’t have a huge Musical Theatre background, he was able to use different
experiences he has had in order to push himself into this world and business. He feels as though
what he does is “a part of who he is and is a constant.”
Growing up, Davis was introduced to many different things, such as photography and
painting that helped him figure out what he truly loves to do. He has a palette full of things that
he uses in order to create something. Mainy, he is a composer and a lyricist, but has had
experience directing. He directed two major works; Tarot Reading at the NY Fringe Festival and
Strike at Judson Church. Davis said, “I like directing because I likes working with others and I
feels as though it helps me as a composer and lyricist.” Having that experience in directing aids
him in his other jobs because he has learned to have ideas when writing songs of how it would be
staged. Davis said, “Everything you do helps everything. Painting I’ve done helped directing and
filmmaking I’ve done helped songwriting. I’ve learned problem solving techniques that are
applicable often in ways you wouldn’t imagine.” Out of all the different job paths he has taken,
he believes he enjoys being a composer and lyricist the most. He has done much more with those
jobs and it something he does all the time because “he has to.” Composing and songwriting is a
part of him and is something that doesn’t ever leave him. When it comes to his music, he was
influenced by many different bands and artists which can be heard very apparently in all of his
songs. He “didn’t grow up with a big musical theatre tradition, it is more rock.” Mostly he was
influenced by The Rolling Stones and Elvis Costello. Davis finds that Elvis’ sound comes out a
lot in his music. Even though he is from a rock background, ​Hedwig and The Angry Inch​, was
the show that made him think that he finally saw something that feels in the world of he might
do. He saw it when it first came out and it has become the top of the list for him. Later on, after
he saw ​My Fair Lady,​ he learned to appreciate the art form of theatre. He doesn’t think that ​My
Fair Lady​ necessarily influences his work, but he sees how beautiful the score and book is and
appreciates all the different types of Musical Theatre that is out there. In regards to different
trends, he thinks the story behind ​Be More Chill​ is something different and is exciting to him.
The idea of a musical going to broadway solely because of fan base, is interesting to him and he
thinks is something that could happen again. He has worked closely with Joe Iconis and George
Salazar and is excited to see what they bring to the show. On the flip side, what he thinks isn’t
working is musicals that are based on something else. For example, ​Mean Girls, ​and ​Frozen
being based on movies. He thinks “as an audience member it is more fun to see new things.”
That is why when writing ​Brooklyn Crush,​ it was an entirely new story with brand new music.
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Brooklyn Crush​ is the piece David Eric Davis is most proud of and has worked tirelessly
for 8 years on. It was originally titled, F#@KING Up Everything, but due to different factors it
had to change. The NYTimes didn’t like the original title and would put it at the bottom of the
list, since it wasn’t necessarily “family friendly.” The show also with rewrites got gentler and
sweeter and the name was less and less of a fit for it because the original name suggested
something tougher. Davis and his writing partner, Sam Forman, decided to change the name and
they went back and wrote new songs for it. ​Brooklyn Crush​ started with Davis taking songs that
he had from his band and seeing if there was a story in them. In the first draft, it was all songs
old songs that he realized didn’t work and didn’t fit in spots of the show. He started rewriting
lyrics within those songs to better fit the plot and then he also wrote brand new songs. The show
musically is a mixture of old songs that he rewrote and also new songs. The song, “If You Were
Mine,” sung by the character Ivy, is a brand new song that Davis wrote. When writing this show,
he knew he had to write this song, but struggled to find the right one. He wrote 3 different songs
for this moment in the show and had his co-writer and producer help him figure out which one
worked the best. He knew he had to write a song that did the work that it had to do in the show
and also have a very particular sound. He originally had a different sound in mind for Ivy, but
realized the new-wave sound worked the best. He tried many different sounds, but once he tried
the new-wave, pop/rock sound, he knew that was what she sounded like. His co-writer, who he
trusts very much, ultimately chose the song that is now in the show. The method he used for this
show is something he would never do again. He thought taking old songs and trying to place
them into a musical would work, but he quickly realized it didn’t. His girlfriend at the time was
the one who tried to help arrange all of the songs and help them have a story, but it wasn’t
working. All of this was a learning experience for him and he thinks it will help him in the future
with his work. After all of that, there are now 3 songs that are a version of songs from his band.
Brooklyn Crush,​ was his way into the Musical Theatre world and he thinks that people with a
rock background have a place in this business and will have more of an impact in the future. He
hasn’t made any rewrites of it, and doesn’t think anytime soon it will be big, but he knows with
time it’ll make its way to where it needs to go. With all of his experiences and time writing this
show he would tell someone trying to follow in his footsteps that, “doing it has to be its own
reward. If that can’t be its own reward, then do something else.” He thinks that building a career
on something else is also helpful in order to have stability, but he doesn’t think he can advise
someone on what to exactly do with their career. Davis thinks it varies per person and how they
want to build their career because he found by having another job he missed out on opportunities
with his theatre career. He also used time on his stability job rather on writing music and
furthering his other career. Overall, he is happy with what he chose and knows it’ll pay off in the
end.
With all of the experiences and opportunities David Eric Davis had in his life, he has put
himself into the Musical Theatre world and will have a great future within it. His musical,
Brooklyn Crush​ can be listened to on many different streaming devices and it is still being talked
about today. He used many of the events that happened in his life in order to write ​Brooklyn
Crush​ and hopes that one day it will be produced in many different theatres and companies. It is
very important for the theatre world to acknowledge writers and composers with different
backgrounds, like Davis, and to listen and perform their work. Davis is a great representation of
Contemporary Musical Theatre and shows what the future of this business could be if more
writers like him start writing musicals.