About Head Over Heels

Why did you choose Head Over Heels?

I chose Head Over Heels for a couple of reasons. It had been on the list of shows that I was considering to produce here since I had heard about its being released for licensing, and listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording. A high school friend was the Broadway producer, so the show had been on my radar. Additionally, the production that took place at the Pasadena Playhouse caught my attention both because of the location (The Playhouse was where I had my first ever paying job in theatre) and because the Music Director, Kris Kukul, is someone I’d worked with and have always followed. 

Additionally, it seemed that we were uniquely positioned this year to be able to cast the show. I always think about the skill set of our performers when choosing shows. I knew we had several strong women, as well as a selection of guys who could sing and act the roles. Further, the characters in the show represented a range of gender expression and experience that I have found very much reflected within our community and have tried to make space for since She Kills Monsters

Beyond all of this, and of greater importance: I like the music. A Lot. I like the story. I think the guys who wrote it are funny. So it checked all my boxes as a consumer of theatre. I think its a really important thing for theatre to tell difficult stories. I also think it is a really important thing for theatre to tell stories of joy, and of love. This is an affirming show, with a great message, and its fun. So like…who wouldn’t want to do it?!

How does Head Over Heels fit into this season’s/year’s theme?

Stay Rooted, Grow Always. The theme for the Sallies school year, and the theme for our season of productions. This a theme deeply connected to this show. The source material, the inspiration, is a book of historical popularity. Like, a beloved book in the history of popular literature. It inspired Shakespeare, specifically in the writing of King Lear and, more importantly, A Winter’s Tale. This is how we stay rooted. 
 

To musicalize such a classic story is to look at it, analyze it, and reshape it for a new audience. This is, without question, growing always. 

 

To use the music of a beloved pop act, the Go-Gos, is to stay rooted. 

 

To use this pop/punk/new wave music in a new context is to grow always.

 

To honor the tradition and rituals of a kingdom is stay rooted. To hand the throne to the person best suited to it is to grow always.

 

To love those who have always loved and supported you is to stay rooted. To love those people for who they are, to be loved for who you are, never for what you think you’re supposed to be, is to grow always.

 

This show connects, and reconnects, to who we are as a Salesian community. 

“We must craft a beat anew from our hearts

Within, and let a new Arcadia

Commence - one more tolerant and generous.

Let us pray that the heavens will steer us

From suffering and injustice, and guide

Us to our better, nay, our best selves.”

That is a Salesian ideal if I’ve ever heard one, and it is at the very heart of this show. 

Non-Profit

What non-profit organization did we partner with and why?

Every year we partner with a different non-profit organization that is thematically connected to our production. We raise funds and awareness around their work, and celebrate theater’s ability to not only make things of beauty and joy for our audiences, but to make a positive impact on our larger community. Come see the show to check out this year's partner!