The New York International Fringe Festival will bring 200 shows to NYC from August 12-28. We spoke with Gaby Gold about her one-woman musical Calm Mom.
What was the first musical that made you want to make musicals?
The first musical that made me want to make musicals was the original production of Little Shop of Horrors. When those vines fell down from the rafters onto us in the audience; after those incredible performances by the cast and that phenomenal music, I was blown away!
Tell us about your show in 3 sentences or less.
Calm Mom transcends the solo form genre to tell the story of Gaby Gold and her infant son during a near tragic event. Through compelling personal narrative and original lyrics and music, we take an ambulance ride with Gaby as she looks at her life and discovers the miracles between the breaths.
Describe the sound of your musical, it's like _______ meets _________
Blondie's "Rapture" meets Barry Manilow.
Who is your favorite classic musical theater composer? And your favorite composer working today?
My favorite classic musical theatre composer is Charles Strouse - Annie will always be one of my first loves. My favorite composer working today is Zina Goldrich - gotta give it up for this talented lady in the biz.
Why is it important to bring your show to Fringe?
Bringing our show to the Fringe is important because I believe storytelling and music have the power to heal and this is truly a story of personal transformation that we want to share. The show is Calm Mom but being a mom is only half the tale. It's for anyone who wants to take a look at the chaos that drives us to act out so that we take a step back and choose to invest what makes us whole again. For me, the catalyst was my son and a near tragic incident. Also, we need more women lyricists represented on stage!
What's next for the show?
Beyond the world premiere at the 20th anniversary NYC International Fringe Festival, our show will play in parts of Westchester, NY, where I currently live, and a tour is in the works for 2017 that includes other female works in the solo genre.
