“So you want to be immortal? / So you want to win the game? / So you want to find the portal to a higher plane?”

Such are the questions posed at the top of Eight Immortals, the new song cycle from burgeoning composer/lyricists Sam Tsui and Casey Breves, which delves into the Chinese folklore of the ethereal octet – archetypes, who “began as humbly as you or I”, in search of eternal life, each with their own story detailing how they attained it, whether “guided by dreams and diets” or “tested by trials of self-denial and self-discovery.”

The narratives, which have long been woven into ancient myths, are now, in turn, reimagined by Tsui and Breves as a series of self-contained vignettes – culled from “the juiciest parts of their individual stories,” says Tsui — each updated with a contemporary twist.

Boasting an all-star cast of Broadway legends, including Jon Jon Briones, Ashley Chiu, Megan Loughran, Ben Jones, Justin David Sullivan, and Samantha Williams, in addition to Tsui and Breves themselves, the album aims to ask (or, rather, ponder) the question: “If they did all truly discover a way to escape death, perhaps the paths they found are available to any of us, even to this day…”

Ahead of their anticipated album release, we sat down with the dynamic duo – who are also a married couple, in addition to their professional partnership – to discuss all things love, life, and legend, from the origin of their partnership to the meaning of personal success and enlightenment to their social media success, and more.

Embrace the beauty and wonder and strife, and scroll through their answers below. If any of their responses shift your perception of growth and personal transformation, well…. you’re well on your way to eternal life.

Can you speak a little bit about your professional history together? What inspired you to perform as a unit?

Sam Tsui & Casey Breves: We first met at Yale, singing in the same a cappella group. We’ve been performing, writing, recording and doing life together pretty much since then – we got married in 2016, and our daughter Elaia was born three years ago. After a decade or so, we’d like to think we have a pretty consistent and productive working relationship!

And what about the history of the piece? What was the inspiration behind pursuing this topic? What about it spoke to you personally?

Tsui: I grew up with the stories of the Eight Immortals, these fascinating legendary figures of Chinese mythology. They have centuries of folktales and art associated with them… [my] dad had little statues of them in our living room, and, again, they’re all over the place in Chinese art.

Essentially, they’re ordinary people, each representing a cross-section of society — [meaning] young or old, rich or poor — who attained immortality through a variety of crazy [methods]. I’ve always dreamed of putting a theatrical spin on these folktales I grew up with.

So, why put them to music? How did that idea come about? What about it being a song cycle makes it easier for people to digest, if at all?  

Tsui: There are so many great adaptations of Greek mythology in opera and musical theater, but not a ton of East Asian mythological representation.

As you can see (and hear), we landed on taking the elements of the mythology that spoke to us most [to] craft [this] song cycle and give the Eight Immortals the modern remaining we thought it deserved.

Breves: And we settled on a song cycle album as the first iteration of this piece because it seemed like the clearest way to tell the stories we wanted to explore… and then built a world around those stories.

There are eight solo numbers, each telling a complete story, which are then connected by narration that gives some mythological context and three ensemble numbers that hopefully elevate the individual threads into a grander and more timeless tapestry.

Tsui: And I think these themes of transcendence and transformation really lend themselves to musical theater!

Can you describe the process of adapting these folktales to music? Was there a specific element of this folklore that drew you in? Or one you knew you wanted to hit?

Breves & Tsui: There’s such a wealth of juicy material with the folktales, so I think we just absorbed everything we could and then tried to think of the most compelling and unexpected ways to reframe the story (or elements of the story) in a contemporary setting.

So, for example, we took the story of He XianGu, an ascetic who attained immortality through a strict adherence to a diet of crushed mica (rocks) and reimagined it as a sponsored post by a (possibly supplement-addicted) mommy vlogger sharing her morning routine to her followers.

Each story ended up speaking to us in a different way!

On that note, is there a particular story or song that speaks to you? Why?

Breves: I relate to most to Lan Caihe, who wanders from village to village singing songs and carrying baskets of flowers!

Tsui: I love Zhang GuoLao, the eldest of the immortals, who was notoriously debaucherous and carefree. With every passing year, I try to embrace that sort of outlook on aging (laughs).

Do you think some of themes represented in these myths are relevant to our life today? How so? How can we learn from them? Why is it important that these stories be told?

Tsui: The themes in Eight Immortals have a lot of resonance for us, and we hope, too, for the listener… [including those of] personal transformation, longing for moments of clarity and transcendence, and striving to find the best way to live the mortal lives we have while hoping for something more.

I think many of us in 2024 are striving to “optimize” ourselves, seeking physical and emotional upgrades and reinventions.

Although we are by no means experts, we did get to explore a bit of Daoist philosophy as well in writing the piece. The “three treasures” of Daoism are compassion, moderation and humility, all of which the Eight Immortals must master, though they might remain lofty goals for most of us mortals.

In that same vein, what does enlightenment mean to you? 

Breves: My understanding of enlightenment from exploring Daoism is being in harmony with the natural order, or returning to, or realizing, oneness with the universe. Which is to say, it’s definitely a work in progress for me!

Tsui: “Dao” 到 is a path or a way. I see enlightenment as a continual process toward that that natural harmony Casey mentioned. At the end of our cycle, we also explore the idea that our path toward enlightenment is never truly complete.

What’s one thing you would want to do if you were immortal like these characters?

Breves: Astral projection and body-swapping like Li Tieguai!

Tsui: Most of the immortals were skilled at alchemy - I’d love to be able to create gold from nothing so I could fund more great art!!

With over 3 million subscribers and more than a billion views on YouTube (in addition to your presence on TikTok and other platforms), you’ve both been extremely active and impactful within the social media music landscape. Based on your own experiences, how do you think these platforms have impacted, or influenced, the way people and projects are promoted and seen? Where do you see it going from here? 

Tsui: I’ve been on the frontlines of digital music and content creation, beginning all the way back with [the creation of] my YouTube channel as a college student… I’m so grateful to have gathered a following of folks who connect with my music and story.

It’s been incredible to see the ways social media can give any artist direct access to a huge global audience, but it can definitely also be a challenge to cut through the noise. We’re very much still figuring out how a project like this – which we hope people will want to listen to in its entirety – fits into the confines of the short-form social media world!

Similarly, what advice do you have for an average TikToker who may be similarly looking to make it in the musical theatre world? 

Tsui: I’d say the biggest hurdle is getting over being too precious about any single piece of content (and this is something we still struggle with as perfectionists!)

If you want the chance for any algorithm to decide to show your work to the world, you have to start by just letting go and just posting in the first place. Don’t be too attached to whether a single video or performance “blows up” or “goes viral” or not…. it’s not about that. [It’s] about consistently sharing stuff that you genuinely love and enjoy making.

What’s next for this project? Where do you hope to take it from here? Do you see a full-fledged production in the future, if at all? 

Tsui & Breves: We are planning to present a concert version of the piece within the next year… and would absolutely love to see it staged in the future! Hopefully, this album is just the first step!

What do you hope listeners take away with them when they hear this song cycle? What message do you hope to instill in them with this piece?

Breves: We hope listeners can come along on this journey with us and feel uplifted and transformed by the experience.

Tsui: Hopefully, they’re entertained by the sillier elements, but also moved by the universality of the themes the piece explores. And again, our incredible cast absolutely elevated this piece beyond our wildest dreams, and we can’t wait for everyone to hear their incredible work!

Eight Immortals: A Song Cycle, with music and lyrics by Sam Tsui & Casey Breves, was released digitally on December 6, 2024 and is now available across all music streaming platforms. To stream the album in full, click here, or follow the musical on social media here.