Ron Boustead and Billy Larkin are hoping their musical Flashes of Light, about the life of inventor Nikola Tesla, does for science what Hamilton did for history.
Set during the heart of the industrial revolution in New York City in the late 1800s, this new musical reimagines Tesla’s life, and the idea that his genius may have been inspired by more than science. Directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera (founding artistic director of Playwrights’ Arena), the musical is now having its world premiere at the historic Sierra Madre Playhouse through June 9. (For details see below).
The roots of an idea
Several factors took pianist and arranger Billy Larkin down the road to Tesla. He was far along on a musical based on the beloved Eloise children’s books, even meeting with a Broadway producer, when the project fell through.
The award-winning jazz composer was depressed, “but the experience got me excited about musicals, and I had to find a subject. Hamilton was big,” recalls Larkin “And I wanted and settle on a historical figure with no copyright issues, and no one could stop me.
“Back in 2017, Tesla was showing up in the Zeitgeist and I was fascinated with him,” says Larkin. “His selflessness and interest in working for humanity, driven by his dream of providing free energy to all, made him appealing.”
Forging a partnership
Boustead and Larkin share a 45-year friendship beginning in Cincinnati. Both were active in the band scene with Larkin’s Triage. “At one time I asked Ron to join my band Ethereal to see how we could incorporate voice into progressive jazz,” says Larkin.
Larkin found himself traveling to California from Ohio to visit his son and for other projects. He reconnected with Boustead “and he was generous enough to put me up,” says Larkin.
“I told him I’d settled on my subject and a bunch of music started coming to me. I didn’t know what to do with. It was kind of large scale with long arcing melodies that could be an opera, ballet or show. So I played if for Ron and asked, ‘what do you think?’ And he fell in love with it.”
“Eight years ago writing a musical was not on my Bingo card,” says Boustead. “But this idea was too juicy to pass up and I wanted to be a part of it. The music was just so good.”
Following are excerpts from my interviews with Boustead, Larkin and Rivera about the show’s creation and bringing it to the stage:
Giving it a mythical twist
Boustead – We read a lot of history about Tesla, and he talked a lot about flashes of light–where we got the title–and the awful migraine headaches he suffered his whole life. And somewhere along the line Billy had the notion that maybe Electra, the goddess of storm clouds, was interacting with Tesla and feeding him ideas.
Larkin – It was easy to imagine a force guiding his triumphs– like alternating current power systems, the Tesla Coil, the Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant and radio technology –and– disappointments, the Wardenclyffe tower project, his battle with Thomas Edison and financial struggles.
In our play Electra sends him visions of groundbreaking inventions during lightning storms. It’s the blessing and curse of his ability to see things fully formed in his mind. Their connection amps up when Tesla’s rivalry with Edison intensifies during the “War of the Currents,” a battle that shaped the world’s electrical future. As Tesla and Electra become obsessed with pushing the envelope of scientific discovery, a star-crossed love story develops, as the action toggles between Tesla’s time and the realm of the gods.
Boustead – As working on the show progressed, we realized it was a story dominated by men–Tesla, Edison, Mark Twain, J.P. Morgan, and George Westinghouse—and we wanted to add a love story. Tesla was handsome, but he had lots of debilitating quirks regarding women. He hated the feel of hair and the smell of perfume. He had a platonic relationship with Katharine Johnson and briefly dated Sarah Bernhardt.
Electra’s on her own personal journey in our show. She has the chance to do something good by passing knowledge on to Tesla. In life, his muse was the pursuit of science and the betterment of humanity.
What was your working process like?
Boustead– Billy is the master composer and he’s the one with the piano chops. He had written an hour of instrumental music and shared it with me. As a songwriter, I would grab little chunks and say, ‘let’s take this bit and flesh it out and turn it into a song.’ We put my songwriting chops with his composing chops. Before I knew it, I was co-writing a musical and fascinated with Tesla. And thinking about the notion of genius and where inspiration comes from.
Larkin – We wrote the songs first and book after and hadn’t anticipated how difficult that would be. I had all this music for themes and would work up an idea for a song. He would suggest that it be straighter and more accessible. He kept me from going off on a tangent as a jazz composer. There was a lot of give and take.
Boustead – When we first started working Billy was still in Cincinnati. When we did get in a room together for a week banging away at the music a lot of good happened. I wrote most of the lyrics and vocal arrangements and Billy was in charge of the musicality and themes. We had no interest in trying to parse out who did what. We happily agreed to the billing of sharing music, lyrics and book-writing credits.
Can you comment on the score?
Larkin – I designed it as popular music. The 26 songs are a mix of genres with pop, jazz, R & B, and even rap. There are a number of motifs throughout. I had the melodies of Electra’s incantation and Tesla’s Incantation in my pocket for the longest time. And they tie the two characters together. There are also more subtle European and Serbian rhythms in a nod to Tesla’s heritage. We’ve just been interested in getting this story to a point where people can hear the songs. They’ve all earned a place.
Given my roots, it’s also scored for a jazz ensemble.
Rivera -When I first heard about the show, I thought the music would be old-style from the 1800s or Tesla’s era (1956-1943) and resonate from that time. But this score is innovative and fresh and made me want to be involved in the show.
Larkin – We found a hybrid way to present the score at the playhouse. I’ll be on the piano playing live, accompanied by tracks of other instruments, like the accordion, to provide all the colors. Three songs are just me and the singer.
What are your highlights?
Larkin – I like Katharine’s Letter, her entreaty for a deeper relationship. It started out as a piano piece and then a trio with violin and cello. Ron put words to it and turned it into a beautiful song. Falling, the duet between Tesla and Electra about the end of their relationship, is a piece that builds and builds.
Boustead – It’s Complicated is a song we wrote for Anton Szigeti. Szigeti was the friend who traveled with Tesla from Serbia, and the buddy he could relate to. And we hinted that maybe there’s more going on. He was a great character to encounter, and the late-edition song has a lot of feeling.
Light It Up is a lively song about the highlight of Tesla’s career with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Tesla’s AC system powered the fair’s 160,000 light bulbs, making it the first all-electric fair in history.
Finding the theme
Larkin – For the final song, One’s Man’s Life, I carried the chord pattern around with me for a long time. I was down for a retreat in Ron and his wife Ruth’s backyard studio and started to play the melody and sing some lyrics asking ‘tell me just how much one man’s life is worth? And what’s the reward? And what’s my legacy?
After I played a little snippet, I didn’t get a response, and I thought ‘I’m not as cool as I thought I was’. But they thought it was beautiful. I played it again and Ron recorded it and came up with lyrics: “Can you tell me how much you might pay the people you meet? / Some come, some will go. / All the love that you leave. / Maybe you’ll never know how much of a difference you have made.” It sums of the theme of the show.
What about the casting?
Boustead – Our Electra, Devyn Rush, played the part in the concert version we did last March at the El Portal Theatre–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIXDTistW5g—and knows all the songs. I love everyone else we found and loved seeing them digging into their characters at rehearsals.
Rivera – The composers and I were intentional about getting a diverse cast. It took five casting sessions to find the right combination of actors. That’s where we found the right Tesla, Thomas Winter. I’m happy that they are all superlative and can sing and act these characters.
Also featured are Sydney Endicott, Nina Kasuya, Daniel Krause, Amir Levi, Lauren Lorati, Patrick Munoz, Guy Noland, Chima Rok, Christopher Romero Sosa and Steven Wishnoff.
Bringing the play to Sierra Madre
Ron – My friend Greg Porée, lead curator of Jazz at The Playhouse and a musical virtuoso who often performs there, attended that concert version and loved the show. He took it to The Playhouse Artistic and Executive Director Matt Cook who said, ‘let’s do this musical at my theater.’
Rivera – My friend Tim Dang, who recently directed a production of Terrence McNally’s Master Class in Sierra Madre (https://stevesimmonswrites.com/sierra-madre-playhouse-to-present-master-class-terrence-mcnallys-ode-to-opera-legend-maria-callas/), recommended me to Matt. He set up a meeting with the composers and myself and we had a lively conversation about what I think of the play. I loved the idea of the story of a real person told through music. The combining of fiction and non-fiction is interesting, and the music is fantastic.
What has the process of creating this show taught you?
Larkin – That in taking the journey—we’ve been at this for eight years– to not get discouraged and to be excited about where you end up.
The other thing is to make things that you like and appeal to you. And that you want to listen to. To have your own standards and be proud of the results. We’ve been so pleased that people are taking an interest in our baby, and that our child has grown up.
The Sierra Madre Playhouse is at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. Performances are 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays May 31 and June 7; 4 p.m., Sundays, June 1 and 8; 8 p.m., Monday, May 26 and June 2 and 9; 8 p.m. Friday, May 30 and June 6; 8 p.m., Saturday, May 31 and June 7. Tickets range from $12 to $45. For information, call 626-355-4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org
Steve Simmons is an accomplished writer and editor who writes about a wide array of topics including entertainment. His successful experience at The Beverly Hills Courier and other publications set the stage for his blog. Contact Steve at steve.simmons0211@gmail.com or 626-788-6734.
