Story by Peter Davis

Photography by Philip Laubner

 

The Baltimore Rock Opera Society (BROS) is an all-volunteer theatrical company dedicated to developing new works of Rock Theater. In October 2009, BROS launched its first production entitled Gründlehämmer.

MURDERCASTLE is their latest feature-length original rock opera. Set in Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair, MURDERCASTLE recounts the disturbing tale of America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes – the empire he created, and the brutal fate of his victims.

With a musical score ranging from death metal to orchestral strings, transformative sets and large-scale articulated puppets, BROS will be venturing back in time for its biggest, darkest, most ambitious show to date.

No one builds a tribe like The Baltimore Rock Opera Society does. They are the best and most compelling brand-story in the Mid Atlantic. What’s their secret? Their ascension is rooted in clarity, specificity, and an unwavering promise to melt your face. And who else, besides maybe a Samurai Warlord, would have a 7,000-year mission?

 

Interviewed:

Jared Margulies, Co-Creator, Writer and Artistic Director for MURDERCASTLE

John DeCampos, Co-Creator and Musical Director

Barbara Geary, Stage Director

JARED

Don and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Rockoperology

Like Aran, Dylan, John and other core and founding BROS, Jared is a visionary and a leader.

 

Peter

Where did the idea for MURDERCASTLE come from?

 

Jared

The idea came from John DeCampos. He emailed me while I was living in England and said, “Jared, I know you’ve written some really dark work, material you wrote for Gründlehämmer that people decided was too weird for the show. I want to do a rock opera about a serial killer, H. H. Holmes, and I feel like you should write it.” And I said, cool. And then I got on Google and thought, oh, shit! How are we going to write a rock opera about this horrible, horrible person? And have it not be like, Spring Time For Hitler. That was about three years ago.

 

Peter

What about MURDERCASTLE would be new and challenging for BROS?

 

Jared

The biggest challenge for us with MURDERCASTLE is that it doesn’t involve Vikings, mythological dragons or swords. There are no guitar battles. It’s not the true story of anyone. It’s inspired by the story of this character H.H. Holmes. Some of the characters I wrote into the script are real and some of them are not. The events that happen are pretty terrible and we tried to capture some of that. I know that people understand we’re writing a show that’s a rock opera, but this is not Sweeney Todd.

I got a little scared in rehearsal the other day.

 

Peter

Because…

 

Jared

It affected me. It was really intense. It made me feel uncomfortable.

 

Peter

That’s probably a good sign.

 

Jared

It is a good sign. We have a mission statement that I wrote for MURDERCASTLE that acts as a concise guide for the show. Some of the emotions that I said I wanted to evoke out of the audience were confusion, overstimulation, discombobulation, elation, and terror.

 

Peter

How do the BROS make decisions?

 

Jared

We always aim for consensus. At the same time you need to make decisions, and there is a chain of command. I think (with this show) there is more of a chain of command on the creative side than the production side. In terms of staging, Barbara and I have always been able to find common ground. I generally defer to her on that, unless I think it affects the overall sweep and feel of the show.

 

Peter

On any level or coming at it from any angle, what about this show is risky, as far as theater or a BROS experience?

 

Jared

It’s the first show we’re doing that I think a lot of people might come to see it and just not like it. It’s not their thing. With our past shows we’ve tried to cater to as broad an audience as possible. We definitely, by design with this show, are going to exclude some people. Some people don’t want to feel uncomfortable…or challenged. We have a lot of people come to our shows that don’t go to theater, otherwise.

 

Peter

In your case, that would be a lot of people.

 

Jared

Maybe the majority. It’s possible we might be really pleased with the product at the end of this one, and what it means for BROS as a company and our ability to grow. But there are a lot of people who will say, “It’s not my thing.”

It’s also really fucking big. A cast of 40 and a band with 13.

 

Peter

You are the writer and artistic director for MURDERCASTLE. This the first time you’re in charge?

 

Jared

Yeah.

 

Peter

What unique strengths do you bring to the BROS process?

 

Jared

There were two things I wanted to establish early. A schedule for producing this show because I knew it was going to be complex and large. So, we delineated tasks and very specific roles very early on. That’s the managerial side of things I feel strongly about even though I’m on the artistic end. Secondly, the storytelling, the quality of the script we were going to hand to our cast. I shared the script very early on. At least 40 people were in on it that I was getting comments and feedback from. That’s not to say I wanted a script that was the voice of everybody, because it’s my voice. But, I think our script is strong in terms of the story it’s trying to tell. I hope we can continue to do that.

 

Peter

Anything I should have asked you I didn’t? Anything you want to say?

 

Jared

I’m excited!

 

Peter

Fuckin’ A

 

Jared

And terrified.

 

Peter

Perfect!

 

Jared

I think I’m going to drink a lot on opening night. I don’t think I can watch.

 

*   *

 

 

JOHN

Archduke of Shredliness and Epicosity

John (and the band) is the anvil on which each original rock opera gets hammered into shape. When your enduring brand-promise is face melting, metal rock…You. Have. To. Deliver.

He does.

 

Peter

How does it work?

 

John

With MURDERCASTLE, two or three songs were written beforehand. And then based on mood and what we’re trying to get across in the story, we tailored the writing. I think we’ve come up with something really cohesive with MURDERCASTLE. It’s not like, here’s an idea, that’s it! That’s the song. No. Now we’re able to do two or three drafts of the song before we get into what we actually will use as the final. There’s no real formula. People provide the work and we meet the deadline. It’s all working around the deadline.

 

Peter

How is MURDERCASTLE music different from other BROS shows?

 

John

It’s the biggest sounding, largest band we’ve ever head. We have 13 people in the band, with a three-piece orchestral string section, violins and cello. There’s the rock ensemble and pianist, a back up vocalist who plays glockenspiel, and three horn players.

 

The biggest challenge was giving the music a personality based on the time period of the play. Everything is written in 3/4 time, waltz time for this show. We’ve got polyrhythm and some weird stuff. We’ve been trying some decadent, baroque sort of, almost classical, but keeping it in metal. We were shooting for death metal and ended up with something a bit lighter we call murder metal.

 

Peter

What’s the band relationship to the play’s rehearsal process?

 

John

Almost none, as of right now. We’re proactive. We upload songs from rehearsals into files: songs in progress, final show versions, transition music, and all this crazy shit. We upload it as soon as we can so the cast has something to work with. Tech week will be the first time they get to experience working with us as a live group.

 

Peter

What’s opening night going to be like?

 

John

Kind of awesome, kind of scary, this one especially, as somebody who is a co-creator of the show, and…I talked about doing this show for years before it started to pick up traction. I’m a little freaked out about people’s reaction to some of the content in the show. I think it’s going to be awesome. I think the show’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing, which is slap people right between the eyes, it’s going to catch them off guard, and it’s going to be amazing. I feel like people who have come to past BROS things are going to be caught a little off guard.

 

Peter

How will it play for regular theatergoers?

 

John

That it was a well crafted, suspenseful, and terrifying piece of work that hopefully, you can’t get out of your head.

 

Peter

What about MURDERCASTLE is risky?

 

John

First thing, there’s a huge steel crane moving set pieces that are too heavy for humans to lift on their own. That’s a risk. I have confidence in our crew, but it’s something that we’ve never done.

 

(BROS made the crane and all the mechanicals that go with it.)

 

The content of the show is risky. There are adult themes and things that we’ve never touched in previous productions. When you’re doing a rock opera about a serial killer it’s sort of difficult to walk that line like, what’s just playful entertainment and what’s like riveting, and or like, shocking or terrifying content? Exploring that, I think Barbara has done some amazing work.

 

Peter

What lies at the core of BROS culture?

 

John

Show is God. That’s our new mantra. We came up with a list of Bromandments. And show is god. Basically means no personal problems, stay on top of your things, be on time, everything is secondary, and making sure that the show—is Perfecto.

 

*   *

 

 

 

BARBARA

Barbara brings a unique and rich tapestry of talent, training and travel to Baltimore theater. She is an endless source of big questions and ideas, and innovative ways to realize those ideas.

 

Peter

What made you want to direct MURDERCASTLE?

 

Barbara

I saw Valhella and was impressed with the incredible energy of all these people coming together as volunteers, doing it for the love of it. And I thought it would be an amazing thing to participate in something like that. I wanted to see what it would be like to marshal all those forces and the disparate elements. I was talking to Aran the other night, I said, I’m used to working minimally, in terms of set. And to work with a group whose motto is, “Everything in excess,” would be both, fun, and a learning experience.

 

Peter

How did you get the gig?

 

Barbara

I sent in a proposal and did a couple of interviews with everybody.

 

Peter

What made you the best fit for this show with this group?

 

Barbara

I come in with a pretty clear vision and I’m also good at being spontaneous in terms of watching a lot of stuff and making decisions as to what is going to work. It’s a process where I’m getting new stuff all the time. Like this set. We’ve been rehearsing without any of this stuff. With the idea of this stuff for months, and now to finally come in and, oh OK, I need to re-block that whole scene. And I can do it, in five minutes, we just do it and so, I can keep things on track and rolling forward.

 

Peter

Give us the high overview of what the play is about.

 

Barbara

The dehumanizing nature of the Industrial Revolution. It’s about Chicago. It’s about booster-ism. It’s about how all that stuff enables a man to come into a town and kill a bunch of people. And at the same time own all this property. Move through the town as a businessman, and become very successful. Swindle tons of people. Kill tons of people…How the circumstances of the gilded age, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in this country allowed that to happen.

 

Peter

What makes the BROS experience different?

 

Barbara

It’s incredibly collaborative. There are so many different people with really strong ideas, and really amazing abilities. They’re not doing it for the money. They do it because they love the form, the joy of creating something amazing. I’ve worked with acting companies, theater companies, and a lot of the reason people want to do plays is because, “Oh that would be a great role for me!” BROS is more about belonging than self-interest.

 

Peter

What makes MURDERCASTLE risky?

 

Barbara

Our goal is not to have the audience leave the show going, “Oh, that was awesome!” It’s to have them be a little stunned. From the very beginning that’s what we set out to do. I think that’s a little risky for an audience coming in and expecting something else. I think it will work.

 

Peter

What’s it like for a traditional or straight theater person working inside of BROS culture?

 

Barbara

I don’t regard myself a straight theater person. I come from a…I’ve done so much crazy avant-garde, commedia dell’arte, movement, all kinds of stuff that this was like, “Oh yeah, right, OK.” You know?

 

Peter

Maybe one of the several reasons you are a good fit for them.

 

Barbara

Yeah. Straight theater is more alien to me, “You mean were just doing a play?”

 

Peter

What was your approach to working with this group on this play?

 

Barbara

As a director I don’t really like to talk about my work. I like the piece to speak for itself. In the program my director’s notes will be three sentences. You know what I mean? I feel like I don’t—given that it’s so collaborative. Yes, I say, move there, move there, no, no, do that and blah, blah, blah, but in terms of the feeling of the whole thing, given that it’s so collaborative, it would be remiss of me to say, “Well, my piece and how I feel about this,” because I can’t really do that without referencing Jared or Aran or anybody.

 

*    *

 

Peter

(To all three accompanied by the sound of Natty Bohs cracking open)

 

Previous BROS shows were rooted in some mythology. What, if any, mythology does MURDERCASTLE tap into?

 

Barbara

Tell us Jared.

 

John

It’s gotta be about being the most metal thing ever, right? I feel like that’s where it all comes from. It’s based on historical events so mythology is a lot less there.

 

Peter

Is it your mythology imposed on this story?

 

John

Yeah

 

Jared

In some ways I think it’s about the most exceptional man, in the most exceptional city, at the most exceptional time.

 

Peter

Who’s the protagonist? Who do we root for?

 

Barbara

I think you follow Annie and Benjamin Pitezel.

 

Jared

Pitezal, Holmes’ assistant. A tragic character.

 

Peter

What’s the BROS secret for taking a ridiculous idea and turning it into awesome epic-ness on stage?

 

John

Determination

 

Jared

A lot of work!

 

Barbara

Will!

 

John

We’re just trying to top ourselves.

 

Barbara

Sheer will.

 

John

It’s like–we’ve done this, we’ve done this, and we’ve done this.

 

Jared

What would be an interesting way to think about it…there’s not another rock opera society that does what we do. I wonder what would change if we thought we were competing? The only ones we compete with now are ourselves, and we hold ourselves to a very high standard. We are always going to want to do better. We always do better. There will be things right after MURDERCASTLE that we know we can do better.

 

Barbara

Seems like you guys learn that from every show.

 

John

That trickles down to everything from delegation of responsibility, team leadership, communication, all of that has gotten progressively tighter with each show and I feel like MURDERCASTLE has a nice rhythm

 

Jared

I think back to your other question—I always think, yes. Will and determination, sure, but also saying yes to things gets us to a lot places we want to go.

 

*

 

“There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”

Margaret Wheatley

 

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