Broadway Breakdown: I WAS THERE w/ David Loud
Episode Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Matt Koplik
Guest: David Loud (Music Director, Arranger, Performer, Author)

Episode Overview

The inaugural episode of the new “I Was There” series features the acclaimed Broadway music director David Loud. Host Matt Koplik interviews Loud about his remarkable career on and off Broadway, covering his early days in the original cast of Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” his transition to conducting and music direction, and his creative experiences on productions like “She Loves Me,” “Ragtime,” “Masterclass,” and more. The conversation dives into backstage stories, the emotional realities of Broadway’s successes and failures, and Loud’s philosophies on music, teaching, and collaboration. Both informative and full of inside-theatre humor, the episode is a treasure trove for musical theatre lovers and practitioners.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Early Broadway Obsession and Entering the Scene

• Loud’s exposure to cast albums at home (Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Frank Loesser) fueled his ambition to be on Broadway from early childhood.
  • “I thought Broadway was one theater in New York where they had all played... That's what I wanted to do.” – David Loud [01:55]
• He pursued every imaginable avenue to fulfill that dream from as young as six.

2. Original “Merrily We Roll Along” Experience

• Cast at 18, closing at 20: Loud was both a performer (Ted) and understudy (Charlie Kringas).
  • “Nobody got to go on... There was only the 14 performances, a month of previews as well.” – David Loud [02:54]
• The shifting and chaotic rehearsal process caused considerable anxiety.
  • “Nothing but fear... so scared of not being good enough to be in the company of all these talented people...” – David Loud [03:34]
• Choreographers Ron Field (strict, frustrated with cast’s dance ability) was replaced by Larry Fuller, who made the show work within the cast’s limits. [04:02-04:28]

The Reality of a Broadway Flop

• The company began realizing the show wasn't landing with audiences during previews:
  • “Until I realized one grim matinee, it was the heads of the people going by the exit signs... making them look like blinking lights as they exited the theatre.” – David Loud [05:04]
• Despite challenging audiences and harsh reviews, the cast’s love for the score and each other endured.
  • “We loved the score and we loved being a part of it... if you’re gonna go out on that stage, you have to believe in what you’re doing.” – David Loud [05:59]
• The original cast album was recorded immediately after closing, preserving its legacy for future generations. [63:07-64:10]

3. Transition from Performing to Music Directing

• Loud was inspired by conductor Paul Gemignani while in “Merrily,” appreciating the role as the dependable center of a production.
  • “I wanted to be that rock that beats solidly and steadily at the center of every show.” – David Loud [07:55]
• Classic Gemignani music director’s note:
  • “Tenders, sopranos, I got one word for you: you’re out of tune!” – David Loud [08:14]

4. Revival Work: “She Loves Me” (1993)

• Collaborating with director Scott Ellis on his first Broadway show; Loud’s debut as music director.
• Working with the original authors (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick) to adapt the score for revived staging.
  • “Their attitude was not, ‘oh, my God, you’ve destroyed my original vision.’ … They came and watched rehearsals, gave tiny little notes that always fixed things beautifully.” – David Loud [10:33]
• Favorite moment: The adrenaline rush at the emotional climax of the show.
  • “The rush of adrenaline in that last 30 seconds of the play is so powerful. That was amazing to me.” – David Loud [12:25]

5. Onstage with “Masterclass” (McNally)

• Loud took a “sabbatical” from music directing to perform as the onstage pianist.
  • “It was a vacation… It was a wonderful, refreshing, nice to do something different.” – David Loud [16:05]
• Observing Zoe Caldwell and Patti LuPone’s contrasting Maria Callas interpretations (LuPone: “half an hour faster.”) [17:46-18:02]
• On Caldwell’s acting approach:
  • “Zoe’s theory of acting was, ‘I act the punctuation. If a playwright writes a comma, I pause; if a period, full stop. And that's where the magic happens.’” – David Loud [18:09]

6. Creating “Ragtime”

• Loud conducted the Broadway company after a year of turbulent development in Toronto.
• On the impact of the original cast:
  • “The combination of Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell… Its richness is almost too big to remember.” – David Loud [22:39-22:58]
• Favorite moments: Mazzie’s “Back to Before” and McDonald in “Your Daddy's Son,” “drenched in tears at the end of her song every night.” [25:04]
• Importance of vocal discipline in the score: “Please don't belt until here.” [25:53]
• “Ragtime M’s”: “If you don’t do ragtime, then it sounds like ragtime. And what’s that?” – David Loud [26:36]

7. Broadway vs. West End Culture

• In London’s “She Loves Me,” actors took a more playful attitude compared to the work-centric approach of Americans, but both produced excellent shows. [20:24]

8. John Kander Collaborations

• Participated from early workshops for “Steel Pier” and “The Visit,” describing Kander’s collaborative creative process as communal as opposed to Sondheim’s meticulousness.
  • “Kander wants to collaborate… He doesn’t try to control all that… Sondheim writes everything out the way he wants it.” – David Loud [31:21]
• On Kristin Chenoweth’s audition:
  • “The cutest person in the world came in… singing that huge voice… She was charmed for life.” – David Loud [32:29, 34:59]
• “The Visit” journeyed for 15 years before Broadway with many leading ladies—Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, and many more [35:04].
  • Story of Lansbury’s mentorship: “Angela said, ‘Could I answer that question?’ And she gave Philip a clear road through this long complicated scene…” – David Loud [36:39]

9. Staging and Teaching Sondheim

• Music directing the first Broadway “Company” revival (1995) and the challenges of teaching its famously tricky opening:
  • “Bobby, Bobby Baby… It takes a lifetime. The only way to do it is to count.” – David Loud [41:21]
• On actors vs. musicians:
  • “You need more patience for the actors, but that patience usually pays off… words are the most important thing, and you’re hearing that from the music director. The words are more important than the music.” – David Loud [42:01]

10. Reflections on Success, Failure, and Broadway’s Contradictions

• The pain and lifelong connection from “Merrily’s” opening and closing, the lessons learned from failure.
  • “That was actually one of the greatest gifts of Merrily… to see my heroes fail. And to see them work so hard… the business is hard. Broadway’s hard.” – David Loud [45:49]
• The role of collaboration over individual brilliance:
  • “It’s never one person with the answer. It’s the designers and directors and music directors and actors all working together.” – David Loud [66:12]

11. On Teaching and Legacy

• Teaching at Manhattan School of Music, importance of classic shows, and witnessing students’ growth.
  • “I love watching them start to understand that the classics are not Les Mis, Phantom and Miss Saigon, but rather Showboat and Lady in the Dark and Oklahoma.” – David Loud [47:33]

12. Challenges and Uncrackable Shows

• On “Porgy and Bess” (“Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess”), Loud reflects on the personal, artistic, and racial complexities that made the process difficult. [44:08-45:06]

13. Unique Musical Experiences

• Conducting Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” (John Doyle’s actor-musician revival) was his hardest job, due to the challenge of actors handling both music and character work onstage.
  • “It was impossible… chords that never were meant to be in Sweeney Todd would suddenly appear and you couldn’t do anything.” – David Loud [52:26]
• On Patti LuPone:
  • “She was devoted to that tuba.” – David Loud [52:57]

14. Sondheim on Sondheim

• On creating the only Sondheim revue with Sondheim’s input and commentary, and the process of weaving together his songs and stories.
  • “We looked through a lot of that material… treasures that still haven’t been played… For me, it's about finding that balance.” – David Loud [54:35]

15. Memoir “Facing the Music”

• Loud discusses his memoir, describing the music director’s role as the “center of three worlds.”
  • “You are in the center of these three forces and you’re the beating heart of the story that's being told. It's a magical place to live.” – David Loud [55:52]

16. Memorable/Emotional Moment: Merrily’s Opening Night

• Loud recalls the euphoria and subsequent heartbreak of the opening, capped by reading scathing reviews alone and crying himself to sleep.
  • “Norm McCall and… a Hollywood star, I didn't recognize half of them. And I couldn't find anybody else in the cast… I left the glamorous party behind… I read [the reviews] in the stand, and I decided to go home and not back to the party. So I walked through the freezing cold rain to my sublet and I sort of cried myself to sleep.” – David Loud [57:39–60:44]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On survival and growth on Broadway:
  • “Broadway is always that contradiction. Some of it is so painful, some of it is so wonderful. And there’s the constant pull of commerce versus art. The challenge of Broadway is keeping yourself centered in the middle of all those contradictions.” – David Loud [64:57]
• On the role of collaboration:
  • “The finest moments in any show have been collaborative. It's never one person with the answer.” – David Loud [66:12]
• On music direction’s unique joy:
  • “To be the conductor of a musical is actually the best job in the world… you are the beating heart of the story.” – David Loud [55:52]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:26 — Introduction of guest and episode theme
• 01:55 — Loud’s early Broadway inspiration
• 03:34 — “Merrily We Roll Along” rehearsal process/fear
• 05:04 — On realizing “Merrily” was a flop
• 07:55 — Discovering his calling as a music director
• 10:16 — Working with Bock & Harnick (“She Loves Me” revival)
• 12:25 — Favorite musical moments conducting
• 13:39 — Audra McDonald/Zoe Caldwell in “Masterclass”
• 21:27 — Starting “Ragtime” discussion
• 25:04 — Favorite numbers to conduct in “Ragtime”
• 34:00 — Kristin Chenoweth’s “Steel Pier” audition
• 41:21 — Teaching the opening of “Company”
• 44:08 — Challenges with “Porgy and Bess”
• 52:26 — Actor-musician “Sweeney Todd” stories
• 54:35 — “Sondheim on Sondheim” process
• 55:52 — On his memoir “Facing the Music”
• 57:39 — Recounting “Merrily” opening/closing night
• 64:57 — Reflecting on Broadway’s contradictions and collaboration

Tone and Chemistry

• The episode is irreverent, deeply knowledgeable, and at times poignant. Koplik’s passionate, fast-talking style and willingness to throw in personal anecdotes and “four letter words” add a punchy, informal energy. Loud’s thoughtful, candid answers bring both gravitas and playfulness, especially as he shares war stories, observations on the theatre industry, and deep care for both the art and his students.

For anyone seeking firsthand stories, real insight into Broadway’s machinery, or the inner life of a Broadway music director, this episode is an unmissable listen—and read.