What’s It Like Conducting Broadway’s Largest Orchestra?
Musical director Kristen Blodgette on her big role in Sunset Boulevard
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“When they first told me about the Sunset curtain call, I told my husband, ‘Oh my god, I have to walk too?” she says laughing. “I was thrilled with it but I thought, yikes, that’s new one.”
While it’s fitting Blodgette and her orchestra are getting so much attention, she admits that, even after three-plus decades in the business and 13 Main Stem productions to her credit, she’s not accustomed to it. “I’m used to staying under the radar, which is a role I’m comfortable with,” she says. “But this has been an unbelievable opportunity. I told the orchestra on opening night, I don’t know if I’ve experienced anything in my career that’s as exciting as this.”
Not that it’s been a cakewalk. Director Lonny Price, set designer James Noone, musical coordinator David Lai, and Blodgette had many meetings trying to figure out just where they were going to put all those people. “It’s really challenging to fit 40 musicians on stage — more difficult than I can even express,” Blodgette says. “David had me on Skype and mapped it out with the designer and then we got everyone there and we didn’t fit! There was only so much space we could have before we were occupying the entire playing area of the company. There was talk of remoting a player or a section, but we didn’t want to do that because part of the lushness was being able to see and feel the orchestra. We have lots of levels and people in corners. A lot of them are crunched, but they’re all very happy to be playing this material. And then to be featured in this way, they were probably more willing to compromise as far as they could with space.”
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Another significant difficulty: Due to the placement of the orchestra, Blodgette can’t see the performers. “It’s scary — scary and wonderful,” she says. “It’s like walking a high wire: I love the challenge of it. Every night with [Close’s big second-act solo] ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye,’ I’m trying to read Glenn with my back to her, to know what she’s feeling, where she’s going, how she’s moving musically, dramatically, her intentions. How do we start it out of thin air? Do I wait? Do I go? Almost every single moment of the show is underscored. You should never feel like, it’s song time now! The actors are watching me on monitors but I’m not able to see them. That adds another dimension to it. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love having the orchestra on stage.”
“I was so fortunate to start on Andrew’s shows,” she says. “They all require really strong singing and I love doing vocal work. His shows seem to make use of the things which I do the best. There is something about his music that I feel I understand. If somebody asked me to do a rock show I would take myself out of the running. It wouldn’t be my strength. As I watch the changes in musical theatre and the new composers, I’m totally interested in it and yet I am careful with what I do. One has to be I think. I’m not going to be good at Rock of Ages or American Idiot. I saw them and thought they were fantastic, but I wouldn’t have done a great job on those shows.”
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Top image: The cast (and behind them, the orchestra) of Sunset Boulevard. Photo by Joan Marcus
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