Creating The New Peggy

 

I'm often asked what inspired a show like THE NEW PEGGY--similar to the chicken or the egg argument, did the talking stapler and manilla envelope come first or was it the unlikely deadly threat in a frozen baked potato? 

 

It wasn't long ago during an interview talking about this musical I realized what was perhaps the genesis of this character and her extraordinary world. I was just out of college, working for a dysfunctional music management company in Hollywood, and grew accustomed to the elderly abusive boss calling into the office every morning screaming and yelling at his minions. My particular desk was next to the seasoned office manager and head secretary, and one particular morning--after his demeaning telecommute check-in--she turned to me and with the phone still to her ear and tears welling in her eyes proclaimed, "He's like a father to me." 

 

That complex moment stayed with me for some time, particularly the cornucopia of sadness and devotion and hilarity it evoked. As I got older and became accustomed to the macabre nature of many office environments, it grew impossible to dodge pencil pushers' unfulfilled longings and dreams. Similar to one of Peggy's songs in the beginning of the show, there appeared to be a lot of "I Couldas." While no one was clutching a frozen baked potato ready to take vengeance--at least not that I know of--Peggy-like stories played out all around me, leading me to collaborate with J. Oconer Navarro on this uniquely musical world. 

 

In writing THE NEW PEGGY, J. and I devised a show we had never seen onstage before, one filled with unimaginable highs and truly dark lows, chronicling a morning unlike most people's morning, but incorporating resonating bouts of familiarity and pathos. While this musical will hopefully keep you laughing, our real aim is to keep you thinking, not just about the inanimate objects you talk to in your life, but in the real specter of Peggys we see all around us. 

 

We hope you enjoy the roller coaster Ann Harada and the rest of cast take you on as this particular Monday turns out to be anything like a normal Monday. 

-Drew Larimore