My latest work is a full-length musical comedy, “Don’t Get Caught.”
The FBI’s best informer is an undocumented man named Javier. He’s a genius at keeping secrets, including his sexuality. But when Javier's down-low boyfriend finds out what Javier's up to, he offers to marry Javier and get a green card. Will Javier find the courage to stop keeping secrets and live out in the light?
This project has been a labor of love for the last two years. It really started with a series of conversations I had with my in-laws in which they shared their stories about immigrating the United States. Some of those stories they hadn’t told anyone.
When the first composer dropped off the project, Nicolas Prada stepped in like a champ. He’s a classically trained composer from Columbia, and he brought a deep knowledge of Latin rhythms that informs the score. I like the way he pieces together some popular beats with the old-fashioned sounds like those of Oscar Hammerstein.
We were finishing our first draft when Covid struck. I knew there would be no way to stage this thing anytime soon. Or even a decent workshop. So we pivoted to video.
I got coached by Ken Davenport and his people. I got some amazing advice from Gabriel Stelian-Shanks at the Drama League. My good friend DJ Rich Alex helped me with mixing the demo tracks. And Makena Metz stepped in to direct the Zoom reading.
“Don’t Get Caught” will get its first real audience on Thursday, October 1 at 7pm PST. Here is the Zoom link for you to join us:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83273686042
But we’re not done yet. After the show I will be raising money and building a producers community to bring this show to life. I will be recruiting a good dramaturg to collaborate with me on tuning up the dialogue and making the book as strong as it can be.
My goal is to raise enough money to hire a professional orchestrator and convert our piano sheet music into a complete score for a four- or five-piece ensemble. We want that big guitarrón sound!
And that’s what’s happening behind the scenes of “Don’t Get Caught.” To everyone who has supported me throughout this adventure — thank you!
