Ever had a simple conversation about what would be the stupidest idea for a musical ever? Colin Viebrock, director of Top Gun! The Musical, did and that idle chat turned into a double Dora Award-nominated Toronto Fringe show now headed for New York. The Varsity talked to him before the curtain rises on Top Gun’s two-day warm-up run right here on campus at the Robert Gill Theatre.
Josef Szende: The Robert Gill Theatre is equipped for small-scale Fringe productions. A top gun fighter jet is at least 10 meters long and flies at supersonic speeds. What am I missing here?
Colin Viebrock: The premise that we setup makes it all make sense. One Christmas, we were talking about all these movies they’re making into musicals, which led then to the question, which one would be the worst or the stupidest to make into a musical. The hands-down winner was Top Gun. Just talking about it, we said that it would be more interesting having the premise as someone putting on “Top Gun: The Musical” than just a musical of the movie Top Gun. So you once you’ve set that premise up, you’re free, you don’t really need-as you said-a fighter jet or a beach full of sand for a volleyball scene.
JS: What do you have to say to the people who didn’t pick up on any homoeroticism in Top Gun?
CV: Well if they didn’t pick it up in the movie, they’ll definitely pick it up in the play. Some of the “research” for us was to watch the movie again. The second time through it’s a whole lot more obvious than in the ’80s when I saw it for the first time in theatres. There are certainly some easy jokes to be made, and being in comedy, we made them.
JS: Has this production run into any barriers because people didn’t really take it seriously?
CV: In a word, no. We were hoping people would see it as a satire of the movie, of Broadway’s fascination of turning movies into musicals, and of musicals in general. Scott White [the musical’s composer] has done a fantastic job of poking fun at the various musical genres out there but of also giving that sort of twist to the songs that comes from seeing them in the context we put them in.
JS: Top Gun: The Musical is going on to the New York Festival of Musical Theatre right after this quick Toronto run. It also has two Dora nominations and a Canadian Comedy Award. Did you really ever think something like this could make it this far?
CV: No! We certainly didn’t expect a lot of the success we’ve had. Everyone’s put in a lot of work to give us what we’ve gotten.
JS: Do you think the success of the show means anything for Toronto Fringe drama?
CV: It does speak to the fact that there is a very vibrant theatre in Toronto. A lot of the productions that get their start in university or the Fringe can put together some really interesting work. I think it’s important that Toronto audiences give festivals like the Fringe a fair shake because you never know what you’re going to miss.
JS: Describe a typical Fringe show, if there is such a thing.
CV: You have three-hour time slots in a church basement to get the lights, sound, and tech all perfect. You’re lucky if you get one run-through before the audience sees it. But there’s a sort of rush you get by putting on something with limited means. Working within those restraints can be freeing rather than limiting. If I knew I had ten million dollars, yeah, maybe I’d put a jet on stage. But I don’t. And that’s where a lot of the magic comes in.
Top Gun: The Musical runs Sept. 24 and 25 at the Robert Gill Theatre (214 College St.) at 8 pm. For tickets call 416.978.7986.
