Stephen Flaherty
Legendary, Award-Winning Broadway Composer
How is the theater community coming together during this stressful time?
Our Broadway community is very tight knit, and we are all doing our best to get through this really long “intermission.” Thankfully there are groups that are helping those who are out of work. The Actors Fund is making sure people are getting food, shelter, healthcare. Not just actors, but stage hands, makeup artists, musicians are all able to receive this help. Another organization is the Dramatist Guild Foundation, they supply funding and education for individuals, especially writers. We are definitely looking out for one another.
Broadway is a place where people come to connect, how can you keep that up right now?
Broadway has always been a very inspirational place to work, a place that’s offered hope. Musicals by nature are hopeful and positive and are meant to uplift people. I’m so inspired by the actors I work with, they have such wonderful ideas. Now, many of us are doing online collaborations and being creative from a distance. But we all can’t wait to get back in the theaters.
When you walk into a theater and see a show for the very first time, nothing beats it, right?
I feel very grateful that the work I do can inspire and uplift people. Writing choral arrangements brings me such joy, there’s something about a group of people singing together that is very profound. So yes, nothing beats working on Broadway productions and it’s so much fun for us to entertain our audiences.