A brief, pictorial history.
Omaha, Nebraska
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SNAP! Productions / Shelterbelt Theatre. Omaha, NE.
(All photos on this page by Matt Yohe).
By the time Jim and Steve hit Omaha, The Big Voice was in the best shape of its life. The new song and dialogue changes had been incorporated in Chicago and it all paid off as Omaha proved to be its most successful box office take so far. [There is a diary entry here with new photographs taken during a performance.]The critics were unanimous in praise. And interestingly, just as in Chicago and the other larger cities, the show was as well received by the alternative press as by the mainstream.
Omaha World-Herald (June 5, 2004):Jim Brochu writes rip-roaringly funny dialogue. And the gifted comedian knows how to use a look, body language and comic inflection to work an audience from a chuckle to a rolling laugh to a roar.
And why not laugh? It isn't every boy who believes his destiny is to be the first pope from Brooklyn, only to switch his hero worship from Pius XII to Ethel Merman.Steve Schalchlin writes melodic, engaging tunes. His autobiographical lyrics are so seeringly honest about his journey from evangelical Southern Baptist boy to closeted gay to near-death from HIV to success on the musical stage, that his audiences share the emotional roller coaster in indelibly personal ways.
How the two of them met, fell in love and created musicals together is an improbable tale. How they tell that tale onstage is, it turns out, theatrical dynamite - all the more powerful because the writers perform the two-man show themselves, in fine tenor harmony.Schalchlin's tunes range from a Billy Joel-like sound on "The Closet" to the angry "One New Hell" to the plaintive and poignant "How Do You Fall Back in Love?"
Enthusiasm for Thursday's opening was clear, marked by long, loud applause after songs, sustained periods of laughter and hushed moments that brought out the hankies. At final curtain, the crowd was on its feet before the duo hit center stage.
The Big Voice weaves threads of the partners' faith lives, their love lives and their stage lives into a moving and entertaining evening that swallows two hours in a heartbeat, then lingers in your head long after.
Omaha Reader (June 10, 2004)
Comedy reigns supreme with The Big Voice: God or Merman?, a melodious, autobiographical romp, written and performed by Steve Schalchlin and Jim Brochu. Billed as “A Musical Comedy in Two Lives,” this hilarious production chronicles the experiences of two gifted gay men, both of whom had dreamed of careers in religion.
Suffice it to say, these performing bombshells make magic together, harmonizing to Schalchlin’s first rate original songs in good voice, coupled with their dynamite delivery to Brochu’s hysterical book.Their performance, impeccably paced and professional to the core, radiates immediacy, never reflecting trite responses, always emitting spontaneity and control as the audience cackles and applauds for more. In one of the more serious moments, the audience learns that, inspired by the entertainers’ lust for living, some suicidal HIV victims have experienced epiphanies, adopting the entertainers’ optimism.
Not sacrificing sidesplitting laughs for fear of mocking stereotypical gay chatter, the show surely treats the gay lifestyle with ample respect. Devoid of sexual references, this musical comedy concentrates on showing two gay men’s lifestyle in an honest light. In fact, honesty shines as the essence of the entertainment. The opening night audience identified with the laughter and the pain, proving that people, regardless of lifestyle, always revel in those moments when they witness truth.
Feeling confident that the show was now ready for its New York debut, all the boys needed was an opportunity. That opportunity came by way of an unexpected email...