The Healing Power of Theatre and Finding a Purpose after the War - Talking to BANDSTAND's Jonmichael Tarleton

Jonmichael Tarleton (center in plaid suit) and the National Tour cast of Bandstand
photo by Jeremy Daniel

by Julia Bashaw

Returning home to Cleveland, Ohio from World War II, Donny Novitski and other veterans attempt to rebuild their life. Some soldiers have lost friends, brothers, and some are coming back to inform anticipating wives that their husbands won’t ever be coming home. In 1945 this was the reality that our veterans faced and the story that the musical Bandstand has chosen to tell.

Bandstand follows pianist, singer-songwriter, and young vet Donny Novitski, as he wistfully wants everything to go back to normal. Unable to feel at peace, Donny hears of a National Radio Swing Band Competition being endorsed by NBC to find the next musical talent. Thrilled to have a purpose, Donny takes charge and forms a band composed entirely of veterans, including Jimmy Campbell on saxophone and clarinet, Davy Zlatic on bass, Nick Radel on trumpet, Wayne Wright on trombone, and Johnny Simpson on drums. For the National tour of the musical, which comes to the Orpheum Theatre from December 6-8, the role of Johnny Simpson is performed by Jonmichael Tarleton.

“I really started acting right around high school,” Tarleton stated. “I think what appealed to me so much about it was obviously the dancing, singing, acting is all so compelling personally but also you build really strong relationships with fellow actors and that kind of community drew me in. This is the first time I have done a national tour. I am absolutely loving it. I think by the time we are playing in Phoenix we will have hit just about 16 different cities. Considering the fact that we opened on October 29th we’ve really been traveling. I’ve seen parts of the country I’ve never imagined I would have seen, I’m sleeping on a bus to take a nap before a show. Then you know you get to the show and you have the adrenaline and comradery with everyone backstage right before you go on and it’s like you forget the bus ride. It’s just been amazing, it has blown away my expectations.”

Bandstand originally premiered in 2015 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn and opened on Broadway on April 26, 2017. It was directed by Andy Blankenbuehler who was the 2017 Tony Award Winner choreographer for Hamilton. He won choreography for this musical as well. While the musical didn't have a long Broadway run, it was announced that a national tour would begin in the Fall of 2019.

Jonmichael Tarleton

“I’m pretty consistently looking at casting websites like playbill.com, backstage.com, and Actors Access,” Tarleton explained. “I was on Playbill and it just so happened that Kate Lumpkin, the casting director, had put a post out asking for actor-musicians. One specific role, Johnny Simpson was mentioned would need to be an intermediate to advanced drummer. I read up on the show, listened to the cast album, and once I knew what this show was about, about the message and the power of the piece, it was a no-brainer for me.”

Playing the drums is not the only unique thing about Johnny Simpson’s character. When Tarleton was in his call back audition, he was told the character of Johnny was severely injured in the war which has caused memory loss and affected speech. Tarleton’s development of Johnny turned into an intense exploration of trying to understand what his journey would be like.

“Johnny doesn’t actually remember the war. His jeep that he was driving was hit by a shell and he suffered his injuries, waking up in a daze,” Tarleton stated. “He says it a couple of times in the show that he almost feels grateful that he doesn’t remember the war. So developing (the role) was tough for me. I did a lot of research, like how a soldier would have gotten the license to drive a jeep in the war. I tried to build into his physicality when Johnny is attentive is he literally at attention? How much does his body remember the training he had with the memory loss? I continued to work these things through rehearsals and grow to gain momentum into breathing life into this person.”

Along with the memory loss, Johnny developed affected speech due to the traumatic brain injuries he suffered. As an actor, Tarleton had to physically change the way he speaks and he took the time to understand how.

“It started very simply as an exploration of slowing down the motor functions of my speech. I can hear the words in my head, I am clear in the head, Johnny is all there,” Tarleton expressed strongly. “He just can’t get the words out fast enough because the motor functions of his speech just don’t work as quickly as he’d like to. The next step was I went home and watched a lot of videos of speech pathology and speech pathologists working with victims of traumatic brain injuries. My biggest fear with this role was I wanted to make sure that I was representing these people accurately and never ever playing a caricature of these people.”

With the time, dedication, and research that Tarleton put in, he was able to have an understanding of what it must have been like for someone like Johnny in 1945. Soldiers who returned home from war back then didn’t know what PTSD was yet. And coming home injured was just an added weight that these veterans had to bear.

“The interesting thing about Johnny is that even though he comes home really injured and confused, he has an incredible way of making light of out of every situation,” Tarleton relayed. “With one or two exceptions in the show in which the carpet is really pulled out from under him, Johnny takes everything in stride and is arguably maybe the happiest member of the band right off the bat. He has a lot of gratitude for being allowed to play. I think in 1945 people who had a brain injury like this were often not necessarily respected or weren’t given opportunities other people were. Donny just says, 'listen if you can play the drums you can join the band, no problem.' So he is grateful to Donny, really happy to be playing music.”

In Bandstand, Donny creating the band turns into so much more than just fame and fortune. The band gives soldiers like Johnny a purpose again. Trying to explain what they went through and saw on the battlefield isn’t an easy task, but they discover that music is a universal language that everyone can relate to.

“As is true for most of the band members, once we’re in the band and playing, Johnny is finally able to express himself through drums,” Tarleton expressed passionately. “Even if I can’t string a sentence together, by playing the drums I can express any emotion I’m feeling. It’s a release of the tension I’ve been feeling. I’m not worried about the back pain or the memory loss, and I can just bask in the music and the brotherhood. It’s finally getting to do something I can be good at.”

The power of this story is not only touching but accurate. Bandstand is certified by “Got Your 6”, a non-profit organization founded in 2012 by Chris Marvin, a U.S. Army veteran, that strives for military veterans' lives to be more accurately represented in television and film. The writers of the musical, Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor worked with “Got Your 6” and Bandstand is now the first theatrical production to be certified by the organization.

“The purpose of this musical is to accurately represent the trauma of post-war World War II in a way that hasn’t been done on stage before,” Tarleton explained. “One really awesome thing is that we are certified by “Got Your 6”, and they work with the show to make sure that it’s an accurate representation of what life is like as a veteran. They work with actual veterans who read the script and give input. This production shows the struggle that these people were having and the strength they had in overcoming that. I think the healing power of music and dance, swing dance is really prevalent in the show as well. I think that the show shows that art is a way to move past traumas in your life.”

Using music to move past their traumas from the war is exactly what the members of the band in Bandstand are doing. Tarleton plays the drums and has been playing them intermittently throughout his life. The casting call did ask for actor-musicians for a reason because the band on stage, really plays.

“The band is live, we’re playing the instruments!” Tarleton expressed with glee. “It’s been really, really cool. The music was a little bit outside of my comfort zone at first. It is a swing show and it’s not necessarily more difficult than what I’m used to, but very different than what I’m used to. So I worked through a book by John Riley about bop drumming and jazz drumming and just worked up to rehearsals. The song that is the most impactful for me is 'Right This Way'. It is the ending of Act One and I don’t want to give the plot away but we as a band decide to really make things happen for ourselves regardless of the obstacles we are facing. It’s the first time we all sing together in harmony. As soon as we come in together it sends chills down my spine, I am getting chills just talking about it. It’s an incredibly powerful moment in the show.”

the National Tour cast of Bandstand
photo by Jeremy Daniel

Along with the music being quite powerful in the show, it is matched with superb dancing and ensemble performances. As mentioned before, the original choreographer was Andy Blankenbuehler and he won a Tony Award for his choreographic creations.

“There’s a really particular scene that the show is well known for in “You Deserve It”, Tarleton began. “Big tricks swing dance numbers and there is this one moment where Andy Blankenbuehler decided to slow everything down. The dancers go from crazy fast flips and turns and then everything goes into slow motion. You can see the strain in their muscles, you can see the stress in their bodies. It goes from this big bombastic joyful moment to one where you see the minutiae of what it takes, what dancing is taking out of these people, what they are giving to their performance and what their characters are experiencing in 1945 swing dancing. It’s the release of tension and stress. I think intense is the right word.”

Acting in this show since October, performing this role consistently over and over again has, as Tarleton said before, blown away his expectations. Specifically, he has walked away with new experiences, opened eyes, and some new perspectives.

“An actual and overwhelming appreciation of veterans I think is one of the biggest things I am going to take away from this,” Tarleton stated. “So far one of the coolest parts of the trips was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we (the cast) visited a VA Hospital and just played bingo for a few hours with some veterans from Vietnam and Korean War. We talked to these men, got to share and spend time with them. It was really impactful because you can do all the research into what it feels like to come home from the war but it is very different hearing it from the horse’s mouth. Regardless of your stance on war, the reality is that veterans in the military when they enlist agree to make the ultimate sacrifice and there is something about that which was hard for me to wrap my head around. I feel very grateful honestly to the men and women who have served and that’s what I’m going to take away.”

Bandstand will play five performances at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Phoenix from December 6th through the 8th. The cast and crew will have traveled through 16 cities, airports, buses, and hotels for Phoenix audiences to experience this meaningful story that they believe will touch you this holiday season.

“I think audiences not only are going to leave humming a tune because the music is really catchy but I think they are going to walk away moved, really, really moved by this piece of theatre,” Tarleton professed. “I think the healing power that this show has for people who have suffered any trauma, have any ties to the military, or just love the theatre; the healing power of this show is really astounding. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of theatre and people are going to walk away moved, I think is the best way I can say it.”

CLICK HERE for more information on Bandstand at the Orpheum Theater, December 6-8