Mashup Rock & Roll Musical Wants to "Celebrate and Question" Society

Bringing weird (and rockin') shows to northern Michigan one musical at a time

By Ren Brabenec | Aug. 3, 2024

Weird, wacky, inclusive, creative, committed, and collaborative. Describing Mashup Rock & Roll Musical in a sentence is no small feat, as the organization has created a unique and irreverent theater experience that would leave even the most conservative Broadway critic super-glued to his seat, belly stitched in laughter.

“We’re a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that produces new works, remixing popular culture not just to entertain, but to celebrate and question the society we live in, with stories that promote inclusion and tolerance,” said Lesley Tye as we sat down with her and husband and Mashup co-founder Anthony Bero.

“That’s our tagline, but we’re also just a bunch of weirdos who really like music and theater,” Bero jokes. “We believe there is a place for all us weirdos in this world, and we’re creating that place one production at a time.”

According to Tye and Bero, Mashup came about because the couple wanted to create the shows they wanted to see. Both have deep backgrounds in theater, music, directing, scriptwriting, composing, and casting. Rather than putting on shows that trotted out iconic yet overdone classics, the couple wanted to bridge the gap between vintage production themes from the past to the relevant issues, challenges, and humor of the 21st century.

The Curtain Rises

Mashup got its start in 2013. Their format is unique, not only in the productions they host (which adhere to the “mashup” concept by combining different stories with music, however unlikely the pairing may seem), but also in how they create their works.

Unlike traditional plays and musicals in which actors must mold themselves to the roles they are cast, Tye writes her scripts for Mashup’s productions based on the actors. And unlike traditional musical accompaniment where musicians play the established songs created for that production, Bero gives existing hits a new sound or creates entirely new musical works to accompany the story playing out on stage.

How does it work? On the acting side, once Tye has an idea for a production, she holds auditions. Once she knows who will be cast for each role, Tye writes the script, penning the material with each cast member’s personality, style, identity, and creative ingenuity in mind. In so doing, Mashup’s productions have been lauded for their messages of camaraderie, queer acceptance, and powerful social commentary.

“A glance at our production titles gives away our hand pretty quickly,” says Tye with a smile. “I mean, c’mon, BROmeo vs The Juliettes, Popeyes Wide Shut, A Midsummer Night’s California Dream, Grimm’s Alternative Fairytales, The Sound of mUZIc—just from the titles you know you’re going to get something funny, quirky, and unique but also insightful and uplifting.”

The organization rolled out one production per year until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on community gatherings. During the pandemic, Tye and Bero masked up and put on some outdoor productions with their troupe, like the popular Scooby Doo-Wop and its sequel. The founders also dedicated some pandemic downtime to restructuring the organization as a nonprofit and arranging financials so the duo could pay actors a stipend.

“Mashup’s first several productions were funded from our own pockets and produced with the volunteer time of our actors,” says Bero. “But good management of the organization has enabled us to now pay actors for their work, and we’ve never lost money on a show. That’s allowed us to grow over the years.”

The Show Must Go On

Eleven years in, the organization has indeed grown and evolved. As local venues became available and later shuttered, Tye and Bero have had to think on their feet, sometimes not knowing what a venue would look like until their actors and musicians showed up for set installation and dress rehearsal the day of a performance.

“It makes sense though,” says Tye with a laugh. “That is just so theater. Our shows put new takes and comedic undertones on pop culture themes, so I guess it’s appropriate that in our humorous approach to our productions we would also be humored and humbled by the curveballs of showbiz. If we’re not laughing, we’re crying, and vice versa!”

To that point, the greatest challenge facing the troupe and their musician comrades is the issue of a venue or a “home base,” as Tye and Bero call it. From Parallel 45 to InsideOut Gallery, many smaller venues that were more fitting (and affordable) for a small production are no longer around, and the larger venues are unaffordable.

For example, the organization got its start at InsideOut, at that time a warehouse-turned-gallery that, according to the troupe, always felt like it was going to collapse in on them. Plus, the lighting had one setting and one setting only, and the acoustics, well, “what acoustics?” one might say. But it was their home, and more than one tear was shed when the gallery shuttered in 2016.

At InsideOut, the troupe put on sold-out and packed productions that, according to Bero, would have earned them a stern glare from the fire marshal. As the years passed, Mashup used funds from ticket sales to invest in more production material. Meanwhile, the troupe developed relationships with organizations like Parallel 45 and Old Town Playhouse to facilitate bigger and better productions.

In the future, the troupe hopes to find another home base in the Grand Traverse area.

Coming to the Stage

2023 marked the first year Mashup hosted two productions, a feat Tye and Bero have been planning for since before the pandemic. The troupe has two productions on the docket for 2024 as well, one in October and another slated for the holidays.

October will feature a reboot of The Sound of mUZIc. A parody of the beloved classic The Sound of Music, Mashup’s feminist retelling sets the iconic tale in a zombie apocalypse.

Maria, the top zombie killer in the nation, is sent to save the “VonTrapped” family in the mountains of Colorado as they are surrounded by the encroaching “NaZombies.” The production is set to a rock soundtrack sure to delight zombie, musical, and rock ’n’ roll fans alike. Show dates are set for October 18, 19, 20, 24, and 25, with tickets on sale soon and showtimes and a venue to be announced.

Over the holidays, Mashup is putting on Madonnativity, A Holiday Show. The production incorporates Madonna’s music with pop culture themes, holiday drama, the importance of community, and how lending a hand to a stranger can make the world a better place. For Madonnativity, Mashup will perform in multiple venues, including the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall on November 30, the Garden Theater in Frankfort on December 5, and multiple showings in Traverse City on December 12-15.

In addition to the regular ticketed shows, Mashup hosts a Pay What You Can night for each production to ensure finances are never a barrier to enjoying theater.

To learn more about Mashup or to find upcoming shows, head to mashuprockandrollmusical.com.

Photo from Grimm's Alternative Fairy Tales by Harpe Star.