KVUE: Human Resources the Musical: Live musical experience goes virtual →

Author: Brittany Flowers

AUSTIN, Texas — Putting on a live musical is no easy feat. Putting on a live musical virtually seems nearly impossible, but somehow creative people will always find a way to create. 

Mallory Schlossberg is one of those creatives who found a way to express her art in 2020. She wrote, directed and produced a campy musical comedy called "Human Resources." 

"I felt sort of overwhelmed with the desire to tell a story about how women are treated in the workplace," said Schlossberg.

She started writing it in March of 2019 and took a break for a little bit, but with her time at home and help from musical director Alexandra Smith, she finished it. 

Their intention wasn't for the musical to be virtual. It was meant for the stage, but they were able to figure out how to make the experience live with some help from other Austinites. 

In the performances, the songs are prerecorded, but the acting is all live.

"We have not seen anyone else accomplish this feat, and the problems we have solved in the last eight months are not what we're seeing anywhere, and we're really proud of that," said Smith.

They've seen other productions with edited performances, but from what they can tell, theirs is the only with live elements. 

Everything they did to prepare for the musical was done virtually, from rehearsals to choreography. It's a full-length musical with an intermission. The shows are a full production that relies on technology.

Mallory hopes someday her musical will be in-person, on a live stage. For now, she's just thankful she has an outlet for her art.

"More than anything, I want people to feel like they're at the theater again," said Schlossberg. 

To learn more about the musical, or to find tickets, click here. 

Sets: Behind the Scenes @ Human Resources the Musical! →

Set designer Hailey Strader walks through the process of creating digital sets for Human Resources the Musical! It's performed live and virtually from across the US!

Tickets for livestreaming shows December 18th and 19th at https://www.humanresourcesmusical.com/

Be a part of something bigger than you.

Human Resources is a brand new musical with book and lyrics by Mallory Schlossberg, music by Mallory Schlossberg and Alexandra Smith, and arrangements/scoring by Alexandra Smith.

The plot: Emily Silverberg is a writer who is down on her luck after losing her job at a pseudo-health startup. Her job was supposed to cover IVF and infertility treatments, and now she can't afford them. (She's got a lot of debt from her MFA program.) Her supportive husband, Max, encourages her to apply to work at a bigger and better company—the health food empire Greener Pastures—but before Emily can even apply, she gets a mysterious message from the company's recruiter, who asks her if she wants to be part of something bigger than herself. Once Emily starts working at Greener Pastures, she begins to suspect something’s not quite right. The company's mission is to "to feed the earth," and...let's just say they do that very literally.

Human Resources takes a twist from work-place satire to full-on B-horror comedy. It's a campy, over-the-top musical with original songs that asks us what we'd be willing to give up for purpose and a place, while simultaneously tearing down the systems that prevent us from truly succeeding.

Broadway World Review: MARISOL Explores an Unlikely Apocalypse at Mary Moody Northen Theatre in Austin, TX. →

By Amy Tarver

Never one to color inside the lines, St. Edward's University teams up with local award winning Director Liz Fisher for their staged production of MARISOL. Written and premiering in the early 90's, playwright José Rivera blurs the lines between Manhattan and the prophesied war of the heavens in the new millenia. Introducing the idea that a celestial being can die, God has grown old and senile, and the war to save the world ensues as threatening plagues begin to cross the Greater New York area. Spotlighting The Bronx, and its increase in crime resulting in a seriously unsafe place to live, we meet Marisol (played by Abbygail Cortinas) dodging, quite narrowly, an attack on the subway while travelling home from work. Barely managing to make it home, Marisol is visited by her guardian angel, (played by Sierra Sterling) to reveal the cause of the chaos currently infecting the world. Confusion overtakes Marisol as she wakes up after this encounter, pondering its legitimacy as she enters her Manhattan office, greeted by her best friend, June (played Taylor Hildbrand). Sharing their fear of the disappearance of the moon and everything tasting too salty to eat, they decide to travel to June's apartment in Brooklyn for reprieve and safety. While there, she is harassed by June's manic brother Lenny (played by Andrew Mueller), and yet another element of danger is introduced through his rather strange obsession with Marisol. Tensions run high as Lenny is kicked out and Marisol decides to live with June, but not before she must travel all the way back to her outlandishly dangerous neighborhood in The Bronx for her things. Buckle up for a bumpy and extremely emotional ride while Marisol, Lenny, and June each find themselves in precarious situations as the city begins to crumble on their journey to reunion.

Between the pontification of right and wrong, the emotional outbursts from our characters and the ethereal dialogue, MARISOL is a special brand of tea. A few elements that stand out in St. Edwards staging of this play are the abstract and avante-garde use of actors, set design and lighting. These elements continue to work together from scene to scene, threading the play together as a whole. Something as simple as a spotlight and falling dirt becomes beautiful, and then returns later in a more morbid meaning. The flipping of the staging elements from a positive meaning in one scene, to something sinister later, or visa versa, is the level of detail this type of story needs to combine all the elements of good and evil. In fact, this pendulum is evident in Toby Minors' portrayal of Lenny. While he comes off as kind of creepy yet innocent at first, his behavior turns frighteningly violent and all while the audience does not know why they are rooting for him. This is a credit to Minor's layered performance of a man living in the gray between the black and white of good and evil. The heightened platform on stage toggles between safety, peril and the world ending war in the middle. At every turn, the information presented in one scene, is questioned in the next. Providing a multi-dimensional experience of what the ultimate meaning is, the show leaves the audience pondering the likely chaos that would ensue in a world turned upside-down.

With such a heightened level of drama, given the premise is the battle for human existence, the theatrical reality portrayed by the ensemble was so intense, as the play progressed terrible violence and shocking scenes began to unfortunately lose meaning. Additionally, the vocal technique and direction comes into question when yelling becomes the main form of communication for the better part of the show. Regretfully, dialogue was lost in the mix of yelling and while there are peaks and valleys of emotion in any story to be told, it seemed the mountain the audience climbed with the onstage storytellers didn't provide either side a chance to catch their breath. That said, the post-apocalyptic vibe with such an interesting premise, is an intriguing look at the relationship between humanity and God. Flipping tradition on its head, this experimental performance piece is a unique expression of the examination of these elements. Running at two and a half hours with a 10 minute intermission, the price of admission is well worth the overall storytelling and expert staging elements brought together. As Marisol's safety is questionable at the end of her journey, audiences can breathe a sigh of relief to leave the Mary Moody Northen Theatre in one piece.