A Conversation With Playwright Tom Chiodo, "Adventures In The Great Beyond", The Hudson Mainstage Theatre, by James Scarborough

Tom Chiodo’s “Adventures In The Great Beyond” emerges as a kaleidoscopic voyage of spirituality in the post-Aquarian age. This pop-rock musical, set to premiere at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre, combines themes of reincarnation, karma, and self-discovery. Chiodo’s script, complemented by Joe Nedder’s music, offers a refreshing take on the ever-relevant quest for meaning.

The story’s unconventional twist — a mother-guru romance that transcends lifetimes — gives us a provocative lens through which to examine intergenerational dynamics and spiritual seeking. This clever plot device underscores the cyclical nature of human experience, a theme that resonates with the musical’s exploration of karmic philosophy.

Chiodo’s background in media and healthcare lends an intriguing dimension to the work. His experience in developing documentaries may inform the musical’s approach to complex themes, potentially offering a nuanced portrayal of new age philosophies.

The collaboration between Chiodo, a seasoned professional, and Nedder, a rising talent, presents a creative synergy that echoes the musical’s themes. This partnership promises a unique blend of perspectives, bridging the gap between Baby Boomer wisdom and Gen Z innovation in both content and form.

JS: How does your experience in documentary filmmaking inform your approach to theatrical storytelling, especially in addressing complex themes like spirituality and self-discovery?

TC: In documentaries, we try to share the cultural or societal history and influence of a topic, as well as statistics and demographics, along with “lived experience” all through storytelling about one individual or family. So, in a film about cancer, genetics, mental health or caregiving, we try to weave complex issues like stigma, discrimination, cultural attitudes, gender bias, historical information, all through the lens and words of a few personal stories that we follow, as told by and about a person or persons with the lived experience.  Apply that to spirituality or metaphysics, in this musical, we tell a story of the life journey through the lens of eight characters, and in telling the story, we see the humanity of their experience, and through laughter, maybe some tears, and with questions asked, we understand a little more about a topic; we understand a little more about people; and maybe we also relate to some of the experiences, and see ourselves and our beliefs through the storytelling.  Don’t get me wrong, this is a joyous romp, a comedy, with some touching personal  moments about some light and somewhat heavy topics of self-exploration, with a light touch. Through lyrics, music and script, we tell a story, that we hope young and old can relate.

JS: How does the production engage with the evolving perception of new age philosophies since the dawn of the Age of Aquarius?

TC: Like the two creators of this musical, one a baby boomer and one a Gen Z, both identifying with subjects like truth, self-exploration, reincarnation, spirituality, how do two people nearly five decades a part in age relate to these topics and create a musical? Well, whether we are old enough to have gone to Woodstock, or young and old enough to have gone to Burning Man, we are searching all of our life, to better understand ourselves.   There are many interpretations about what the Age of Aquarius is about. I believe that it is about rebirth and renewal, and a chance to expand our ideas of what we can create in our lives.  I’ve studied metaphysics for about 41 years.   Two lyrics from the musical, “the vision of one world, may cost you the next” and “choice are miracles, choose them, don’t lose them” that describe my sense of our life journey.  If you live in a box you don’t know what is outside of it, and may never fully explore who you are.  So, make choices every day and dare to follow your fears, and discover they often dissipate, when we do.

JS: Elaborate on the creative process of collaborating with Joe Nedder. How did this partnership influence the musical’s themes and composition?

TC: Collaborating with Joe, in musical theatrical terminology, has been “like butta.”  Smooth.  Joyous.  He was able to take lyrics, mostly written before he was born, and not only add soaring musical structure, but emotion, style, a pop rock sensibility, and lyrics that marry with the sounds have you humming long after the show ends.

JS: How do you balance the production’s comic elements with the more profound philosophical questions the musical raises?

TC: Well, there is the story in the script, and a separate back story to every song. Some serious, some comical, and some both.  I wrote the songs based on lived experiences. I wrote Karma when my Mom was coping with terminal cancer.  I saw the tug and pull of karma on our lives, and how we cope with challenging moments, me, her, and my family. But even in challenging moments there are joyous ones.   You never know what your best day on earth will be, so don’t sell yourself short, before you have had the chance to live it to the fullest, regardless of the challenges. That is my personal backstory, and then there is the story of the young leading female character the musical is based, and her interpretation of karma in the midst of predicament when her Mom is up to comical antics kidnapping her from following a gregarious guru, and someone blurts out “parents suck.”   In another part of the story a desert dwelling left-over hippie living in an Airstream in the middle of the desert, guides the 20-year old rebellious young woman to go light on her mother, by sharing a story about getting pregnant and giving up a child when she was 20.  That’s the story in the script.   It starts out farcical, with the young woman tied to a to cactus in the middle of the Arizona desert. The backstory that inspired me to write the lyrics, before the script was a time when my cousin, who has wonderful son, about the same age as my son, shared with me that she had lost a child when she was younger, and she wondered about the spirit of that baby.  I sometimes walk a tightrope to communicate messages.  But in this day and age, when we can’t agree on even facts, and we argue about every little thing, I try to write to bring us together to feel something. And through that, we get closer to our humanity, and look at others, with more compassion and consideration.     

JS: How does the musical’s immersive format contribute to its exploration of spiritual and existential themes?

TC: All my life, I’ve been called a dreamer. I come from pretty simple beginnings, raised in the hills of western Pennsylvania. I like to think that after four careers, one more consuming than the previous one, having been able to adopt and raise a son on my own as a single Dad, I have made my dreams come true, personally and professionally. I sure can say that I’ve given it my best shot. I am always humbled by the possibilities and what life has brought, through imagining it, working for it, but feeling it and seeing it.   Projection mapping, or immersive images on the stage, can beautifully represent what we imagine in our heads. Remember, we spend one-third of our lives asleep, dreaming and imagining, as though it were real. And some of us do it in the daytime.  I cop to that concept.  Another lyric, “we hear with our minds, instead of hearts, we ignore all the signs, until we fall apart.” In this musical, we encourage imagination and we explore spiritual themes. And we try to balance spoken word, lyrical storytelling, music, and immersive imagery on screens, to give audiences a 90-minute adventure into the themes, that we hope they will feel a part, and that they’ve experienced the existential themes.  

JS: How do you approach the challenge of making concepts like karma and reincarnation accessible and engaging for a diverse theatrical audience?

TC: We approach Reincarnation through humor.  How many times in our lives do we say, if I were president, or in charge, this is what I would do? How many times, do we see a film and want to be a Marvel character or don a cape as a kid to be superwoman or superman? Well, in Reincarnation, we imagine being those things and more, in multiple lifetimes, til we get it right, as a guru, who is really just a regular guy, sings about how he always wanted to be a basketball star, the number one on the court, but every lifetime, kept coming back too short.  Karma is a little but serious because we all believe that people bring things on themselves, another way of saying karma’s gonna get ya.  And sometimes, we hear ourselves say, what did I do to deserve this, another way of saying karma got me. We keep it simple and relatable.   We joke about people who believe in spirits, and psychics, and tarot, and seeing the dead, but the ratings for shows  with mediums and psychics, are pretty good. I feel confident that young and old, with diverse beliefs, will leave the show, relating to plenty.   We had a staged reading with an audience, before we decided to produce the show, and invited people age 20 to 80, and had them fill out responses to the material.  The comments encouraged us to move to the next step. And here we are.  We hope LA audiences will enjoy and embrace the musical.

JS: Discuss the significance of setting the musical in the Arizona desert. How does this landscape inform the characters’ spiritual journeys?

TC: An important lesson I was taught by a spiritual teacher, and still trying to live my truth, is: If you want to see something, open your eyes. If you want to know something, close your eyes.  Ofttimes, when we need to think and sort something out, we find a quiet spot, without all the clutter of life.  I lived three decades in New York City, and if you want stress, tension and a non-quiet place, go to Manhattan for a few days. If you want peace and quiet, and the ability to be alone with your thoughts, or to clear your mind, go to the middle of the Arizona desert, just outside of Tucson, and feel the energy of the red mountains, and the natural order of things.  Travel this country and hang out on the plains, hike mountains and canyons, swim in rapids.   I set the Ashram of the Great Beyond in the middle of the desert, where some people don’t need alarm clocks, they wake with sun, and count stars. To me, this is a good place for a spiritual journey for someone who may feel lost, as does the main character in this show.  Sometimes we find answers in the middle of the big city, maybe less often than what we can find in a quiet place.

JS: How does the musical address the tensions between traditional academic paths and alternative spiritual pursuits, as shown by the protagonist’s decision to drop out of college?

TC: Society traditionally places a lot of pressure on us to look a certain way, live a certain way, compete to be number one, the richest, and the most-educated.  Young people today have incredible pressure from social media, and inundation of stimuli.   The mental health of our country is in need of some serious tension relief. Education is critically important, and we should always seek to learn. I advocate for a good education, always, and in every way that we can. There are many kinds of education.  College is one. The character in this story is running from herself, and from one thing to another.  She is trying to figure herself out. Her stint in a spiritual environment could lead her back to college. You know, I could stand to be corrected, but I am pretty sure that there are few universities, Harvard and Brown, for instance, that when founded, required students to take their second year of university off, to be sure it was right for them. I’s call that soul-searching and a spiritual journey of sorts. Ultimately, the lesson of this character is one I think that have learned, and repeat to my son.  “It isn’t about where you are, but who you are, where you are.” It’s all about the journey.  

JS: How does the musical’s portrayal of relationships across different age groups reflect broader societal shifts in spiritual and philosophical thinking?

TC: For some cultures within the United States, it is intrinsic to a family to care for elders. They live with you in intergenerational family settings. In cultural trends today, everyone is in a rush. Kids have cell phones before they’re 5 years old.  And distance separates families and generations. Our friend groups, news groups, all feel more homogeneous rather than heterogenous.  There may be a glimmer among today’s younger generations to mix it up again.  Call it spiritual or philosophical, I think the trend for authenticity and honoring intergenerational experiences, seeking each other’s ideas, listening more, controlling less, may be on the upswing.  In this musical story, we see a 20-something and her Mom, a 40-something, each going through their own search for self, and also work through how mother and daughter interact, hold-too-tight, sometimes run from each other, and sometimes run from themselves.  Kind of an “every person’s” journey, that we all go through at some point in our lives. Whether you’ve lived for seven decades or two, we always have something to share with one another and learn from one another.

JS: How does the production contribute to the ongoing dialogue about spirituality and self-realization in contemporary society?

TC: First, I hope audiences will enjoy this 90-minute adventure.  It is fast-paced and we sing about subjects that are fun and hopefully inspiring.  Second, I hope everyone finds something in the show that they can identify with, in terms of what they believe about how we live our lives.  Maybe they’ll leave both humming a tune, but also thinking anew about how they will approach someone, some situation, or themselves, moving forward.  If we put a smile on their face, maybe a tear in their eyes, or make them feel something, it is theatre’s way of saying, they had a spiritual experience. Seriously, if I must be serious about “a divine musical comedy of karmic proportions,” our society is “craving” ways we can celebrate life, instead of the recent years of hate and division in our country, of tribal camps that only listen to people who say what they want to hear.  If this show causes audiences to think a little differently about themselves or their perspective, or the choices they make, then we have done our job. 

Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm, from November 9 to December 8, 2024. Preview performances run from November 1 to 8, 2024. Tickets are $45 for general admission, $20 for students, seniors, and industry (use promo code 225). Preview tickets are $30 for general admission and $20 for students, seniors, and industry (use promo code 410). The Hudson Mainstage Theatre is located at 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90038. For more information, click here.

Tom Chiodo (Book & Lyrics) and Joe Nedder (Music)

DAYTIME

NIGHTTIME

Song Samples:

Great Beyond    https://vimeo.com/1008168927

Mirror Song.  https://vimeo.com/1011646315

Auras. https://vimeo.com/1012144525