A young Dublin woman is eyeing Broadway after her debut musical became a surprise hit in the US and UK and is now set to be seen by a leading New York producer at a special performance this Friday night.
26-year-old Lauren Gaffney from Malahide first staged Big Shot, a musical tale of romance, crime and adventure, in The Helix theatre in Dublin when she was a 21-year-old student at DCU.
The two-hour show features 18 songs and tells the story of Jeremy Crocker, a whip smart New York lawyer who falls for Carrie, a struggling Irish artist working in his favourite cafe in downtown Manhattan.
This Friday the show returns to The Helix for a one-off performance which will be attended by Ken Davenport, the Tony award winning producer of Once on This Island, Kinky Boots, Macbeth, and off Broadway shows, including Altar Boys.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, vocal trainer, musical director, producer and songwriter Lauren said, "We eventually emailed him briefly and then three months ago me and Big Shot co-producer Grainne Mac Neill decided to just call his office and pretend that we knew him but he was in a meeting so we sent him another email. I didn’t realise he had replied because it ended up in my junk mail but he said he’d love to come over."
After small beginnings in The Helix four years ago, Big Shot has gone on to enjoy an award-winning run at the San Diego Fringe Festival, where it won the Spirit of Fringe Award, and a six-night run at the London Irish Centre in 2016.
Lauren first came up with the idea of writing her own musical at a very young age. "I always had it in my head that I’d love to write a show. I didn’t know how to go about it or anything but I’d written this song and I thought I could hear a lawyer singing this.
"I was about 21 and all these songs kept flowing and all these little stories kept coming into my head, all these different characters, and then the name of the show and then more songs came from there.
"I’ve always been surrounded by musicals since I was a kid. I was forced to watch Annie and Grease. It probably all stemmed from that maybe."
Big Shot came about with a real "hey kids! Let’s do the show right here!" attitude. "That’s exactly what it was. I was in college in DCU at the time and there are so many opportunities in college so we put on auditions and there was a lot of interest and college was so supportive and let us stage the musical in the hall.
"Every time I put it on, more and more people were coming. It was sold out and I thought, hang on, this may actually be good so I did some re-writing on it . . . "
"Ending up on Broadway is the dream! I’d love to write a Broadway musical. We need more Irish people over there." Lauren Gaffney
She went on to stage the show frequently over the past few years and after working on Irish productions of American Idiot, Mamma Mia, Singin’ In The Rain, Grease, and Fame, Lauren decided to gibe Big Shot another shot.
"In the back of mind I always knew it was a good piece of work and every time I do it people bring different things to it so I had this gnawing in my head that I had to bring it back," she says. "There were always cast members asking me why I wasn’t doing it anymore . . . but it’s not that easy to just put it on but then it is when you start doing it!
"I’ve been so blessed that the cast and everybody else just seems to really enjoy being part of it. It is a lot of fun as well as hard work at the end of the day."
With a whole new cast, new song, and a big name Broadway producer watching from the wings this Friday night, Lauren says the excitement has overtaken her nerves.
"We had a big huge rehearsal last night and it went really well and I think the show is the best it’s ever been. The music is tighter, the script flows a lot better I think and I’m a bit older now.
"It’s a bit more real and makes more sense. I feel a bit more confident this time. Ending up on Broadway is the dream! I’d love to write a Broadway musical. We need more Irish people over there."
