Hey there, tired parents! Put the kids to bed and head to New York City’s Theater Row to see the hit off-Broadway show, That Parenting the Musical. This side-split musical depicts the journey of two young parents who find themselves caught up in wild adventures with two children, a vulnerable toddler and an overlooked younger brother. This musical aims to explore the wonderful yet nerve-wracking experience of parenthood in a hilarious and powerful production that everyone can enjoy.
The cast includes Natalie Bourgeois as Single Friend, Max Crumb as Child 1, Vidushi Goyal as Child 2, Brian Owen as Todd/Narrator, Dwayne Washington as Father, and McKenna Ogrodnik as Mother. Offstage cast members include Mia Gentile (stand-in mother, single friend, child 2), Brandon R. Mangan (stand-in father, Todd/Narrator, child 1). The parenting musical is directed by Jen Weinman (Dogman the Musical, Five the Parody Musicals). Click here to learn more about our creative team.
While the show is as colorful and creative as you’d think and never stops being entertaining, the show does contain sexual references and innuendo, making it a good choice for parents of young children and for audiences under 13. It is recommended that you leave it at home. Through the show’s creators, Graham and Christina Fuller, we wanted to capture a peek behind the curtain and bring you more of the magic. Colorado-based husband-and-wife duo Graham and Christina Fuller have spent years developing this show through multiple iterations and leading the way in the industry. From a reading play in New York City to a full-fledged production!
Whether you’re a few subway stops away from Theater Row or about to hop on a plane, train or car, find out more about the show before stepping into the world of That Parenting Musical.
The Parent Watch: As the creators of this show, I wanted to hear more insight from you both. It is a very colorful timeline of the couple’s life, from the time their two children were conceived to when they started school. (The show) was developed over five years, correct me if I’m wrong, and it looks like it premiered in Colorado. How has it changed since the first version?
Graham Fuller: I started writing it in 2017, so it’s been almost seven years. We actually started in November 2017. I went through so many different readings and workshops. I think the current version of the show was about 75% complete by 2019, about two years later. Then there was a break due to COVID-19, and once we restarted, we continued to tweak little things. Most of the show was written in the first two years.
Christina Fulmer: We started writing this show when the kids were 2 and 5, and now they’re 9 and 12.
It’s been a long time!
Fuller: In the young parents’ journey that you’re talking about, we were living that experience with our two children. I thought everything that was happening to us was amazing, ridiculous, funny, scary, all of it. I have only just started writing.
Fulmer: We talk to each other about musical theater. Because we’ve both been doing musicals since we were five years old. Every time something happened, we said, “Oh, this is clearly a song in the Gilbert and Sullivan pattern.” Our psychology goes like this. That’s a doo-wop song,” or whatever it is.
Fuller: It’s hard when everything is thrown at you and you feel like you’re caught in a hurricane. For us, I think the best way to get through something is to just laugh at it. That was really the beginning of these songs. We realized that other parents were going through the same hardships and that they too needed a night to go out and laugh about it and feel like they weren’t alone.
I was sitting in the audience and everyone was laughing hysterically. I was excited! I’m not a parent, but I can understand that feeling. As a caregiver myself, I understand the desire to put your child to bed and spend some time with yourself. There were so many moments that really resonated with me. I think that’s also a result of the actors and their talent. The cast is great. I know some of them were part of development, but many were new. Can you tell us about that and how you assembled this cast for this off-Broadway production?
Fuller: Yeah! Vidushi Goyal, who plays Child Two, is from Colorado and has been with us for every performance of this show since we only had four songs. We contacted her and invited her to our house to hear the song. We found her video in our college a cappella group and thought, “No matter who it is, we want to sing our music forever.” She’s been involved with this project for a long time and now we’re able to do eight shows a week off-Broadway, which is really exciting. Max Crumb. They have also been with the show throughout its development in New York. There were 29 hours of reading and two weeks of work sessions. It’s exciting because the two of them play off each other so well together. They are so funny and talented.
Fulmer: For the remaining six roles (four on-stage and two off-stage), we began casting in late summer, about a month before rehearsals began. We said this. Let’s cast. ”We had one round of auditions and then another round. We watched a lot of videos and we couldn’t find this great group of people who were very funny and emotionally connected who could do the comedy and also do the more sentimental moments of the show. I’m very happy.
The song is very powerful. Usually, especially if it’s a musical and I’m not very familiar with it, I don’t look at the song list on the flyer because I want to be surprised. I was surprised at how great all the songs were! I also loved the song “A Little Bit of Space” by Max. I was really impressed. You guys were responsible for arranging the music, how did you work together to choose what was right for this show and the songs in particular?
Fuller: That was the last song we added to the show.
I was very shocked!
Fulmer: We have a great collaborator in Colorado, Dan Graeber. He is also a co-arranger and orchestrator. For our second act, Child One, we were looking for a song that would bring their identity to the forefront and fill out their arc. We had high hopes for Max to come back this round. He’s a huge Muppets fan. We wanted a simple, folky moment reminiscent of Rainbow Connection, where you can experience the world through this child’s eyes for three minutes. Dan orchestrated it beautifully on guitar and that was the process for that song and that was the last song added to the show.
You also have to give help to the chemistry between the two leads. They were the focus of the show and meshed together so well. How did you stay in touch with them during rehearsals and finalize the song?
Fuller: Oh my god! When Dwayne Washington and McKenna (Ogrodnik) walked into the room together, they hit it off. Their chemistry was great. They were playful, fun, warm, and kind to each other. It felt very natural.
Fulmer: They’re both very versatile, and those roles require that versatility. They’re both really good rappers and singers of all types.
Fuller: They’re physical and they can play. Both have great depth and are able to portray loving and warm characters. It felt so natural and we feel so lucky to have them as our mother and father.
I also have to mention the big issue in this room: the production and set design. That’s amazing! When I went inside, I thought, “Wow, there are so many toys!” It really makes you feel at home. There are scene changes, but you still feel like you’re there. The bookshelf next to the stage is amazing. I know Tim McCabe is the set designer. What was it like working with him and seeing his designs, which are full of toys and doodles?
Fuller: As soon as I saw the model on set on the first day of rehearsal, I knew he was on point. It looks like someone’s house has been taken over by children. It sets the mood perfectly. It’s very fun and colorful. Allan’s (C. Edwards) lighting design enhances this. They all succeeded in it.
I was so fascinated! I wanted to climb there. Looks very attractive. This show feels very multi-generational. I’m not a parent, but I can understand how parents feel about their children. I know young people who just had children, and if they watched this show they’d think, “Oh, this is what we’re living through right now.” Some of the audience members were elderly people who had lived through this era for years. Did you consider this multi-generational aspect when creating the show? There are a lot of satirical elements and some of the language and sexual references are very funny. What was it like thinking about the parents who might bring their children?
Fulmer: It was definitely a balancing act that we were always aware of. We wanted this show to be a modern expression of who we are. Because I wanted it to be primarily for parents who need a night out and just have a laugh with other parents about a common experience.
Fuller: We’ve all been kids at some point. Initially, we were writing for those people. But once people who didn’t have kids or didn’t want kids (especially in Colorado, many of whom were involved in the creative process) started watching the show, they connected with it and really loved it. People come up and say, “I’m not a parent, but this is my second child,” or “That song resonated with me,” or “’Glide’ made me cry because I’ve raised babies.” Masu. And now my kids are in another state. I remember that time very fondly. ”We really wanted the way we talked and the way we had conversations to be authentic. We narrated for the children in our own voices. That’s how we wanted to write these children’s characters. The kids on our show have a very adult vocabulary. Essentially, it’s exactly as we imagine them saying.
Fulmer: Their minds are filtered through our voices, and you actually see the kids start to develop their own voices in “A Little Bit of Space,” and that carries them through the rest of the show.
Well, I loved it. It was so good that I wanted to see more. Usually, I feel like a few shows settle things down nicely. I thought, “I want to see the children as they grow up.” It shows in the book and the performance, all coming together. I applaud everyone for creating such a captivating Off-Broadway show that will definitely resonate with this audience.
Catch That Parenting Musical at Theater Row, 410 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036. Tickets are on sale until January 2025. Purchase your tickets at Theater Row.com!
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