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On Friday, former NSYNC member JC Chasez and his collaborator, Jimmy Harry, are releasing the concept album for Playing with Fire, a new musical inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Entertainment Weekly has your exclusive first listen to two songs off the album, the title track (above) and “Build Me Someone to Love” (below).
The musical is based off a play of the same name written by Barbara Field (Harry’s mother), and it takes a conversation between a dying Frankenstein and his creation, the Creature, at the grave of Frankenstein’s wife, Elizabeth, as its jumping off point. Chasez also sings on the album, alongside Cardamon Rozzi and Lily Elise.
Harry is a pop producer and songwriter who has worked with the likes of Britney Spears, Pink, and Kelly Clarkson.
While the concept album is just that, a proof of concept, both Chasez and Harry hope the album will have a future on stage after this. “The goal with the concept album is to share our excitement for the fully realized musical,” Chasez tells EW. ” It’s a huge dream to have this piece fully in stage form. I understand that making a musical is a daunting challenge, but I believe in the work and want to make it happen.”
In addition to previewing the two tracks, EW also spoke with Chasez and Harry about the project. The full album will be available beginning Oct. 25. Listen to the songs above and read on for more below.
JC Chasez and Jimmy Harry.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you first want to write a musical and why?
JIMMY HARRY: My mother was a playwright, and writing music for theatre was a natural progression as a budding musician. I spent a lot of time in fringe theater during my youth, where I wrote three musicals before transitioning into a career as a pop songwriter and producer.
JC CHASEZ: Musical theater was always something I have loved thanks to a few key pieces in my childhood, but the urge to write kicked into high gear when I came across a piece written by Voltaire that sent me into overdrive a year or so before COVID shut the world down.
You have such a strong background in pop — was it a natural transition to writing for musical theater?
HARRY: As I had worked in the theatre before, I had a decent understanding what went into writing a musical. But coming back to it really made me fall in love with theatre again, and having developed my craft as a songwriter and musician to a higher level gave me a bunch of new tools and techniques that made writing for musical theater really exciting.
CHASEZ: It’s been a natural progression for me since I have approached writing the music for our musicals by following my instincts as well as studying, which I enjoy.
Why was the story of Frankenstein what captured your imagination? Have you always loved that story?
CHASEZ: Playing With Fire’s version of Frankenstein captured my imagination because of the way Barbara Field’s approach to the story made some of the emotional aspects more direct to me — and that was eye opening and inspiring. Once her point of view on the story shed some light on things for me, I started seeing Frankenstein in so many stories out there that I have enjoyed and have been inspired by.
HARRY: I was first introduced to Frankenstein through my mother’s adaptation, Playing With Fire (After Frankenstein). That led me to read Mary Shelley’s original novel, which I admired for its amazing exploration of humanity’s relationship with technology and the conversation it would pose in the future. What I loved most about my mother’s version, however, was how it delved more deeply into the characters’ humanity, capturing their emotional complexities more clearly than any other version of Frankenstein I have seen.
Do you have a song on the album you’re proudest of?
CHASEZ: I’m proudest of the fact that I love the body of work. One of the challenges is to make a cohesive body of work that doesn’t feel one note, and I feel like we have created an exciting journey.
HARRY: Impossible to choose. I do really love every song on the album for different reasons. But it really shines when you experience the album it in its entirety.
What song was hardest to crack?
CHASEZ: “Broken” was a challenging song. It has to do a lot of work in the storytelling, and emotionally it’s a lot to process.
HARRY: “Broken” was the hardest song to write for the musical; it took over a month to complete. The subject matter was so sensitive that it needed to be approached with great care. Some days, we would finish a session having only written a couple of words. Musically, we aimed for it to feel like a sung conversation that builds in urgency, which presented its own challenges.
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This is the full concept album. Are you still intending to seek out opportunities to stage the show fully?
HARRY: Yes, for sure! We are looking at doing a concert version within the next 6 months and then, hopefully, a fully staged version will follow.
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