Hi, I'm Christy McDonald, and here's what's coming up on "One Detroit."

Behind the scenes of the Detroit Public Theater televise production "From Broadway to Obscurity," and bringing local theater to your living room during COVID.

Plus the quarantine interludes of news anchor and musician, Devin Scillian.

Then jazz great Joan Belgrave on grief, music, and connection.

It's all coming up right now on "One Detroit."

Announcer 1: From Delta faucets to Behr paint, MASCO Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

MASCO, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Announcer 2: Support for this program provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV, the Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

Announcer 1: The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV.

Among the state's largest foundations, committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

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♪♪ Hey, "One Detroit," I'm Christy McDonald.

Happy New Year.

Okay, so we're really close to saying goodbye to 2020.

It has been a rough year.

So if you're home and relaxing with us on this New Year's Eve, this show is going to be all about music, arts, and culture that we've been missing since COVID.

Coming up, we have a behind the scenes look at what it took to bring the Detroit Public Theater production of "From Broadway to Obscurity" to television.

It's the beginning of a partnership and a way to get that theater fix we're all craving during COVID.

Also ahead, you know him from anchoring the news, but Devin Scillian also gives us our daily music fix with his quarantine interludes that went viral this year.

I catch up with him.

Then jazz great Joan Belgrave talks with me about grief, music, and connection.

All right, so let's head to the theater first.

Back in October here on Detroit Public TV we had a night of local theater on television.

It was the first effort of a partnership between us, the Detroit Public Theater, and the Marygrove Conservancy to bring performances to our homes.

Eric Gutman's one man show called "From Broadway to Obscurity" was a total musical theater nerd's dream.

It was a great show, it was funny, fantastic music.

You felt like you were back at the theater.

It took a lot of adjusting for both the theater and the television crews to bring this performance to air.

And this is a look at how it all happened.

We did really great work yesterday.

We are in really good shape.

Thank you everyone for contributing everything that you have to get us to this point, and today's gonna be really, really exciting.

I mean, the pandemic's awful to this industry, to all my friends and coworkers.

We're all here to create art, because we haven't been able to because of this pandemic.

So we're here today, and let's enjoy it.

Great.

I feel so blessed and thankful to Detroit Public Theater and Chautauqua Institute and DPTV and everybody else involved that, of all the shows that they picked mine, it just means, it means the world to me.

("Oh What A Night") (audience applauding) ♪ Oh what a night ♪ Late December back in 63 That filming was the start of our partnership with Detroit Public Television, where we've been looking for ways to partner with arts and cultural organizations, such as DPTV, to really showcase and highlight the benefits of our theater.

♪ You're just too good to be true ♪ Preserving our legacy of arts and culture in this community is a really important value of the Conservancy.

We believe that through gentrification and through a number of other systemic changes in our neighborhoods, bases such as these traditionally go away.

And so we're working hard to make sure that these spaces remain affordable and accessible.

Also that arts and culture can remain a staple on this institution's campus.

Shortly after graduation, I learned of an off-Broadway show that was having a Detroit run, and they were looking for local understudies to audition.

I figured I'd go, I'd have my first real professional audition experience.

Our mission at Detroit Public Theater is really to provide theater for everyone, to make theater accessible, to make theater that our public in Detroit, that people who live in Detroit, people who are Detroiters, see themselves reflected in the work that we do.

So I think the values of DPTV and Detroit Public Theater are aligned.

Probably needs more lighting, because the camera can't- The theater community right now is in the somewhere around 95, 96% unemployment rate.

So it's devastating out there.

Another big motivation for us wanting to do this safely was to create work but to try to find a way that we, and by example, all of us can continue to do what we do, what we were put on this earth to do.

This is such a gift that we get to do this for eight hours, so soak it in.

Don't know when we'll be in the theater again.

I teach college, so I've been, all summer long we've been dealing with how do we make theater in our current situation?

I leapt at the chance to do this when Eric called and said we were doing it.

I love this show.

I stage manage a lot of plays, and I don't get the chance to do musicals a lot.

So this is really a fun treat for me, because it's so many musicals wrapped into one.

♪ Find the one song before the critics take hold Maureen ♪ ♪ Like Lloyd Webber ♪ One song to redeem this pain and strife ♪ 2014 we premiered at, so it's been, we've been performing it now for six years.

In 2013 a place called Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield, the managing director there at the time is an old friend of mine, and she called me, she said, "Do you wanna do a cabaret "about your time with 'Jersey Boys?'"

And I was in Chicago at the time.

I said, "Yeah, sure, that'd be fun."

After 10 months in Detroit.

It kind of morphed out of a cabaret and into a book show.

I started working on it with Brian, my director, and after 10 months and 14 drafts, we have what is being presented tonight.

Get me in for interviews at the restaurants.

He knew he wanted to tell his story, but, initially it was kind of all showbiz.

It was all that story.

And I think eventually we found our way into the more personal narrative.

And I think that's when we really found the heart of the show.

♪ I step off the edge I'm fallin' baby ♪ Brian was really instrumental in kinda piecing all my thoughts together.

And so I don't kind of just go off the rails, so to speak, which sometimes I do.

As we were developing it, starting to learn, I had no idea about struggles and the things that he went through.

So for me, it was like re-meeting a friend in that collaboration.

And living in a city where there are 50,000 other actors just like you, struggling, and clawing their way from audition to audition.

We actually have only had a couple of days to put it all together.

So it's kind of been a whirlwind process.

I think all the shots are pretty wide, but not incorporating the projections ever.

Is there a possible shot from this camera that has, that also incorporates the projection?

Yeah.

And we had some partnerships, obviously, with DPTV and WNED that made it possible that we could bring these productions to life.

Can start to, now start centering him.

For us, there's nothing that can quite compare to being in a room together with our audience.

And we are craving that and looking forward to when that can happen again.

But for now we're not gonna stop making art and connecting.

♪ You're just too good to be true ♪ What they're calling me is the Transition Director, which is actually, I've come to believe, that it's, I'm the interpreter because I speak two languages.

I speak theater and I speak film.

My job is is to watch what's happening on stage, but also what's happening on the monitor and make sure that the people on stage, what they're looking for is being translated to the people who are running the cameras and the backstage.

It's very strange to film in this way with no audience.

You know?

♪ As I recall it ended much It's different.

It's always different than being in a live theater.

There's no replacement for gathering in the room together with an audience.

♪ As I recall it ended It's just, it's a ghost town.

So it was hard to adjust that way.

So to not have the human bodies there, the cameras, he had, he did a great job communicating with those and playing the show as if there was an audience.

I've done this show for, yes, six years.

I've done it, I don't know, 60 times, 70 times.

And I always kind of know where the laugh is gonna be or where the applause is gonna be.

2100 people think I am far too short to play this role.

In Chicago- There's no holding for laughter.

There's no holding for applause.

So that's the big thing to kinda get used to.

It's knowing that I do like a really big song that takes a lot out of me, and I don't have the six, seven seconds of applause to catch my breath.

It's just like, catch your breath quick, move on to the next story.

♪ Me After 10 months in Detroit- There's a lot lost in that communion between the performer and the audience.

There's a, it's a conversation.

A performance isn't complete until the audience is there.

The audience is part of the performance.

The timing is just very different, and the energy.

And I applaud Eric for being able to keep his energy up.

I sing the hell out of my song.

♪ Jesus Then he says, "You know, Eric, "I just don't think you're right for this role."

The audience experience is becoming an isolated experience these days.

More and more people are witnessing it over their phone or their iPad or their computer or their television.

And don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

It is a tool and it's a magical tool, but at the same time, to have an experience with a group of people is something that I believe is in human DNA.

♪ I've been drownin' on my cries ♪ ♪ I pull myself together ♪ And I'm focused on the prize ♪ I'm fallin' baby through the sky ♪ ♪ Through the sky ♪ I'm fallin' baby through the sky ♪ We try and hone in the audience's eye on those particular moments, but we have to do it in a different way, because it's a different medium, whereas the camera can just zoom in and capture that.

So I'm having a fantastic time watching that happen.

♪ That I could be in love with someone ♪ ♪ Like you (audience applauding) With this project, we really wanted to keep it true to the spirit of a live, continuous production.

It's almost as if you're watching a live show.

It's definitely as close to that as we can get it for you.

Theater and performing was a mere memory.

And so there I was.

It's funny how life throws you curve ball sometimes.

I was working at a desk job for a ticketing broker company in Southfield, Michigan, and the call came in, and I took it and it was, I mean, it changed my life.

That one phone call.

(phone ringing) JENNIFER: Hi Eric, this is Jennifer from Dodger Theatricals.

We would like to offer you a role in the first national tour of "Jersey Boys."

Talking to people that have seen the show over the years is they say, "Gosh, I was able to relate to this or to that."

Or, "I have a kid that wants to go into theater."

Or, "I did this 20 years ago.

"And then I gave it up to raise a family."

And our lives are all kind of paralleled that way.

It's a great story, and I think one of the things to take away from it is being somebody who's earlier in their career, it gives them hope to keep working and not stop going 'til you get that break.

We all get breaks, but sometimes it takes longer for other people, but work is the most important part of that.

And Eric works very hard for it.

It's been an amazing week doing this and an amazing few months getting this ready.

And I just hope that people will not just appreciate the shows, appreciate the work that's going into them.

This is an experiment.

We're really hoping that this crosses that boundary and gives a lot of people who are missing the theater something that they haven't been able to go out to.

Theater's not a part of everyone's life.

Television is a part of everyone's life.

So I think that television has a lot to offer us as theater artists.

("Oh What A Night") I think a lot of theaters are trying to adapt to this new way, because they have to, they're forced to.

And I only hope that all of these theaters that employ so many designers and artists will be able to do this and will have the opportunity like I did, like Detroit Public Theater did, like Chautauqua Institute did.

(group applauding) ("Oh What A Night") (gentle music) You're a touchstone for viewers to be able to tune in, say, okay, I know Devin, he's been here for a long time.

And they also know you personally, I think, through everything that you do on social media.

And I started seeing you come up with a quarantine interlude and taking your musical talents online as a little bit of a break for everyone, because we've talked so much about how music is healing for the soul right about now at a time where you feel like you can't count on much or control much.

Well, I know you believe that, too, about music, and it really is such an extraordinary salve in good times and bad.

And I think that a lot of us who are musicians, and as you know, news is just temporary for me until the music works out.

That's right.

(Devin laughing) We're counting down the years.

(laughing) Yeah.

A lot of us who are musicians, it's the first place we run when, when we need to think things out, when we need to meditate on something.

And so when I've got extra time that's what I want to do is sit down with the guitar, the piano anyway.

And I, one day thought, well, in fact, I was gonna start it because I wanted to do a St Patrick's Day song, a little Irish song, and I thought I'll put this out.

And the response was insane.

And I realized, as Corey, I told Corey a couple weeks ago, I finally figured out what it took for me to succeed in music.

I need an audience that can't leave.

(laughing) That's right.

They're captive.

I never.

Waiting for the next song.

I never knew what captive audience meant until now.

That's exactly right.

But it's been really, really fun.

What kinds of songs are you putting out there?

And what are people saying about the different genres that you do?

I have very eclectic tastes and I mean, most of my leanings tended to run towards country and folk music, but I also, have, I love R and B. I love standards.

There's not much music that I really don't love.

And that's been, it's been really gratifying the way that that the people have responded.

So the one song that you're gonna, you're gonna play for us that you put out, you actually play it on the ukulele.

What song is that?

It's a song called "The Hold You've Got On Me," that I wrote for my wife, Corey.

This one has had many, many more views than a lot of the other ones.

And I wrote it quite a while back for Corey.

And it was a great excuse to get the ukulele back out.

What is it about music that is calming for people?

Can you quite put your finger on it?

It soothes us.

And I think that there's just something about a melody that just sort of puts our mind in a different kind of frame.

And it's great escape for most of us.

I think it takes us away.

This is why music is so much more powerful than television or movies, to me, is because we create the story that surrounds the song.

We create our own experience when we listen to a song.

We supply so much of the texture and the story and the visuals that go along with it.

And so that's why songs mean so much to people.

And they can mean very, very different things.

And so that texture, I believe, is what makes music so powerful.

All right, so the quarantine interlude, where can we find it, Devin?

They're loaded every day onto my two Facebook pages, my personal one, which is open and public for everybody.

And then there's a kind of a Channel Four one.

So just look for Devin Scillian on Facebook.

Until the stay at home order is lifted, I'm committing to putting out one a day.

So I can keep up that pace.

♪ When you look at me with those sweet green eyes ♪ ♪ That always seem to hypnotize me ♪ ♪ I surrender every time ♪ The sound of your voice on my phone ♪ ♪ Is sweeter than an ice cream cone ♪ ♪ Keeps me walkin' your line ♪ Well I don't know when I fell ♪ ♪ But these chains were made of velvet ♪ ♪ And I'd follow you anywhere ♪ Oh I don't need no one to save me ♪ ♪ Oh from all the love you gave me ♪ ♪ And I don't want to be free ♪ Of the hold you got on me (gentle music) ♪ I ♪ I will give you my love ♪ Now until forever and ever ♪ Don't you know you and I'll be together ♪ I know people have seen you perform internationally, of course, at Baker's here in Detroit and Cliff Bell's, and also performing with your late husband, Marcus Belgrave.

But my joy in being able to do these shows where we're devoting it to arts and culture in this time of COVID-19 is really being able to get to know people a little bit better and see how you're doing with everything.

Well, there's positives and there's negatives.

I mean, obviously, the gigs for this year are gone.

I've been fortunate that my gigs have been rescheduled till 2021, but there's a lot of people who are not able to say that.

The one thing that I must say, I've had more, like with my family, my immediate family, my children, and we get to do these little weekly Zoom things because everybody's home.

Also, one of the things that I've been doing is checking in on our older musicians, our jazz legends, and making sure they're okay.

I want believe that we will get back to some sense of normalcy, but this virus is deadly.

We have to take it seriously.

Joan, have you had personal loss?

Absolutely, yeah.

And- I'm sorry.

When I see people who are not taking it seriously, or people who are saying, "Oh, our rights are being violated "because we're being made to stay home."

I'm like, you might be okay.

But you're gonna transmit it to somebody that I love.

And having lost someone that I love, many people, that it's just, it's ridiculous.

Stay home.

It's not, nothing is that serious that it's worth your life.

People talk about being able to go out and make, get back to work and make money.

What good is it gonna do if you're six feet under?

What good is that gonna do if you're not here to to see your family and to hug your children?

I can't wait to get back to a time when I can hug my grandbabies.

I wrote this song called "I'm Not Goin' Anywhere."

It's helped me understand that those that we love are gonna be with us no matter what.

That's the only way that I can deal with it, because I know now that ♪ I'm not going anywhere ♪ I'm here ♪ There's no need for you to doubt ♪ ♪ Don't fear ♪ I know your heart is full of pain ♪ ♪ And you're tired of the rain ♪ There is something you should know ♪ ♪ I will always love you so ♪ There is so much more we have to do ♪ ♪ And our love will see us through ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm not going anywhere ♪ ♪ No I'm not going anywhere It helps me to remember that, especially during this time.

It took me a year to even be able to breathe once Marcus passed.

I mean, I couldn't, I basically couldn't function.

I mean, because I loved him so much.

People don't know the circumstances of his passing.

He took a gig in, at this college, traditionally black, historically black college down South.

And I couldn't go with him because I had another gig booked.

And I always went with him to make sure everything was okay, and et cetera, et cetera.

And I said, "Babe, please don't take it.

"I can't go."

"No, they need me, they need me."

I'm like, "Okay."

So, anyway, as a result of that, that's what put him into the hospital.

And that's what, and I was really angry.

I'm like, you didn't have to do that.

But then I realized it was so important to him to give to those students, that if it meant his life, that was something he was willing to sacrifice.

But it took me a while to get there.

And that's when I wrote that song.

And I think that that has helped me during this time.

It's different because it's not by choice.

It's a collective grief, though.

That's what you're tapping into.

And having had to move through that, you're equipped in a different way to help people.

And I think that there's something beautiful about your song and really your roots and singing in the church choir, and that informing the song choices in the way that you're able to.

Absolutely.

I think deal with grief through music.

Music brings people together.

I sang jazz, I sing blues, I sing funk.

One of the things that I learned through jazz is that music is just conversation.

And if you can have a conversation musically, with the band, with the audience, then you've done what your purpose is.

We need to open the lines of communication, reach out to people, and say, "It's gonna be all right."

I know it's tough right now.

It's tough for all of us.

But you know what, the alternative is not being here.

So do whatever it is that you need to do, because I wanna see you on the other side.

♪ The seasons come and go ♪ And I'll be right there with you don't you know ♪ Our thanks to Joan and Devin.

For all of our interviews on arts and culture just head to our website at onedetroitpbs.org.

And you can catch "One Detroit Arts and Culture" every Monday night at 7:30 p.m.

All right, so get back to the celebrating.

For all of us here at Detroit Public Television, Happy New Year and I'll see you in 2021.

Be safe, take care.

You can find more at onedetroitpbs.org or subscribe to our social media channels and sign up for our "One Detroit" newsletter.

(relaxed music) Announcer 1: From Delta faucets to Behr paint, MASCO Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

MASCO, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Announcer 2: Support for this program provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV, the Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

Announcer 1: The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV.

Among the state's largest foundations, committed to Michigan focused giving, we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

Announcer 2: Business Leaders for Michigan, dedicated to making Michigan a top 10 state for jobs, personal income, and a healthy economy; Nissan Foundation; Ally; and viewers like you.

(gentle music)