#62 - David Loud: Sometimes You Have to Learn the Hard Way

“To see your heroes fail,” continues Loud, “is to learn something
really important at the beginning of someone’s career. Anybody can
have a bomb. Anybody can flop. And to start out your career with a
monumental flop, the way I did, boy do I appreciate a show that
goes well and hits now!” We’re speaking with a multi-hyphenate
legend, here.  “That need to be in the theatre, that yearning
to be in a musical or to work on a musical and have that be your
life is so powerful,” says Loud. “And it bites us at different
times in our lives. I knew for six years old what I wanted to do
with my life and I never waivered.” While Mr. Loud knew what he
wanted, he still had to figure out how and where he belonged in the
industry – which took him a few tried to make sure he was going
down the right road. After his first Broadway musical, the
legendary Merrily We Roll Along, flopped – he had to pivot. And
now, in 2022, Mr. Loud continues to work with Parkinson's disease,
still figuring out ways to pivot and continue to tell his
stories.  David Loud, famed Broadway music director, arranger,
performer, and teacher continues the multi-hyphenate theatre artist
legacy by adding author to his hyphens. His new book, Facing the
Music, is now available for purchase.  “I have always been a
multi-hyphenate, I think,” says Loud. “I always found this niche
for myself of the pianist who can say a few lines on stage. I’ve
never quite fit into only one category. I love doing lots of
different things in the theatre. I’ve always wanted to do
everything in the theatre.” And now, theatre lovers everywhere can
read about Mr. Loud’s fantastic journey in show business. One can
begin to understand what a multi-hyphenate’s life was life before
the word multi-hyphenate grew in popularity.  “When we moved
to New York to go into showbusiness – we were not graduates of
musical theatre academies,” continues Loud. “We learned by doing
and we learned from our friends and we learned by imitating and we
went to auditions and we figured out what worked and what didn’t
work. We had to be self-starters in that way.” In this episode, we
speak about our love for musical theatre, what it was really like
to work with Stephen Sondheim, how multi-hyphenating stems out of
need to be a part of any aspect of the theatre, his experience
working on Merrily We Roll Along, casting choices that have excited
us throughout the years, and the importance of failure.  David
Loud occupies a unique place in Broadway history. In addition to
his distinguished career as one of Broadway’s most respected music
directors and arrangers, he originated three Broadway roles as an
actor, including his appearance in the original cast of Stephen
Sondheim’s legendary failure (and cult classic) Merrily We Roll
Along, directed by Harold Prince. In a career spanning several
decades, he served as music director for the original Broadway
productions of Ragtime, Curtains, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Visit,
The Scottsboro Boys, A Class Act, The Look of Love, and Steel Pier,
as well as revivals of She Loves Me, Company, and Sweeney Todd. He
also appeared alongside Zoe Caldwell and Audra McDonald in Terrence
McNally’s Tony-winning play, Master Class. About Facing the Music –
Musical Director and arranger David Loud, a legendary Broadway
talent, recounts his wildly entertaining and deeply poignant trek
through the wilderness of his childhood and the edge-of-your-seat
drama of a career on, in, under, and around Broadway for decades.
He reveals his struggle against the ravages of Parkinson's and
triumphs repeatedly. This memoir is also a remarkable love letter
to music. Loud is the 'Ted Lasso' of the theater business,
ever the optimist. An inspiration to all! Learn more about your ad
choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices