Musical celebrates legendary pop duo
Show is less an impression than a homage, with comments and insights on songs
Like a lot of people, Ryan M. Hunt had some bad hair days when he was growing up.
But you can bet that most people’s unruly locks didn’t come in handy for a job a couple of decades later. Well, lucky for Hunt his did. The Evansville, Ind., native is currently singing the Art Garfunkel parts in the musical The Simon & Garfunkel Story. Taylor Bloom rounds out the duo delivering the Paul Simon parts.
“I have been a big fan since childhood so for me I was totally ready to do this. My hair turned frizzy and curly when I hit puberty and I thought this is a perfect role for me,” said Ryan.
“People used to call me Art Garfunkel in high school as a joke. My hair — I didn’t know what to do with it. It was awful.”
“Now I’m making money making my hair look horrible every night,” said Hunt. “It’s wonderful.”
The show isn’t an impersonation of the American singing superstars, but rather a multimedia tribute. These guys are not Art and Paul on stage.
“It’s not an impression. Musically we are trying to match their sounds but I’m not trying to talk like Art Garfunkel,” said Hunt.
The show had a five-year life in the UK and Europe, but this tour marks its North American premiere.
“I don’t think trepidation is the right word, but I definitely thought ‘oh, wow, we are going to be the first American guys to bring this to the land where it all started,’ ” said Hunt.
Where it started is with the best selling folk rock duo’s early incarnation as Tom & Jerry in the late 1950s. From there the show moves chronologically through Simon & Garfunkel’s five studio albums and then their most famous reunion — the legendary free Central Park concert in 1981.
The show is a mixture of 28 songs and some chat where Bloom and Hunt talk about the times the songs were recorded, what some of them mean, and reveal insights into the legendary singers’ relationship.
“We always say if you are already a fan of Simon & Garfunkel you’ll be pleased and you might even learn something you didn’t already know about them,” said Hunt.
For both Bloom and Hunt, the material that spans the 1960s through to the 1970s is music they heard as kids.
“For me this is wheelhouse music. I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel,” said Hunt. “Having the voice that I have I used to sing it all the time. I used to sing Art Garfunkel’s parts all the time. My best friend in high school played guitar and we used to sing their stuff all the time. When he found out I was doing this he was really jealous. We used to say ‘wouldn’t it be cool if there was like a show we could do?’ ”
Since the show launched the pair have been singing six nights a week but both singers say the show is designed perfectly to protect their voices, building with each song so by the time they have to perform 1970’s Bridge over Trouble Water they are well warmed up.
It also helps that this is The Simon & Garfunkel Story and not The Who Story.
“It’s not like we are going out and singing Jesus Christ Superstar every night,” said Bloom, who hails from Middletown, Va. “It’s folky, a lot is quieter. One of the things I had to learn when we started was that I was doing too much. We do have to be careful — it is a long show.”
Bloom has played the guitar since he was 11 but admits that this show has become an on-the-ground master class.
“Since we started the rehearsals and since we have been out on the road I have become much more comfortable with the guitar,” said Bloom. “I will say there has been a marked improvement in my guitar playing, and I’m very happy for that.”
Bloom and Hunt are also very happy about the audiences they have seen so far and how much they love the music.
“Because of the way our lighting designer lights the show, Ryan and I can see a lot of the audience for most of the show,” said Bloom.
“You look out into the audience and you can see people singing along. I wasn’t expecting that. I remember thinking, ‘boy I have to be really careful that I don’t screw up these lyrics because they are going to know.’ ”