Everfolk is a new musical about the creation and demise of a theme park which tried to
sue Taylor Swift. Featuring a collection of Swift’s greatest hits and high production
value, it stands out as one of the bigger productions at this year’s Orlando Fringe.
Before the show, I interviewed writer and director Bryan Jager about his new show.
NP: What is your show about?
BJ: Everfolk is a brand new musical about… a lot: the creation of a theme park that was
supposed to rival Disneyland, the behind the scenes drama that plagued it, the one time
they tried to sue Taylor Swift; but mostly, it’s a tribute to parks performers, past &
present, and the impact they can have.
NP: What inspires you to write? Do you have any particular art you love?
I’ll admit I’m a theater/ theme park nerd with a lot of weird tastes; I grew up loving all
things animated sitcom (The Simpsons, Animaniacs, Bob’s Burgers), all things
irreverent parody (A Very Potter Musical, Silence! the Musical), all things self referential
theatre (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Book of Mormon, The Drowsy Chaperone)
and all things campy flop (Showgirls, Valley of the Dolls, Cats 2019). I’m also a huge
video essay fan, and there’s traces of all of the above in our show.
NP: Why should people come see it? Do I need to know anything about the
Evermore theme park?
BJ: If you know nothing about the park it’s based on, it’s an incredibly fascinating story.
If you do know about it, you’ve never seen it told as we do. It’s a complete package:
comedy, heart, show stopping numbers, and some really cool stagecraft.
NP: This isn’t the first time you’ve created a show about a real life artistic figure/
production. What draws you to telling these stories?
BJ: Yes! So I previously wrote the book for “Oh Hi, Johnny!”, a musical based on Tommy
Wiseau’s “The Room”, and created “The Spider Queen” about the behind the scenes
drama around the SpiderMan musical. “Everfolk” is definitely a cousin to those two
shows; taking apart “flops” & examining how they were made/ what went wrong/ why
they endure. In looking you can find so many things about how we communicate/ not
communicate, express our truth, and what gives us purpose, and I find them fascinating.
NP: You’re writing on real, still living people in Everfolk. Do you expect to cause
controversy for any angry executives, pop-stars, or audiences?
BJ: You know, every time I think we’ve played it safe, someone takes umbrage with
something, so who’s to say?
NP: What made you want to perform at the Orlando Fringe?
BJ: This is now my 7th Fringe production here in Orlando, third through the Orlando
Artist Guild, and there’s really nothing quite like it. I love getting the chance to create
with the talent down here, I love getting to connect with other artists from around the
world, but most of all I love getting to drive around a full parking lot looking for spaces 😉
NP: I’m told that the show is helping local organizations? Can you tell us more?
BJ: This production is made possible by the Orlando Artist Guild, a non profit theater
company aiming to creating brave & inclusive spaces for all Central Floridian artists,
and a portion of our ticket sales will go towards this company & their continual
production efforts.
NP: When/Where is it? How much are tickets?
BJ: $15 (with discounts for industry employees), and we run May 14th-26th at the
Orange Venue!
NP: What other performances do you have coming up?
Nothing on the books right now, but after a little hiatus from producing, the Orlando
Artist Guild is looking ahead to some exciting new opportunities.
