Review Fix Exclusive Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Kit Goldstein Grant Talks ‘The Nose’

August 3, 2016 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Review Fix chats with Kit Goldstein Grant, who discusses her new production “The Nose,” which is set for a run at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.

For more on this production, click here.


THE NOSE by Kit Goldstein Grant, directed by Lacy Reily, music director Matthew Bennis, book, music and lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant; starring Christopher Michaels, Jo Walker, Scott Caron, Adrian Rifat, Ron Orlovsky, and Loulu Luzi. Based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol. A man’s nose disappears from his face, and turns up the next day gallivanting around St. Petersburg dressed as a general — what a lot of nonsense! (Children’s Musical)

Performance Schedule: Fri 8/05, 1:00pm; Sat 8/06, 11:00am; Sun 8/07, 12:00pm

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Kit Goldstein Grant: Nikolai Gogol’s fantastic and absurd story of the same name, “The Nose,” was the direct inspiration. The story is about a petty civil servant whose nose runs away.  It’s amazing! I also delved into other Russian literature while writing, and there are definitely some Chekhov and other influences mixed in.
 
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Grant: For this show, cold.  I wrote the bulk of the songs for THE NOSE on long walks during a frigid winter, back when I was living in upstate New York.  Kind of appropriate for a show set in St. Petersburg!  I almost froze my nose off.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Grant: The story has so much imagination and unconventional absurdity.  THE NOSE is a story about a man whose nose runs away and masquerades as a man more important than he is.  Writing Russian-flavored music was also really fun and different for me as a composer.  The show is designed for a young audience, but the satirical humor is a lot of fun for adults.
 
Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Grant: I’m learning how much I enjoy collaborating.  I frequently write alone, which I also really enjoy, but I love the part where a director and music director come in and bring their own interpretation to the material.
 
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Grant: Fantastic,  It’s a bit overwhelming to be helming the production of a show when you are also the writer of book, music, and lyrics, but it’s very exciting to be able to finally see this show fully realized, and to get to share it with an audience.
 
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Grant: I’d love for this show to be performed in a small off-Broadway theater or in a touring production that travels to schools.
 
Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Grant: The humor, the imagination, and the runaway nose!
 
Review Fix: What’s next?

Grant: A concert reading of my black comedy musical THE WRONG BOX is in the works for the fall.  More details at www.thewrongboxmusical.com!

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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