Review Fix Exclusive 2018 New York Musical Festival Coverage: Jonathan Roufaeal Talks ‘Peter, Who?’

July 24, 2018 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Review Fix chats with “Peter, Who?” writer Jonathan Roufaeal to find out what’s in store for the next run of the acclaimed Spider-Man parody musical.

About the Production:

PETER, WHO? tells the story of a nerdy high school senior named Peter, who wants to be special, wants to stop being invisible to the other students, and maybe even talk to the girl that sits behind him in chemistry. But after he’s bitten by a radioactive spider at a Science Expo he has to learn how hard being ‘special’ can be.

For more information: www.peterwhomusical.com

Review Fix: What Inspired this Production?

Jonathan Roufaeal: It started as a loving protest, honestly.  We were seeing a certain big-budget Broadway musical, that may or may not have been about the same character, spend enough money to have launched 7 Broadway productions just in their “development” phase.  To us, it seemed like they were spending years focused on the spectacle, and not on the story. We put a video out on Facebook, enlisted volunteers, and set out to do justice to the things we love (musicals and comic books) we did it originally in 30 days and for no money… Putting the focus more on creativity, fun and storytelling.

Review Fix: Why Does Spider-Man still matter?

Roufaeal: Spider-Man still matters because he’s probably the most relatable superhero out there.  He’s the kid who doesn’t fit in for a million reasons: He’s too smart.  He’s too nerdy.  He’s too shy.  He wishes he could be different, just like we all do at some point in our lives.  Then he gets bitten by that spider, and he becomes different, but life only gets harder.  You couldn’t find a more perfect metaphor for growing up than Spider-Man.

Review Fix: How is it Different from the Broadway Production?

Roufaeal: It’s funny on purpose.

Review Fix: What Does Spider-Man mean to You?

Roufaeal: Spider-Man has always been one of my favorite superheroes, because he was one of the few that had a sense of humor.  He’d make jokes at the villains while he fought them.  He was the only superhero who ever seemed to enjoy being a superhero in the moment, which is how I thought I’d feel if I had all those powers.

Review Fix: Who Will Enjoy this Production Most?

Roufaeal: I actually think Spider-Man fans will really enjoy this show the most, because it’s got a bunch of Easter eggs that people who aren’t familiar with the comic books may not pick up on.  But you don’t need to know anything about Spider-Man to enjoy it, though I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know anything about Spider-Man.

Review Fix: How Do You Want it to Be Remembered?

Roufaeal: Ideally? As the longest-running Off-Broadway parody musical in history… but since that’s probably a bit of a reach, as a great night out at the theater.  Also, as the first Spider-Man musical ever to open in NYC (because it was).

Review Fix: What’s Next?

Roufaeal: Hopefully we can keep Peter, Who? rolling after the festival. We’d love for it to find a full life somewhere.  The first week in August we’re also doing a workshop reading of POPE! our NYMF musical from 2015, which has an amazing Broadway cast and some great new material.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14263 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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