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When BroadwayWorld was invited to the red carpet premiere of DAVID, the lauded animated film from Angel Studios that chronicles the rise of the biblical David from boy shepherd to king, the voice actors and creative team were all asked the same question: How does being a musical elevate the film? Here are their insightful responses.
Phil Cunningham (director/producer):
Music is such a universal language. And the big thing for me about music is you can catch the heart of somebody, the emotion of somebody, at a much deeper level. So I think that’s what music brings: another dimension to storytelling.
Brian Stivale (Samuel):
I love that it’s a musical on the basis of who David was, historically. He wrote half of the Psalms. He was a musician, and an excellent musician at that. If you ever hear any of the psalms just spoken, they were meant to be sung. Hebrew prayers are musical. There’s a musicality to them. That quality, it needed it. And I also believe, as a musical theatre actor originally, that if it’s done right, song is the point at which spoken word transcends emotion. This has so much high emotion, so much that I think it’d be impossible to communicate without singing, you know? It just elevates it. Plus it makes it relatable, memorable, enjoyable, entertaining to everybody. And I think that the writing for this has been tremendous.
Molly Kate Kestner (composer):
David was a songwriter, he was a worshiper, and I think that a film about him without music is not really capturing who he really was. So we feel so honored to get to share that side of him. There were many sides to who David was, but I think music was really a big part of it.
Tim Keller (producer):
It’s David in the world singing the songs that he would have sung in those moments. I mean, David is the most prolific songwriter, the writer of songs, the singer of songs, and to give him that opportunity on screen, to share that with the audience, I think it is a unique and very special thing.
Brent Dawes (director/writer):
The fact that it’s a musical makes so much sense because David was a musician. So it gave us immense freedom to use music to help innovate and tell the movie. And absolutely if you consider how David came to be in Saul’s presence was to play music. He was the only one that could play and the evil spirits would leave Saul. So the music was supposed to do that in the movie as well. When David plays, we want the audience to also feel the same sort of peace and relief and release.
Adam Michael Gold (Saul):
You can really feel it. They recorded most the music early on, and so by the time it got to me, I was able to hear these, just, masterpieces. And Phil (Wickham)’s got such a good voice, it’s hard not to feel it when he’s singing. Brandon (Engman) is just phenomenally talented, and so it really wasn’t hard at all. That part wasn’t acting at all.
Brandon Engman (Young David):
It makes it just so much more grand. I went to NYU, so I have some musical theatre training, but doing songs in a booth is a lot different than on stage. It’s a lot more specific. You work a lot smaller, paying attention to the animation. And, you know, David’s a very physical character, so when he’s jumping over a rock you need to hear that within the songs. So it was always less about singing the songs than acting the songs. I’m a musical theatre nerd. I love musical theatre, so being a part of this is incredible. I’d say it’s kind of like THE PRINCE OF EGYPT meets TANGLED, and that’s all you need to know. Everyone can enjoy it.
Phil Wickham (David):
Ever since I was eight years old, I’ve loved animated movies with music. I’m not used to singing those kinds of songs, because in pop music, or in my genres, you’re not really telling a story as much as maybe getting across an idea or trying to create a hooky melody. And instead, to come in the studio and realize, well, I’m telling a story through this. It was so rewarding and challenging and beautiful. It actually made me kind of think—Broadway, they get to have some fun telling stories. And then also, I’ve got kids, and my girls were young when FROZEN came out. And so FROZEN was always on in the car, the soundtrack, and it made me realize, how cool is it that these kids know like 20% of the script in this movie because the script is in song. And so it gets in your heart, it gets in your head. And I just think it’s a beautiful thing to be part of.
Ned Lott (casting director):
It takes it to another place. THE PRINCE OF EGYPT was such a singable musical. Sometimes you see musicals and you’ll leave the theatre and you don’t remember the songs at all. On this one, they’re so catchy. And I love how it drives the story. So it doesn’t just feel like, okay random song, okay dialogue, now random song. No, it’s this seamless dialogue, song, dialogue, song. And it really works well.
Mark Jacobson (Jonathan):
It does what a great musical should do in that the songs perpetuate the story and enlighten you about the character. I’m a big musical theatre guy, so I really appreciate the music. It’s just stunning. It tries a lot of different styles. I think there’s kind of something for everyone, honestly. If people are coming in wanting that more religious bent, they’re served well. But if there are people who just love a musical, you get characters pouring their hearts out. You get the experience of heart that a good piece of theatre gives you.
Ashley Boettcher (Teen Zeruiah):
It’s the story of David—you have to tell it as a musical. I think it’ll connect with audiences all around the world. I know personally, the songs have been stuck in my head on repeat, and I think that song and memory are so linked that the story of David and the message of the whole musical will get stuck in people’s heads and in their hearts.
Quotes have been edited for conciseness and clarity.
Photo Credit: L-R Brandon Engman (Young David) and Phil Wickham (David) at the DAVID red carpet premiere. Photo by Alex Goodlett.
