Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique Bring Broadway, Ballet and ‘Fame’ to Their Work in Pittsburgh
By SHARON EBERSON
Catching up with Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique about their remarkable careers is bound to answer the question, “How many times can I say, ‘Wow,’ in a single conversation?”
If you attend Pittsburgh theater, it’s possible you already know their work as educators, directors and choreographers – all of which will be on display with the opening of Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s Grease.
The hit show about high school pals with a ‘50-inspired rock score tells of teenage love and lust, and that point in their lives when they are tied in knots about the future.
The PMT show at the Byham Theater March 7-17, 2024 stars Maya Santiago (the national tour of On Your Feet!) and Davis Wayne (Broadway’s Hadestown), along with veteran regional performers including Christine Laitta and David Toole.
The path that took Herman and Verastique to settle in Pittsburgh, currently as resident artists at PMT and CLO Academy and part-time Point Park University faculty members, deserves a little context as they gear up for Grease.
(Image: Courtesy of PMT)
From Broadway to ‘Fame’ to ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’
The short of their story is that they became partners nearly 40 years ago, after skyrocketing to fame (TV’s Fame, in Verastique’s case) in the 1970s.
Pittsburgh native Herman, a Bishop Canevin High alum, played Mike during the original production of A Chorus Line, and has appeared in Broadway shows such as Contact and Leader of the Pack. He has directed and/or choreographed world-premiere musicals across the United States.
Verastique, a native of Austin, Texas, and former dancer with American Ballet Theatre, spent four years on the Fame series and was spotlighted in the award-winning music video Nasty, opposite Janet Jackson. In Pittsburgh, Verastique has choreographed Miss Saigon (Pittsburgh Musical Theater), Leader of The Pack, Dreamgirls and Beehive (Pittsburgh Playhouse) and more.
They drop a lot of names, these two. Not to brag, but because people such as Lionel Richie, Debbie Allen and Janet Jackson are a part of their journey.
“We actually met in Los Angeles. We were filming a music video called “Dancing on the Ceiling with Lionel Richie,” Verastique says. Herman was assisting director/choreographer Michael Peters, who also mentored Verastique. “And then a week later, I had a gig in New York with Debbie Allen, who I knew from Fame, and Danny got hired for that job.”
“In one week, we had three jobs together. And then we’ve been together ever since then,” said Herman, who left Pittsburgh at 18 and spent nearly seven years with A Chorus Line on Broadway, and worked with creator Michael Bennett for two years on a show called Scandal, with music by Jimmy Webb, that never went past the workshop stage.
“It was a show about sexual liberation at a time when people were dying of AIDS,” which many saw as a “distasteful metaphor,” Herman recalled.
He thought it was time for a change, and made a move toward TV, film and music videos, “And that’s really where Rocker and I started to criss-cross.”
Their last show together as performers was on Broadway, in Contact, which opened in 2000.
“We needed one swing to swing all the boys who all had different tracks and they were like, who can do it? Who can do it? I said, ‘Danny Herman.’ and Danny came in and auditioned and he got that job. So he came back to Broadway at 40, and we did our last Broadway,” Verastique recalled.
“I thought, ‘I’d like to do one more show before I can’t do anymore,’ ” said Herman. “So we both did Contact for about three years, the whole run. It was fun.”
The obvious next question when it comes to Contact and Pittsburgh, was, is that where you first met Tome’ Cousin, who has become synonymous with productions of the show?
Not so obvious, it turns out.
Herman had met Cousin while directing one of the first regional productions of A Chorus Line, at Pittsburgh Playhouse, with a cast including Lenora Nemetz, Kathleen Marshall and Rob Ashford.
“Danny did, like, 12 shows at the Playhouse in that period [of the 1980s], and Tome’ was in half of them,” Verastique said.
There’s No Place Like Home
Herman and Verastique’s careers expanded to national and international works before they settled in Austin, Texas, for 10 years, before moving to Pittsburgh six years ago.
Verastique had left home at 17, and came back to Austin to be with his family. When his mother died, they settled in a house on Mount Washington that Herman had bought long ago with his sister.
Herman’s mother, now 92, “is healthy as can be,” he said, and he is cherishing this time with her.
He also has been instructing and directing at Point Park University and the Playhouse since the 1980s. When Herman and his partner came to Pittsburgh to stay, what happened next was, “We ran into Kiesha,” Herman said.
Kiesha Lalama is the choreographer and educator who now is at the helm of the Downtown Pittsburgh Playhouse. Herman’s earliest mentor was Don Brockett – the actor, comedian, director and producer who helped launch many a Pittsburgh career – and who was Herman’s roommate in New York City.
“I heard about Kiesha for five years from my roommate, Don Brockett, and I felt like family when I met her.”
Verastique said not only does he “love to work here,’’ but there are many more opportunities than the performing arts scene in Austin.
“It’s easier to do what we love here, and get paid for it,” Verastique said.
The Dark and Light Sides of PMT’s ‘Grease’
Which brings us to Grease, which Herman previously directed and choreographed for PMT, in 2005, with Christian Delcroix and Nina Petrucci as its stars. Lucas Fedele, who was 15 in that production, is the associate director/choreographer for 2024’s show.
Herman has “loved” Grease since he first saw it at age 16, and related an experience at an unnamed college where he was scheduled to direct, but the students decided against it because they saw it as anti-feminist.
“For me, Grease, is about my mom and my dad,” Herman said. “These characters are exactly the same age. My mother and father graduated from St. James [now PMT’s home] in the ‘50s.” He has always seen the story through the lens of, “My parents are strong, amazing people, so I know how this story turns out.”
Another inspiration comes from the Sylvester Stallone-Henry Winkler film, The Lords of Flatbush – also set in the 1950s, also with a focus on the sex life of teenagers.
Herman and Verastique take a serious approach to the musical.
“The last time, we paid more attention to the dark side of Grease,” Herman said. “This time, the set has the ability to transform from dark to … a glowing, colorful ode to rock ‘n’ roll. …
“And once the music stops, we’re back to a stark reality,” Verastique said.
As for those who claim that a show about the sex lives of high-schoolers is inappropriate musical fodder, well, Herman and Verastique beg to differ.
They have, however, made some accommodations. For one, Verastique said, they have eliminated some of the “corny jokes.”
“The themes are dark, but there’s no kind of obscene language. … We are more thematically sexual and literally more tame about our language, paying a tribute to the era. We know there’s going to be kids in the audience, so we have to kind of play both fields at the same time,” Herman said.
And to those who say Grease is show that’s all about a girl who changes herself for a guy? They say, Grease is a feminist show.
“We really focus on those Pink Ladies and their issues even more than the men to a certain degree. But I kind of think there’s part clown in the show, part Broadway comedy, there’s part rock and roll, there’s part serious-ish drama.
And with these two, “There’s tons of dancing. … So much dancing. … Tons.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s production of Grease is at the Byham Theater, Downtown, March 7-17. Tickets: visitpittsburghmusicals.com/greasetickets or call 412-456-6666
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