‘Fly More Than You Fall’s’ journey from SU VPA workshop to Broadway

Eric Holmes and Nat Zegree both lost their parents at a young age. Later in life, the duo found that the death of a parent was not represented in Broadway stories, and decided to use their personal experiences to craft an intimate, authentic narrative of human grief.

“We kind of combined our grief stories,” Holmes said in a personal story for the show’s YouTube channel.

Written by Holmes and with a score by Zegree, “Fly More Than You Fall” follows a 14-year-old writer, Malia, as she uses her literary alter-ego, Willow, to navigate the insecurity, angst and uncertainty of growing up. Though the show premiered at the Utah Valley University School of the Arts and will transfer to Broadway in May, it has roots at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The school’s drama department hosted the musical’s original workshop in 2018.

In its workshop stage at SU, Holmes and Zegree saw “Fly More Than You Fall” on its feet for the first time, bringing in industry professionals to play the roles they’ve written. At the time, most of its music wasn’t even written yet, and the script was changing with each day, said Rebecca Karpoff, the music director of the SU workshop.

“At the time of the workshop here, I think the writers were still working on the overall feel of the show and trying to balance it so it would work for both younger and older audiences,” she said. “From what I’ve seen and heard since, they’ve been very successful with that…the music for this show is great… and I think it will get a terrific reception.”

The story follows a 14-year-old writer, Malia, as she uses her literary alter-ego, Willow, to navigate the insecurity, angst and uncertainty of growing up. However, Malia’s life is turned upside down following a phone call where the audience hears one thing: “stage four.”

In the show, the main character’s life turns upside down following a phone call where she learns that her mother has been diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer. This shocking diagnosis overwhelms Malia with grief and emotion, forcing her to disassociate from her life to reconcile her grief in the only way she knows how — writing.

The show reaches a pivotal moment when Malia’s mother reads her daughter’s story about Willow leaving her friend Flyn behind even though she loves him. Her mother asks Malia why Willow would leave Flynn, to which Malia replies that sometimes the people we love do leave us behind.

By the show’s end, Malia’s writing has transformed from a dissociative coping mechanism to a way to heal, and preserve the legacies of those she loves with the words she writes. Jeff Whiting, the director and choreographer of the Utah production, said he sought to redefine loss with this musical.

“The message of ‘Fly More Than You Fall’ is that, even though you’re not perfect, even though you may have problems, that doesn’t define who you are,” Whiting said on the show’s YouTube channel. “What defines who you are is your heart, and what you’re willing to do, and how much you want, and how hard you’re willing to work for what you want”

Whiting and Karpoff worked together to develop this artistic vision and to bring it to life onstage.

“Malia has created a fantasy alter-ego, a bird-like creature who embodies Malia’s dreams of taking flight from her circumstances,” Karpoff said. “Despite serious subject matter, the show is uplifting with great music and a tender exploration of a number of close relationships.”

Karpoff emphasized the significance of the show’s success as an original work. Original musicals like “Fly More Than You Fall” often take longer to arrive on Broadway than adaptations as they must establish their popularity as a new entity in the space.

In the past 30 years, only 18% of Broadway musicals were originals. Despite winning 11 Tony Awards as well as a Grammy and Pulitzer Prize, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” took seven years of writing before opening at the Richard Rodgers Theater. Fellow original musical hits such as “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Hadestown” followed a similar path.

The creative team and artists working on “Fly More Than You Fall” have their work cut out for them, Karpoff said. But, considering the show’s first read was merely four years ago, she said securing a spot on Broadway speaks great lengths to the power this story wields.

“I hope people, when they see this show, realize that to lose someone isn’t some kind of punishment,” Zegree said. “You haven’t been wronged, you’re just living… You will get through it, you will feel pain, that’s okay. You have to let yourself feel that pain. It’s okay to be sad, we’re not invincible.”