Michael Berry is the writer-director of Stuck, an original character-driven musical set in a New York subway that stars Giancarlo Esposito, whom Breaking Bad fans might recognize as the cunning owner of Los Pollos Hermanos. Giancarlo plays a very different character in Stuck: a mysterious, seemingly homeless man prone to break into song, who may or may not be on some kind of cosmic special assignment to impact the lives of the passengers who share his New York subway car.

Someone breaking into a song is truly not the strangest thing that happens on subways.” – Michael Berry

It’s an ensemble film, so all the main characters get their solos, and the film includes memorable performances from Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams), Arden Cho (Teen Wolf), Ashanti (Coach Carter), Gerard Canonico (Fred in the Broadway production of Groundhog Day), and Omar Chaparro (Overboard).

Michael has a background in theater: He’s performed on Broadway in shows like Les Misérables and Next to Normal, and he credits his theatrical background with training him to get the most out of his indie-sized film budgets. His theater experience also helped him to work with marquee talent when he transitioned into film.  Frontera, the first feature film that Michael directed, includes performances from Ed Harris, Eva Longoria, and Michael Peña.

Some of the things that we discuss in this episode include

• Why the musical is an inherently fantastical genre but one that can also be grounded in reality
• The recording technique that allowed his performers the freedom to riff on the musical numbers
• How he was able to shoot a memorable musical with a budget that was a fraction of La La Land and The Greatest Showman
• What went into recreating a New York subway car and how that helped the crew get ready for shooting in a real New York City subway for a few days
• How Stuck was able to depict characters with opposing viewpoints without demonizing anyone

I was moved by how the film depicted its assorted characters with depth while undercutting stereotypes.  The film also suggests that to get unstuck we might need each other, even those whose outlook is different from ours, and that reminded me of a certain show.

I initially mentioned Stuck in my recap of Louisiana International Film Festival 2018. Stuck was my favorite film that I saw at LIFF, which is where I met Michael.

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As mentioned above, Gerard Canonico also has a role in the Broadway production of Groundhog Day. To learn more about that production came together, check out this interview I did with Danny Rubin, the writer of the film and musical adaptation of Groundhog Day.

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