Poolside in Pittsfield: Reba Evenchik and Nikos Tsakalakos. There are two swimming pools that played a crucial role in the genesis of Pool Boy, Nikos Tsakalakos's musical that is having its world premiere at Barrington Stage Company's Stage 2 (July 13 - August 8). One is the swimming pool at the Hotel Bel-Air, the five-star resort nestled near the clouds in Los Angeles's fanciest neighborhood; the other is the swimming pool behind the stately red-brick house in Pittsfield's fanciest neighborhood that belongs to Bruce and Reba Evenchik, a Barrington Stage trustee. When Tsakalakos spent his first summer in Pittsfield four years ago as the aide-de-camp to Tony-winning composer William Finn—his professor at NYU who runs Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab—they often hung out at Evenchik's pool, which is a short walk from the theater. "Reba basically has an open door policy for the cast and crew at Barrington Stage," explains Tsakalakos, who bunked with the Evenchiks the following summer. "This is the Bel-Air of Pittsfield!" he says, sitting by the pool where he first started composing lyrics for "Poolside at the Hotel Bel-Air." Last summer, I wasn’t writing songs. I was serving Mai Tais and Mojitos, And specialty burritos To models in red thongs, Using shiny silver tongs. I was working poolside At the Hotel Bel-Air Keeping it together Trying not to stare
Tsakalakos made the most of chauffeuring Finn around the Berkshires, fully aware that Finn birthed his hit Broadway musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, on BSC's Stage 2 in 2004. "As we drove around, I would tell Bill stories about working at the Hotel Bel-Air, and he said to me, 'That is what you should write about'." After writing that first song, Tsakalakos performed it a few times at late-night cabarets in Pittsfield and audiences were enthusiastic and wanted more. "When Bill heard it, he told me, 'That will be the final song in your musical'." Once he had an ending, Tsakalos had to find a beginning, and he asked his classmate Janet Allard to collaborate on the book and lyrics. They wrote a story about a pool boy named Nick who's an aspiring singer-songwriter who is willing to compromise his morals to win favor—and a record contract—with the people who could make him a star: the Sultan of Nubei, the music mogul, his beautiful wife, her pretty young assistant, the fastidious hotel manager and the faux Japanese sushi chef. It's a rock-and-roll musical that satirizes the LA lifestyle: The Graduate crossed with Rent.
Although Tsakalakos is a compelling cabaret performer (see video below of him singing at the Barrington Stage gala in June), he is pleased that his alter ego will be played by Jay Armstrong Johnson, who was recently on Broadway in Hair. "Bill and Julie Boyd [BSC's artistic director] have gone all out," he says. "It's very difficult to get a new musical to this point, and I am very grateful to them. I love doing this away from the pressures of New York. You feel the creative spirit in the Berkshires running from Great Barrington to Williamstown." Like the fairy godmother in countless musicals, Evenchik says she knew that Tsakalakos was a singular talent the first time he sang "Poolside" for her in her backyard. "I had a sense he was onto something very special," she says. "He has a passion that comes out in his music and lyrics. His songs reach a very deep level. Nikos is a very authentic person and that is reflected in what he writes. His songs not only stay in your mind, they stay in your heart." Pool BoyJuly 13 - August 8 Barrington Stage Company Stage 2 Pittsfield, MA
