The upcoming world premiere of Milwaukee composer Robert Grede’s musical RIP is, literally, a matter of life and death.
RIP – A Musical Comedy of Life & Death, written by Grede, produced by Greg Ryan and directed by Alan Piotrowicz is showing for the first time at Next Act Theatre from July 17-28.
RIP is a story of connection between the living and the dead. It takes place at the fictional McCobb Mortuary, where an attendant’s loneliness converges with the yearnings of those whose souls linger at the morgue.
Grede wants his audience to prepare for a big twist near the end, which nobody will see coming, he says.
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The play itself was a plot twist in the lives of friends Grede, a former marketing consultant and lifelong musician with no background in theater prior to writing RIP, and Ryan, a former internet service provider president who considered himself an “amateur actor” but had never pursued a large theatrical endeavor like producing a musical. The two met when Ryan attended one of Grede’s presentations in the late 90s, and a creative friendship evolved from their work partnership.
Since then, Grede and Ryan have done it all together, from business, to humanitarianism to theater. Two years ago, they raised about $17,000 for Ukrainian refugees and flew overseas with two others to assist those escaping into Poland.
When Grede retired and sold his business seven years ago in 2017, both he and Grede had the same question on their minds: what’s next? With extra time on their hands, what started out as the occasional lunch with a friend or night out watching a local production turned into a fun project combining Ryan’s theatrical knowledge and Grede’s musical background.
“It was a nice two-person combination at that point where we didn’t know where it was going, but we were willing to take the journey,” Ryan says.
The duo’s shared passion for proving that life doesn’t end after retirement carried them through the musical’s creation. Centering around the regretted failings of the dead, the show aims to leave its audiences pondering what kind of mark they will leave on the world.
“We’re all going to leave a mark,” Grede says. “It’s up to us to decide what kind of mark we want to leave.”
The musical’s diverse cast reflects the creators’ belief in active aging, giving the collection of young and experienced actors the chance to pioneer a brand new role – an important moment in any actor’s career. With half of the cast playing “dead” characters, Grede joked that even the dead can act.
Tickets can be purchased on Next Act’s website.
