“Bandstand” details challenges, triumph of veteran returning from World War II

“Bandstand,” Broadway in Wichita’s first musical of the year, may be set in the 1940s, but it has a lot of 21st century sensibility, its star says.

“This musical really resonates, especially in today’s times,” said Zack Zaromatidis, who plays a World War II veteran singer-songwriter who forms a jazz band to try and win a radio talent contest.

“With what we know now about a soldier coming back from the war, he’s forming a jazz band to try and cope with his PTSD, basically,” Zaromatidis said from a holiday break from his home in Lynwood, N.Y. “Once you get on board … it’s resonated with so much of the country already, it’s really amazing.”

Even though “Bandstand” was on Broadway for less than five months, it received nominations for two Tony Awards, winning for best choreography. It was one of three Tony awards won by Blankenbuehler, who also won for “Hamilton,” and choreographed the current movie version of “Cats.”

The music, all written for the show, requires its lead performers to be on-stage musicians, said Zaromatidis – who had to learn to play piano for the role of Donny Novitski.

“It’s been really challenging and really, really daunting, but over the course of time I started to figure it out, and I’ve had great mentors to teach me all the way, so it’s been great so far,” Zaromatidis, primarily a guitar player, said. “It’s been fantastic, and it’s been one of the great experiences of my life.”

Zaromatidis said he has several “flubs” during the show and considers himself the least talented of the onstage musicians.

“The guys around me are all expert-level,” he said.

Underneath the jazz score and energetic dancing is the undercurrent of war’s effect on veterans, Zaromatidis said. The script and lyrics were written by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor, and Oberacker – a longtime conductor on several Broadway tours – composed the score.

“It’s handled with the care and respect that people have today. You see elements of what happens in war, and most of the show is the characters coming to grips with what they’re dealing with,” Zaromatidis said. “You kind of see all of the things they cope with. It’s tragic, but it’s kind of beautiful to see all these men at the end of the show. They’ve stepped forward and talked about what they’ve gone through, and what a difference it’s made in their own mental health.”

The script has a “more modern tone,” Zaromatidis said.

“We’re not dealing in modern slang, but it’s modern in how it’s written and how it attacks mental issues,” he said.

The musical is the only stage production certified by Got Your 6, a nonprofit organization dedicated to realistic portrayals of military veterans, primarily in film and television.

“That’s how I know we’re really doing something right,” Zaromatidis said.

Zaromatidis said he gets emotional after talking with real-life veterans following the “Bandstand” performances.

“They tell us that our story is theirs and how much it means to them,” he said. “That’s the best part of the entire show.”

Zaromatidis said the show has given him new appreciation for those in the military.

“These men and women put everything on the line for our safety, and it’s something we so frequently take for granted,” he said. “So frequently we forget the sacrifices people have made, whether with their life or with their health – physically and mentally. To give this gift back to them, or at least let them know that they’re not alone … I can’t help but have tears in my eyes.”

Several of Zaromatidis’ friends and relatives were in the military, and he said he already had a good amount of respect for their work, but “Bandstand” made it even more so.

“I had a cookie-cutter idea of what it means to be a veteran, but now it’s more fleshed-out,” he said. “That’s opened my eyes more than anything, to meet these people and hear their real stories.”

The “Bandstand” tour started in October and extends through early June. It gives Zaromatidis, who had never been west of Ohio, an eye-opening experience about the rest of the United States.

“To see all of the country for the first time has been unbelievable,” he said.

‘BANDSTAND’

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, Jan. 14-16

Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas

Tickets: $40.50-$90.50, by calling 316-303-8100, wichitatix.com or the Century II box office. No children under the age of 5 admitted.