YEM Exclusive Interview | with Joey Contreras from In Pieces: The Musical

Everyone remembers In Pieces: The Musical, right? If you’re looking for more information behind In Pieces, we have some exciting news for you! We have an exclusive interview with Joey Contreras, the creator of the musical! We’re eager to talk to Joey about In Pieces, his thoughts and experience with the musical and cast members, and more. Because the musical is already released, if you’re planning on reading this interview and haven’t had the time to watch the musical yourself, this article will actively avoid any spoilers regarding the musical. For those planning to watch before reading this article, we highly recommend watching it first. And now, onto this interview and its refresher.

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In Pieces: The Musical is a musical that Joey Contreras has created, and the musical is one that many fans were excited for after some of Joey’s other works, ranging from Forget Me Not to Heartbreakers In Hell. The synopsis behind the musical is an interesting one, too. The musical’s story shows the self-reflection on the romantic journeys shared between eight individuals, and each individual looks back on the road and the partners they’ve chosen. The musical also notes the feelings behind each milestone in a relationship and presents the unique thrill behind them. These milestones can range from the first kiss, an unlikely friendship, an awkward reunion, or an honest conversation with shared feelings. According to the synopsis, this musical is supposed to present these universal feelings of what it was like to remember being in love and learning from it.

Here’s a more detailed version, however, starring the characters. First, we have Grey, a laidback singer/songwriter, and Charlie, an intellectual introvert. The two form an unexpected friendship, but when their feelings slowly veer towards something more romantic, the experiences they shared as teenagers eventually give way to long-lasting impacts. Second, we have Charlie’s stubborn brother Peter, who navigates through career aspirations while dating Sam, an older but successful consultant. Third, we have Alex, a curious and kind transplant who steps outside her comfort zone to date River, an almost jaded, good-time girl. As each individual eventually moves on to the present, they all learn to embrace who they were and see where these pieces of memories lead them next.

The album was released on April 16th, 2021 at Broadway Records, and the latest development presentation came out in 2022 at the Harrington Center. In February 2022, Joey was present in an NYC concert with some special guests at 54 Below and shared some of his works from In Pieces. And did you know that the musical is currently licensed and is performed worldwide, with a commercial run coming soon? There are so many exciting things about this musical that’s coming up! And if you want to check more out on the musical, be sure to check out the interview with Andrew Barth Feldman and his involvement with In Pieces here: https://youngentertainmentmag.com/andrew-barth-feldman-shares-how-he-got-involved-with-in-pieces/.

Here is some information on Joey Contreras! A Mexican-American musical theatre and pop songwriter, Joey is the two-time Fred Ebb Award finalist, two-time Jonathan Larson Grant finalist, and an alum of the Johnny Mercer Project. Joey also had created fan-favorite musicals such as All The Kids Are Doing It, Forget Me Not, I Used To Shine (co-written with Kate Thomas), and Heartbreakers In Hell, a modern-day rendition of Dante’s Inferno and co-written with Benjamin Halstead. That’s not all, as Joey is also a composer, and has composed for companies such as the Walt Disney Company, the 5th Avenue Theatre, and other short films. You might recognize some of his work in Kiwi’s First Flight, Light, Camera, Lexi!, and The Cazuela That The Farm Maiden Stirred.

We first asked Joey about In Piece’s origins, and what lead to its creation. Joey mentioned that a lot of people asked for it, and talked about his experience as a songwriter and releasing studio albums. He’s stated that he’s released music for a long time, and he released a lot of songs that relate to his life but are theatricalized in some shape or form. People then asked Joey if he’ll decide to ever put together a song cycle or a musical, and mentioning putting songs together in a whole new world. Joey mentions that that was the beginning of the piece, and just as he was sorting together what his greatest versions of music are and what would flow better together, he wanted to come up with something that threaded together character-wise and narratively. If you want to learn more about the origins of In Pieces, be sure to check out the video to learn more!