We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dan Furman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

It was 2017 and my wife Kim and I had just followed a troupe of actors and musicians around Greenwood Cemetery as they told an original story (“The Great American Casket Company.”) I had been writing musicals for close to ten years and was finding it difficult to get anything I’d written up on a stage in a theater. Why not try something out-of-the-box like this? We talked about options.
Kim had been stopping by Franklin 820, a local bar in Crown Heights, after work for a drink. They had backgammon boards, chess, a friendly atmosphere–“why not try to do the show there?” she said.
We met the manager and one of the owners–and offered to bring the show in on a slow night at no charge as an experiment. At the time, the bar was available for rehearsals in the mornings, so I gathered up the cast that had been doing readings of my first show, “Impossible But True,” and we planned a show.
Of course, we advertised the upcoming shows. But not everyone reads the fliers we posted or handed out. And we didn’t propose closing the bar–we really weren’t sure people would want to come to see an unknown show.
But people came! And they loved the experience of suddenly finding themselves in the middle of a musical. True, a few feathers got ruffled—but for the most part, we got a great reception! For us, it was a thrilling feeling to have a musical come to life in the small space we were sharing with the sometimes surprised audience members. That was the beginning of Brooklyn Tavern Theater.

Dan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Brooklyn Tavern Theater puts on original music theater in bars, community spaces and sometimes even theaters across Brooklyn and beyond. In our shows, the audience can feel like they are part of the world being created by the actors and music.
Our shows often take up social and historical questions, from building labor unions to fight for workers rights to organizing the American revolution, to what it means to society to create art. We strive to involve the communities where we perform in the process whenever possible. We hope the shows we develop here will go on to reach broader audiences.
Theater, and the arts in general, allow us to access and experience emotions that can go unexpressed in everyday life—emotions that have the power to build connections between us. Theater happens in real time—yes, it can be recorded and videotaped—but to experience the essence of theater, you need to be in the room. We are proud that we have brought this experience to new rooms and places where people didn’t expect to find it.
Our shows are written by Dan Furman, sometimes with a variety of collaborators on lyrics and book. Both Cailín Heffernan and Jerome Harmann-Hardeman have directed and choreographed casts of 8-15 actors and musicians who have contributed their talents and creativity to these shows. We hope to be able to continue to provide this experience in the community as well as reach out to new audiences.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Until we can move beyond the market as the organizing force of society, artists will always be struggling to justify what we do.
I believe that art is vitally important to society—but this part of our humanity is undervalued amid the pressures of today’s world. In order for more of us to take part in culture and creativity, we need to have the free time to be able to do so. We need to be paid enough at our jobs that we can afford to do something beyond work, eat, sleep (and tend to our kids!) We need to know that when we or our relatives get sick, that we will be able to receive healthcare. Building culture requires some leisure time—it always has since the beginning of time. Society is healthier and can flower when we have more of that time. Our society produces plenty of wealth and surplus, but it doesn’t get to all of us and isn’t used productively.
Public transportation—or public education—doesn’t justify itself (at least in the short term) in the framework of the market. Neither does art. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight for them. We, not the market, need to determine what we value.
It’s worth fighting for our governments to provide opportunities for artists. And for those who can, it’s very important to support artists when we feel they’re doing something important.
Being an “artist” or a “creative” will not usually get the respect or income of having a “real job….” in our society. Not everyone is willing or able to take the risk of dedicating themselves to the uncertain existence of a full-time artist. But it’s important to know that there is a real need for what we do.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I hope to write a musical someday about non-fungible tokens. Please contact me if you’d like to invest!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brooklyntaverntheater.com
• Instagram: brooklyntaverntheater
• Facebook: Brooklyn Tavern Theater