College pals find success as actors, composers

Once upon a time, at a Midwestern university called Northwestern, an undergraduate theater major from Minnesota met a fellow theater major from New Jersey when both worked as writers on NU's annual student musical revue known as Waa-Mu.

They became fast friends and mutual fans of the other's work. So much so that long after Waa-Mu production meetings ended, this pair of aspiring composer-lyricists found themselves sitting around the piano creating original tunes.

“We learned by doing,” said Minnesota native Michael Mahler, a Marriott Theatre veteran currently co-starring in “Working” at Chicago's Broadway Playhouse.

“We learned as we went, and I think we learned a great deal.”

Fast forward a few years to 2005. Mahler had graduated and his New Jersey counterpart, Alan Schmuckler, was about to conclude his senior year. The budding songwriters decided to collaborate on a family musical, mainly because composing a 60-minute show felt less daunting than composing a three-hour epic, Schmuckler said.

The result: “How Can You Run with a Shell on Your Back?” — a thoroughly charming tuner now at Marriott in Lincolnshire.

The duo got it going a few years back with help from Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Rick Boynton, who knew the two men from their work at Northwestern. Boynton, former artistic director for Marriott Theatre, was interested in new works and offered Mahler and Schmuckler a commission.

“Everything just kind of locked into place,” said Schmuckler, who starred in Drury Lane Oak Brook's 2010 production of “Sugar.”

Mahler and Schmuckler scoured the children's literature section at a Barnes & Noble searching for inspiration. They settled on Aesop's Fables because the tales offered “tremendous fodder for creative exploration,” Schmuckler said.

With help from Boynton, who served as a kind of fairy godfather, the duo completed a first draft of “How Can You Run with a Shell on Your Back?” in 2006. It's about a group of kids who learn compassion, acceptance, perseverance and the joys of reading while serving a school detention. The musical incorporates “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” “The Tortoise and the Hare,” “Androcles and the Lion” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

After several workshop performances, the show premiered at CST in 2007 under director Peter Flynn and became a critical and commercial hit. More productions followed, among them a Marriott Theatre revival that opened earlier this month in Lincolnshire.

“What's special about this incarnation is that it's directed by Dominic Missimi, our professor who directed the Waa-Mu show while we were at school,” said Schmuckler. “The first songs we wrote were staged and guided to fruition by Dominic.”

Adamant that they would not pander to children, Mahler and Schmuckler say they wanted to create a show that respected youngsters, but that adults found compelling as well.

“It's gratifying to watch an audience full of kids,” Schmuckler said. “Kids are always the best audience because the minute you put something onstage that's not truthful or engaging, they will let you know. Loudly.”

Mahler and Schmuckler have enjoyed success in front of the footlights as well. Both actors have performed at Marriott, Drury Lane, Writers and other Chicago area theaters, and are company members of The Music Theater Company in Highland Park, where Schmuckler is currently in rehearsals for Stephen Sondheim's “Merrily We Roll Along.”

In the works are more composing projects at Writers Theatre (Schmuckler) and Northwestern (Mahler), and an in-development TV show titled “Boyfred.” Inspired by a Web series they created, the show is about a guy who sends his Peace Corps volunteer girlfriend videos chronicling his life.

So far, they've managed to juggle their myriad artistic pursuits.

“It's a balancing act and it's actually refreshing,” said Schmuckler. “It's not a challenge so much as a constant juggling.”

“How Can You Run With a Shell on Your Back?”

Where: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. (847) 634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com.

Showtimes: 10 a.m. most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and some Wednesdays through April 27; additional 12:30 p.m. performance on April 15

Tickets: $15