Caribbean score stirs Marriott music director

The music director is one of those behind-the-scenes artists who makes or breaks a musical. A good one can send the sound soaring; a bad one can bring it crashing to the ground. And even though music directors often receive billing right after the director, they are much less often asked to explain what they do and why.

Which may explain why Ryan Nelson, music director for Marriott Theatre's currently running show "Once on this Island," speaks of his work with such disarming humility. For him it is all about the music, and getting the orchestra and cast up to speed.

"I love this show," Nelson says. "I have loved that show since it came out. I saw it on tour. I have lived with the music for more than a decade."

Nelson, a professor at Northwestern University, has been working at Marriott Theatre for the past five years. In fact, it was a production at Northwestern of Jason Robert Brown's "Parade," for which Nelson was the music director, that first attracted the attention of the folks at Marriott. He has been happily dividing his time between Northwestern and Marriott ever since.

Nelson never intentionally pursued a career in music directing. It just happened.

"My life has taken me in a bizarre direction," he says. "I never thought I would be a music director. My first degree was in music education. And even that was a secret. Most people thought I was in engineering, which was my major for a while. I just didn't feel confident I wanted to go into music."

After that, he got a job as a high school band director in Pittsburgh. Five years later, Nelson wanted to deepen his understanding of conducting so he went back to school, to the University of North Texas, intending to get a master's degree and return to teaching high school.

"I ended up staying for a doctorate," Nelson says. "Then I landed my first college job, at Northwestern. I was hired to do band and I was the band conductor."

He also began doing some work in musical theater productions on campus, and it snowballed from there.

"I like working on musicals," Nelson says. "I am a big (Stephen) Sondheim fan. I like 'Sweeney Todd' and 'Sunday in the Park with George.'"

Nelson also does some music work in non-theatrical settings, including Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" (a choral piece) and serving as director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble.

"The two kinds of music are very very similar," Nelson says. "Both depend on creating a building up of dramatic tension. Still, every show is different - as are my interests and abilities."

"Once on this Island" - a Caribbean-themed adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" - features Calypso-style music from the creators of "Seussical" and "Ragtime." The story revolves around a peasant girl who falls for a wealthy boy and how the gods test the power of her love.

"When I started playing 'Once on this Island' I realized I already knew it," Nelson says. "I have been listening to the score for 15 years. And I really love the show."

• "Once on this Island" runs through Aug. 29 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire. For tickets, call (847) 634-0200 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.