“Shooting Star”: A Romantic Musical Comedy About The Gay Porn Industry? Interview With Composer Thomas Zaufke

A few weeks ago, the new musical Shooting Star was presented in New York City in the form of an industry reading. It’s a show based on an original idea by Florian Klein, known as ‘Hans Berlin’ in the adult film world, with songs by composer Thomas Zaufke. The show tells the story of young Taylor, a failed Hollywood actor who is rocketed to stardom as porn performer Taylor “TNT” Trent. Through his eyes, we meet a cast of colorful characters: Mr. Sue, the domineering female director; James Grant, the aging porn star intent to hang on; and the wildly alluring Jesse Apollo, Taylor’s first co-star. Everybody tells Taylor that porn is a world ‘for sex, not love,’ yet his heart yearns for more. And as his rising star shoots across the sky, Taylor’s world slowly comes crashing down. Will Taylor stay true to himself and his heart, or will he continue the hunt for fans, fame, and fortune? – We spoke with Thomas Zaufke about the project and his music.

You were just in New York City for an “industry reading” of Shooting Star – a musical taking a look at the inside world of gay porn. What attracted you to this project based on an idea by Florian Klein? And how did you get involved with it, on Broadway, as a composer living and working in Germany?

Florian approached me after a reading at the Schwules Museum in Berlin. He had known some of our Zaufke & Lund musicals for years and was interested in collaboration on his project (still titled Porn: The Musical at that stage). Well, who would say no to that?

There are other musicals such as Pretty Filthy by Michael Friedman, exploring the darker side of straight pornography. Why is it time for a ‘gay’ porn musical on Broadway, after films like Going Down in La-La-Land (2011) by Casper Andreas and King Cobra by Justin Kelly (2016) have already brought the topic to movie theaters? And what can music add to gay porn stories that film alone cannot convey?

When a moment gets too intense for the spoken word, you start to sing. That’s where musical theatre comes in: it’s about expressing those heightened feelings. And I think Shooting Star, a sexy romantic comedy set in the world of adult gay porn, sounds irresistibly ‘right’ for the stage.

Some Broadway historians I spoke with after this 2018 industry reading complained that the story told by Florian Klein is a ‘fairy tale’ and offers no surprises: everyone in Shooting Star is a ‘stock character,’ they claimed. How do you write music for LGBT fairy tales? (And what’s wrong with liking fairy tales anyway? Don’t we deserve a little fantasy and happy endings, especially today?)

We certainly do! They have to be believable, though.In a musical play, set in the world of porn, you have to have easily identifiable characters like the ‘twink,’ the ‘butch guy,’ the ‘gay-for-pay dude’ etc. But Florian and his team worked hard on the book of Shooting Star, and on the many details, so you’re in for some surprises: Those stock characters don’t always behave like you think they will.

Presenting the show in NYC with a full cast was a big step in the creation process of the show. Who were your singers and what was it like working with them? (Did they have to be gay to be part of the project? Is being part of a gay project and playing a gay role still a career killer on Broadway?)

In my opinion, most of the cast welcomed the chance to be in a musical like Shooting Star with so many diverse LBGTQ+ roles. There are not that many musicals around that focus on two gay guys in love … and boast a shirtless happy ending! All that come to mind are Falsettoland (only partially gay-themed), Bare and the comparatively chaste La Cage Aux Folles.

Our wonderfully talented cast was a joy! They are Broadway performers at the top of their game and they brought an amazing energy to the project: it just bounced off the over-refrigerated walls of the Shetler Studios…

Listening to and watching them do a reading of Shooting Star: how did that change your own perception of the show and its thematic world? Which new ideas did you and the rest of the creative team get?

It’s thrilling to hear your own music come to life and to hear and see these amazing professionals. After months of sitting at home and churning out song after song, it’s the big pay-off that all composers long for. At last: out of my head and into the world! Hearing the score interpreted by singers who really know their stuff helps you immensely. It’s so much easier to figure out the perfect placing, atmosphere and length of a song that way. And of course, having everyone at the table including our director Michael Bello, our lyricist Erik Ransom and the singers/actors gives you a lot of important input to work with. A blast!

How much music is there, now, and how would you describe the songs? (And what’s your favorite number?)

Right now, Shooting Star has a score of 18 songs. Style-wise, imagine a hot lovechild of Pasek & Paul and Max Martin … a composer’s threesome! But never ask a songwriter to choose a favorite number. Favouring one child over the others? Nooo …! But people at our presentation seemed to love “This Is The Real Me,” a song sung by our protagonist Taylor’s love interest, Jesse. And I heard a lot of sniffles and/or nose blowing after the 11 o’ clock number “He Was My Friend” sung by our porn-producing powerhouse chanteuse, Mr. Sue.

Many of your other shows premiered in Germany, many contain strong LGBT+ elements. What’s the difference in hearing Neuköllner Oper people such as Jan Rekeszus or Dennis Hupka perform your music, as opposed to Broadway people?

A lot of the Zaufke & Lund shows that premiered at the Neuköllner Oper in Berlin were initially written for our students at the Berlin University of the Arts. These young singers/actors are at the beginning of their career, still in the process of defining and finding themselves on stage. It’s a thrill to help them on their way and seeing them wow the world. I’m very proud to be a part of that.

What reactions do you get from colleagues in the musical theater business when you tell them about working on Shooting Star and with real-life porn people like Florian? (Did any real porn people come to the reading, and did they give critical feedback?)

In the beginning, I had some difficulties explaining what Shooting Star is about: a sexy musical romcom set in the gay porn world. People were expecting porn scene after porn scene, with a throbbing musical underscore without any plot … nor clothes. While I was talking about a gay couple finding their way through the thicket of porn shoots, twitter demands and drug abuse. It was a headache. But thankfully, five minutes into our presentation, people were caught up in the story of Taylor looking for love and fame.

And of course we had some porn stars in the audience! Rafael Alencar and Chris Crisco come to mind. I’m sure they’re thinking about singing lessons right now.

Could you imagine a German production of Shooting Star – in Berlin, another center of gay porn? Or it is a typical US story that cannot be relocated?

I think the story of trying to balance your career and your love life is a universal one. I’d love a German version of Shooting Star. Berlin, here we come!

The NYC reading was sponsored by Charles Leslie of the Leslie + Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. How did he, as an activist from a very different LGBT+ generation, react to the show with all these young people?

Everyone should be so lucky as to meet an amazing person like Charles Leslie. I’m thinking about writing a musical about his life next. He was totally supportive of our wild whim of putting our porn love story on stage.

What’s the next step: where does Shooting Star go from here?

Right now, we’re still in the process of raising money to mount the musical in Los Angeles before bringing it back to New York. Next stop will be a presentation of a couple of Shooting Star songs in a LGBTQ+ concert at Lincoln Center in autumn. Aaron Tveit and Ben Platt … contact me, please!

For additional information on how to become a part of Shooting Star and to read the script or listen to the music, please contact: floriansklein[@]gmail.com.

Details about the cast can be found on Broadway World; click here.