Heaven is a Place on Broadway! Go Inside Opening Night of HEAD OVER HEELS

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. The new musical Head Over Heels, which features the iconic songs of the Go-Go's, has come to Broadway, and we're here on opening night to celebrate with the company

I feel amazing. I love the show. I'm really incredibly proud of this company

They're such gorgeous people and they have so much talent. and I feel like everyone really invested so much personally

and they're just superb. I love them. How did this all come about for you to work on

Well, I got the script about a little over two years ago

and I thought it was amazing. Jeff Witte came up with an incredible concept

of marrying this 16th century prose work with the Go-Go's music. But it's so relevant

It just feels of the moment. It's all about love in all of its forms

It's like the greatest romantic comedy that Shakespeare never wrote, is how I look at it

On an opening night, you're stressed about riding all your cars and delivering all your presents

and making sure that you stay in the moment, because this has been two years of work for me to get to this one day

People don't realize how much passion goes into it. I'll be honest, I cried four times this morning

all kinds of different cries, excited, scared, sad to let it go, but tonight's opening night

was one of the best I've ever been in for any show. You know, sometimes fumbles happen on opening nights

the crowd's a little off, the cast is nervous. They delivered a beautiful show I sat there calm the whole time which is shocking for me and very very proud It was such a special night The energy of the audience was incredible It was filled with fabulous people Yes it was so cool

And now we're in this fabulous Westavino's under the bridge. It's amazing

You must be having the time of your life working on this musical, are you? Yes, yes, absolutely. I just love the creative team so much

I feel like we've created something very unique and special. and very current in something that the world needs right now

And I think we deliver our message in a very exciting way

This is a piece of art. This is a new, brand new, bold piece of art

This isn't based on a movie or really even a book that anybody's heard of

This is brand new. This is original. And it was a puzzle piece

It was a puzzle to put together because it's a mash-up. The Go-Go's music and this wonderful story by Philip Sidney back in 1590, you know

So, we've done it. I mean, I think we've been able to do it with a lot of heart and soul

We've done it. We're so ready and happy. And, you know, I think this is definitely the breath of fresh air that the world needs right now

You play a king. What's that like? I do. I mean, well, it comes kind of natural to me

No, it's great. I am definitely the... My kids keep asking me, when am I going to not play the bad guy

And it's probably going to be a while. But he's not necessarily a bad guy, but he's definitely the foil

To Broadway, how does it feel? It feels like everything I thought it was going to feel like

It feels... I'm happy, I'm sad, I'm scared. I like every emotion coursing through my body right now, and it feels so good

I spoke to you the other night when I talked to you afterwards. I was like, there's nothing like a Broadway debut

What was today like for you? Today was electric. I actually had to force myself to eat

And anybody that knows me, that's a surprise. And having such love and friends and family there was just wonderful

It was just I still at the theater I love the Go so much And the Go have been so generous with their time They come to rehearsals since the very beginning of the process

And how their music fits into this show is truly uncanny. You would think that the songs were written for the show

And the show is based on a piece that was from the 1500s by Sir Philip Sidney

So it's some strange alchemy that we don't understand. But it works

Do you have a favorite Go-Go song, or does it change? It changes, but I have to say, every night I love standing in the wings watching them sing Automatic Rainy Day

It's amazing. Just the fact that we know the Go-Go's on a first-name basis, that's truly the most excellent

I grew up listening to that music, and so it's such a part of my childhood

So getting to stand over here and being like, oh, hi, Belinda. Hey, what's going on? That's exciting

These are songs that I have had on my iTunes. I've had on my CD player

I've had on my Walkman and a tape cassette. And so I'm just so happy that I get to sing Heaven is a Place on Earth

Sorry for the spoiler. How much fun is it playing a princess

The most fun. It's delicious is actually the word for it. You just get to indulge in all of the feelings

And especially one who loves herself so much, it's the most fun. Yeah

Okay, Living in the World of the Go-Go Songs, what is that like? Oh my gosh

Well, first of all, I didn't realize how sort of storytelling-packed, that that doesn't really make sense, but the songs are

They're unbelievable. There's so much feeling behind them, even like a song like Good Girl

talking about like want to be a good dog, good girl, like the role of women in trying to find our voice

It's unbelievable. Plus, it's the most fun ever. So, yeah, I don't ever get tired of that music

What's it like stopping the show eight times a week? Fun. It is a gift to be a part of this and to be able to present it to others

and to share this world with everyone, where everyone is accepted and everyone gets to party with us, no matter who you are

I love the role you play. I still call her a princess. What's it like? It great I play Mopsa and she is so wonderful She is strong and fierce and fights for love and acceptance And that all anyone wants And it is such a treasure to be able to portray her

You know, Rachel York was saying what's great about this. Everybody works really hard

This is like a brand new musical you put together. I mean, what was that whole feeling like for you

Like working your way up into a brand new show? It's intimidating at first, for sure

And definitely challenging, but so rewarding. You learn a lot about yourself in the making and how to work well with others

But it's a lot about creating beautiful moments, learning to let go and move forward

and always do what's best for the team. It's really great. And we are so fortunate to be a part of a great, collaborative, warm team

It's been so wonderful to see how it's grown. I mean, I did a lab a year and a half ago

and just the ways in which we have really pared down to find out exactly what story we are up here meant to be telling

Michael Mayer is so genius at that. He's so good at seeing what the necessary point is

And I just feel lucky to be working with him again and as a grown-up this time and not a 17-year-old child

We just want to tell this story and give them this beautiful message, which is really about the celebration of love

The celebration to be who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter what your size, no matter what your preference is in life

Everybody has a right to be and live the way they want to live

And it's a beautiful message. Get on the beat. We know you can dance

We got the beat. Jump and get down. Round and round and round

We got the beat