Stratford residents Laurie Lynd and Tim French have been best friends since high school. They have known each other through highs and lows and were even the best men at each other’s weddings.
And now they have brought the Canadian classic CBC series Murdoch Mysteries into the illustrious world of musicals in an upcoming episode.
“It was slightly surreal,” Lynd, who directed the episode, said about the experience of looking across the set and seeing his long-time friend. “But it was such a pleasure and a comfort for me to have Tim on set … I'm so thrilled with the work he did on this episode, and I had such great confidence in the work he would bring to it – and I was proved right.”
The episode in question depicts the famed detective William Murdoch in a coma after a shooting, where he must solve the crime from a parallel musical world where everyone is singing.
The aptly titled episode Why is Everybody Singing? airs on Monday (March 25) on CBC as part of its 17th season. As Lynd said, it has been a long time coming.
“It's something that's been long, long contemplated in the Murdoch world,” Lynd said. “When the fans were asked, that was the one thing they almost unanimously said they'd love to see: a musical episode.”
A musical episode was also an aspiration behind-the-scenes, with executive producer Christina Jennings being a big proponent in getting it made.
Paul Aikens, who has been a writer on the show since season one, wrote the first draft of the episode five or more years ago, Lynd said. The script sat unused but not collecting dust. Aikens worked away at it, writing the music and the lyrics until it was the right time to film it.
“I think it had something to do with the state of the world,” Lynd said about why the musical was made now. “As (Jennings) said, we're in a period where we're looking for joy … and we all hope this episode does bring joy to the viewers.”
Lynd has been directing episodes of Murdoch since season two of the show but French, who joined the production as its choreographer, has just joined the Murdoch family recently, as he said.
“To bring me on board was already quite a privilege and very flattering – and it was fun,” French said. “We had not only our ability just to talk to one another, but in our history together in our, in our theatre and film references, we had this immediate shorthand that we could use in discussing visions or style or ideas.
“We grew up on the classic Hollywood and Broadway musical … we could bring both that shared love and knowledge and our various experiences to this episode together.”
Both French and Lynd said that it was very important that the story be clear and a bonafide musical. It all takes place in Murdoch’s head so anything he saw had to be grounded in the life and time period that he is a part of.
Although they have been friends since high school, Lynd said it was French’s work as a choreographer and musical theatre director that clinched him the job.
Lynd and French had worked together in the past, notably on Lynd’s Genie award winning short film The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore, but also in other short films when they were younger, so he knew what to expect.
“Tim's skill is being able to work with people who aren't technically dancers, and make them comfortable with their movement and make it soar.”
Anyone who watched the earlier season 17 episode Spirits in the Night, which has already aired, will see French’s work. A small scene has constable George Crabtree and his wife dancing the tango, which French choreographed.
French and Lynd both praised the cast of Murdoch, who did all of their own singing and dancing and took to this episode with particular enthusiasm.
The musical was a large undertaking for everyone involved and the cast balanced all the work that went into it along with the other episodes for the 17th season. That meant stealing away a few hours here and there, in between other rehearsals and scenes.
Now with the work done, both are eagerly awaiting how the long-awaited episode fares with fans.
On the night Why is Everybody Singing? airs, Lynd and French will have front row seats to the reaction.
They will be at a screening of the episode at the Royal Cinema in Toronto, along with the cast, crew, and 100 lucky fans.
The official soundtrack will be released on April 8.
