Behind the Spooky Serenades of This is Halloween with Music Director Sari Breznau

As the cobwebs take over the stage and ghoulish glee fills the air, it’s clear that This is Halloween is here. 

Meet Sari Breznau, the musical director and instrumentalist behind so much of everyone’s favorite spooky spectacular’s unprecedented sound. From the unique cacophony of an all-brass band to the nearly indescribable Balkan influences intertwined with Danny Elfman’s iconic, original work, Sari has been an integral part of This is Halloween’s musical conception since the “dawn of time.” 

If you’ve ever wondered what makes this beloved production scratch a melodic itch you didn’t even know you had, it’s more than likely thanks to Sari. 

Read on to learn more about Sari’s musical history and get a sneak peek behind the curtain for This is Halloween. Plus, discover where you can find Sari and her sound when This is Halloween is hiding in the shadows all other months of the year. 

THECANCAN.COM: Can you tell us a bit more about your work as a music director?

Sari Breznau: I'm a lifelong musician. I have a Master’s in Choral Conducting, and I music direct quite a number of projects. I'm a music director for circus shows, which I tour in the summer with Up Up Up Crane Truck Circus and FLOTSAM! River Circus–which is on a boat that literally goes down the river. I also have a community choir that I conduct. 

In terms of shows, I have music directed for Cafe Nordo and various other places around town. I've been doing This is Halloween since the dawn of time. I was actually the music director at another show for the Can Can a really long time ago, and we're in talks about doing another one next year. I also do some of the arranging, which is actually what I'm working on right now. I'm making an arrangement because our band is a horn band, which is kind of unusual. It's all wind instruments which takes a lot of writing out parts for everybody individually. Whenever they want to do a new song, I make the arrangements for the band. 

I'm also a performer. I sing, and I do voices. I do a lot of the voices in This is Halloween, as well. And, I play the keyboard upfront.

THECANCAN.COM: What is it like working with Can Can compared to other shows you've directed musically?

Sari Breznau: Can Can is a pretty well-oiled machine, at this point. They're efficient, and they make decisions quickly, which is great. I feel like I really have a lot of trust with Chris and Fae. If I have a strong opinion about something, or if I want to go in some weird direction with arranging a song, they are pretty receptive. It’s nice to have such a long-standing, good working relationship.

Aside from that, Can Can has such a very specific aesthetic. I always know what I'm getting into as far as sequins and whatnot.

THECANCAN.COM: What is your creative process when referencing source material, especially for "parody" shows like This is Halloween?

Sari Breznau: The process way back at the beginning of the development of this show was kind of unusual. At that time, I was in a brass band called Orkestar Zirkonium. We were approached as a band about doing the music for This is Halloween, and then, for efficiency's sake, I was designated as the point person in the band. That band had a very specific aesthetic as a Balkan brass band.

Just by default, because of who all was gonna be involved, it was like, “Take this source material and put it on this band, which has this particular sound.” So, I wouldn't say it's a parody at all. I'd say it's actually a Balkan-influenced version of the music, which is such a totally strange thing, but it's just what ended up happening because of who was involved at that time.

Now, at this point, almost none of those original players are involved and Orkestar Zirkonium doesn't exist anymore, but we're still left with the same footprint of its founding. We're still using a lot of those same arrangements that have odd time signatures and this kind of Balkan inflection over the Danny Elfman original source material.

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Colin Ernst, who did that first round of arranging. He's the one who did the initial work of writing out parts and figuring out how to do this combo Balkan and Danny Elfman thing. Since then, I've been doing anything that's been added to the show. 

THECANCAN.COM: How would you describe your ultimate musical composition?

Sari Breznau: I have two projects that I'm pretty in love with right now which are my creative children. One is called Mantraband, and it's a sing-along, self-help disco cult. I'm all about creating group catharsis and participatory experiences, and that's what Mantraband is. It's all about really great dance jams that have a repeated singalong line for the audience to join in on. There's also a costume element because we all wear the same color clothes. It’s so uplifting; we're really there for the purpose of helping each other to feel good. There's always some aspect to my work that's about being positive and trying to feel good. 

I’m still in the process of the other project I’m working on this year. I've written just about all of the music for a new musical called Venus and the Vixens that's gonna be staged in May. The creative mind behind the show is Martha Enson, and she's the one who hired me to write the music. It’s the first time that I wrote all of the music for a show, top-to-tail.

It's a six-person band made up of all women who accompany the show. I was given so much creative license, which is everything you want as an artist–to be paid to actually make your own ideas come to fruition. I got to choose the musicians, choose what orchestration I wanted to have, and I wrote all of their parts. It's the first time that I have been able to be like, “That is what my music sounds like.” I got to really stretch my creative legs. If I were to describe it musically, it's sort of like musical theater meets Bjork. There's an electronic vibe to it, kind of industrial and aggressive but with lots and lots of singing. I'm very much a singer at heart, so almost all of the women in the band sing, too. 

THECANCAN.COM: What is your favorite number from This is Halloween? 

Sari Breznau: Because I've been doing this show for so long, it's about whatever is new. So, right now I'm very excited about an arrangement I made of Radiohead's “Creep,” which is going to be the new number in this year's show. I just went nuts with the super epic, big band horn arrangement. I can't wait to hear that. Aside from that, the only number that I wrote entirely myself is the opening march for the band when we walk in through the crowd. It’s just my own composition. So, I like that. There's something in there that's mine, it's original.