Q&A with student director Richie Walter

Richie Walter, a junior music composition and communication studies major, is one of three directors for Pauper Players’ “Broadway Melodies 2013,” opening Friday. His show is entitled “James Bond: The Musical.”

Staff writer Tat’yana Berdan spoke with Walter about his inspiration, challenges he faced during production and the Bond girls.

Daily Tar Heel: What inspired you to create the idea around your production?

Richie Walter: I wanted to do “James Bond: The Musical” because this year is the 50th anniversary of the Bond films.

The new James Bond film came out this year … I thought it would be really funny to spoof all of that.

DTH: What was the creative process like?

RW: I tried to figure out what I wanted the songs to be first, so I sat down and thought about what kind of songs I wanted.

Then I worked on the plot, and the plot changed a lot throughout (the process).

There are a lot of songs — I think mine has, like, nine songs. They basically sing the play through.

DTH: What challenges or obstacles have you faced during the process?

RW: Casting the particular roles because there’s so many different characters and you have to find people who are good at acting and can also sing.

Also, mine is James Bond, so a lot of people have British accents.

DTH: Can you tell us a little bit about your show?

RW: It’s about James Bond going on his last mission. He’s been doing missions for 50 years, and he’s getting tired of it.

It brings in old Bond girls from the other films, and there is also a new Bond girl I created, and it’s her first mission and she’s really excited.

She’s super excited all of the time, so (she’s) a great contrast to the bored James Bond. And they have to travel, in my case, to Los Angeles, to confront the villain. The villain is a surprise.

It’s about the obstacles and challenges they face. There is also a great contrast between the three Bond girls in the play — they have really funny interactions with each other.

DTH: What has been the most exciting part of the process, and why?

RW: Seeing the characters that I created actually acted out was really cool. I never thought I would actually get to do this and see my characters come to life.

I could not have cast better people to be in the show. It’s really awesome.

DTH: What’s your favorite part of your show?

RW: Gosh, I don’t know if I have a favorite part, but my favorite moment in the play is when I have everyone up on stage acting together. It looks so cool, and it looks like so much fun. It makes me want to be up on stage too.

DTH: What can the audience expect from your show?

RW: They can expect to, hopefully, laugh from the beginning to the end and to also be blown away by the talent, especially by the singing. There are some really hard songs, and the cast just blows it out of the water.

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.