LOS ANGELES—By some miracle, Hans Berlin has found a rare break in his schedule. On a beautiful April day in Los Angeles, he has headed to Runyon Canyon in the Hollywood Hills to go for a hike.
“It feels like a little escape, because you go way up high and have a great look down to the city. And sometimes when it’s not hazy or smoggy, you can actually see the ocean and it’s really beautiful.”
Along the way, he is interrupted by a friendly dog—and some friendly stares from handsome men who may or may not recognize him.
That’s something he’s used to, and not just because of his good looks. Since 2012, Berlin has been one of the busiest performers in the gay adult industry, working for studios large and small across North America and Europe. But on this day, he isn’t Hans Berlin. He’s Florian Klein, the writer and executive producer of Shooting Star—A Revealing New Musical.
“As my director says, he loves that it’s a show where being gay is not an issue. Nobody is coming out, it’s not about AIDS. It’s a love story, but in this show, they are gay characters. It deals with basic human needs, and that’s why we are all sure that this has appeal to a general audience.”
Set in the world of gay porn, it chronicles the ups and downs of Taylor “TNT” Trent, a man who—like Klein—turns to porn after his dreams of making it big in mainstream Hollywood productions fail to become reality.
“It’s loosely based on my experiences, but I started porn shortly before I turned 40, and my protagonist is in his early 20s because I wanted to make it a coming-of-age story—and I also wanted to make it more about the generation I guess you call the millennials—all about being famous just for being famous, being a star just for being a star,” Klein says, noting that the story evolved to incorporate social media aspects.
It also includes a nod to the GayVN Awards: “We have like a big chunk in the second act that happens at the Cockys, the award show that is loosely based on the GayVNs—even though when I wrote it, the GayVNs were on a break in between,” shares Berlin (the Cockys are described as “the big porn awards out in Vegas,” a huge event with a red carpet).
The original seeds for the show were planted in Klein’s brain many years ago (see AVN’s article from last year for more), and has evolved and grown since. The process started to pick up steam last year.
“We had two presentations in June with Broadway actors in New York to find investors, and my general manager back then put the idea in my head to do tryouts in Los Angeles because the show starts in Hollywood. And also, in New York, you have one chance. That’s why we decided to follow the big Broadway shows that usually do tryouts out of town.”
Now he is on the verge of the curtain rising: Shooting Star is set to debut at the Hudson Mainstage Theatre in Los Angeles on May 25 for a six-week run. And if Klein has his way, six weeks will only be the beginning.
“Dear Evan Hansen is about someone who has relationship issues and makes up a fake friendship with someone; Be More Chill is the new Broadway hit about a kid with social anxiety. There are more and more shows where the outcasts are featured. And Shooting Star, as I said it’s not your campy porn musical. It also focuses on the outcasts and shows them—and the audience—that they’re not that different. So we’re on the right track. For now, maybe not Broadway, but maybe Off-Broadway would be amazing. And even if Shooting Star stays a nice little gay show, there’s many gay meccas all around the world where there’s a large gay audience and you can show it. We already have a theater in London that is interested for the pride season next year that wants to do it, so that would be one of the next steps.”
But Klein is looking for some help to ensure the show’s success. He opened a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo (where you can also see the show’s trailer) to help secure funds. Perks include social media shout-outs, memorabilia and even an opening-night date with the executive producer himself (other date nights and a “night on the town” with Klein are also available).
Another perk is underwear, and Marco Marco is already on board. “A lot of go-go dancers wear them. They’ve done custom costumes for Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez. They started with underwear and branched out. All the models in the show will wear Marco Marco underwear, and they’re doing the costumes for mr. Sue—as you know, mr. Pam likes to dress up when she’s on the red carpet, so now we actually have a designer who’s going to make all of her costumes in coordination with our costume designer. I also want to get more sponsorships from the industry.”
Learning the ropes of every aspect of production, promotion and fundraising have been a learning curve for Klein, but he has amassed a cast and crew with an impressive pedigree to meet the challenge. Among the talented people behind the scenes are successful composer Thomas Zaufke, a fellow German; lyricist Erik Ransom, also a successful playwright and composer; director Michael Bello, who served as assistant director on the Broadway production of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical; producer Racquel Lehrman, founder and managing director of Theatre Planners, which has served the L.A. theatre scene for over 15 years; co-producer/casting director Michael Donovan, who had the same duties for Marilyn! The New Musical; and costume designer Angela Wendt, the original costume designer of the groundbreaking Broadway musical Rent.
“She said when she started working on Rent in the ’90s—when people were still dying of AIDS—people called it the show about AIDS, drugs and homeless people, which doesn’t sound that appealing. And that’s definitely one of the challenges we have with this show. Even when casting the show, people think, ‘Oh, it’s a porn show—it’s dancing dildos and priests that sing ‘We love porn!’’ And that’s not our show. We have nudity, but there’s no sex scenes and no simulated sex scenes. The nudity is to tell the story, but we’re not focusing on the nudity. It’s not about sex. It’s about people, it’s about feelings, it’s about life. And above all else, it’s love. Our tagline is that it’s a musical love story set in gay porn, and I don’t want to label it a ‘gay love story,’ because it’s a love story. Love is love.”
At that moment, Klein gets a text from his director, who needs something. He also has a phone call soon with investors, a table read that night—and ever-changing bits of dialogue, lyrics and story that may or may not be incorporated. And he hasn’t even started his hike up Runyon Canyon.
“I haven’t been to the gym in like three weeks, so I need to do this hike. I still need to look good because I’m still dancing a little bit on the side. As I said, I’m wearing many different hats with Shooting Star. And I’m still wiggling my ass for dollar bills. So, I could go on forever, but I feel like for my life, all of this has kept me well-grounded, wearing these different hats and not … I don’t know how to say it in English. When you have your head in the clouds? In Germany, we call it not have your feet grounded, but you lift up and you think like you’re better than everyone else. I think it all kept me grounded.”
In addition to contributing to the show on its Indiegogo campaign, you can keep up to date on the show on its Facebook page and purchase tickets here. Anyone interested in partnerships or investment opportunities can contact [email protected].
