“Flashes of Light,” a new musical by Billy Larkin and Ron Boustead, makes its world premiere at the Sierra Madre Playhouse from May 25 through June 9. Directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, founding artistic director of Playwright’s Arena, the production is about visionary inventor Nicola Tesla and his muse Electra, the formidable goddess of storm clouds.
Set against the backdrop of the industrial revolution in New York City in the late 1800s, the story follows inventor Nikola Tesla, guided by Electra, who sends him visions of groundbreaking inventions during lightning storms. Their connection amps up when Tesla’s rivalry with Thomas Edison intensifies during the “War of the Currents,” a battle that shaped the world’s electrical future. As Tesla and Electra become obsessed with pushing the envelope of scientific discovery, a star-crossed love story fraught with peril unfolds as the line between science and mythology begins to blur.
Bringing together mythology and science, romance and historical fiction, “Flashes of Light” is a brilliant idea in musical theatre. The music’s heartfelt lyrics, soaring vocals, and haunting melodies blending jazz, pop, and rock, bring this fantastical story both tragic and divine to life.
Co-creators Larkin and Boustead discuss by email the origins of this collaborative work, the choice of venue, and the audience takeaway.
“Billy became fascinated with Nikola Tesla — this mysterious figure — so critical in the development of our modern technology, yet so underappreciated in the mainstream of American history,” begins Boustead. “Tesla was known to experience flashes of light and blinding headaches throughout his life, which were most likely migraines, but we attributed his malady to the overwhelming influence of Electra, goddess of the storm clouds. Naturally, her power would be a lot for a mortal to endure.”
Larkin adds, “Also, the obsessive Tesla never married or was known to have a partner, so the idea of including Electra as his muse gave us a romantic storyline to add to the narrative.”
While integrating myth or folklore with a factual figure and moment in science might seem conflicting, mythology is very much intrinsic to theatre, as Larkin and Boustead explain. “Mythology has been a staple of theater since its beginning, and crafting this tale became a catalyst to do a deep dive into some of the more compelling figures of Greek and Roman myth. Electra answers to a council of gods, more senior than herself.”
“Naturally, Athena — known for her wisdom, power, and morality — leads the council,” Larkin and Boustead clarify. “Prometheus, who had given mortals the gift of fire, is on hand to guide Electra in her mission to assist humans in the development of electricity. And Dionysus is an amusing addition to the council, with his drunkenness, his humor, and the sibling rivalry he shares with his sister, Athena.”
Teasing out the story, Larkin and Boustead relate, “Nikola Tesla leaves his homeland in Serbia with a head full of ideas about how to best distribute electricity for homes and factories at the dawn of the industrial revolution. He lands in New York where he becomes a rival to the great Thomas Edison in the ‘war of the currents,’ a contest between Edison’s direct current method, and Tesla’s alternating current.
“Along the way, Tesla interacts with prominent figures in 19th century finance and industry, like J.P. Morgan and George Westinghouse, and befriends the first American celebrity — the one and only Mark Twain. Through every challenge, Tesla is being assisted in his groundbreaking inventions by Electra, heard and felt only by him, during lightning storms. Like all interactions with the gods, theirs is a star-crossed relationship, with profound and tragic consequences.”
Asked why they chose to debut their production in an intimate setting, Larkin and Boustead reply, “In April of 2024, we performed a concert of songs from our show at the El Portal Theatre in Noho, which we filmed. A friend of mine, who attended the concert, happens to be on the board of Sierra Madre Playhouse, and brought our project to the attention of Matt Cook, the artistic director. Matt thought ‘Flashes of Light’ would be an exciting addition to their 2025 calendar and approached us about staging our first run in their 99 seat theater setting. We love the historic and intimate vibe of SMP, and find it a welcoming atmosphere to get our production on its feet.”
Musicals normally require an orchestra — which the Sierra Madre Playhouse couldn’t accommodate — so they had to improvise.
“Our score is built around a full jazz-rock band,” Boustead says. “Because of the size limitations of the stage at SMP, we determined that the best approach for the music was to use the hybrid combination of Billy at the piano, assisted by tracks covering the rest of the orchestration.”
All 26 songs in the show are original and co-written by Larkin and Boustead over the course of eight years. However, many other beloved songs ended up on the cutting room floor, otherwise their show would be three hours long.
The co-creators hope that their show will one day be staged at larger venues but, for right now, they are happy to debut it in the San Gabriel Valley.
“Like any other musical theater creators, we imagine a trajectory that takes our project to larger venues next, with the ultimate goal of becoming a smash Broadway hit show, and eventually a touring company,” Larkin and Boustead emphasize. “But for now, we are singularly focused on making this version the very best it can be, given the time, budget, and space considerations available.
“We hope audience members will gain a clearer appreciation for the tremendous contributions that Nikola Tesla made to our modern world. We have been faithful to much of the history and science as it really happened, but we believe that the way we’ve told Tesla’s story will move audiences — sometimes to laughter, sometimes tears — but in the end to appreciate the value of one man’s life.”
“Tesla’s story is one that explores themes of science, mythology, genius, madness, immigration, friendship, romance, and ultimately legacy,” Larkin and Boustead declare as a final note. “It’s one that resonates with anyone who strives to leave the world a better place than they found it.”
These topics are as realistic as they are fantastic, as relatable as they are aspirational. “Flashes of Light” promises to be a little show with huge potential to reach great heights.
