Redwood: A Broadway Musical for Us!

By OGFN Founder, Dr. Joan Maloof

Nature lover that I am, I usually avoid the big cities, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to see the brand-new musical, Redwood, just opened on Broadway. Some of my ‘tree royalty’ friends would be attending that same night too: specifically, Tim Kovar and Richard Preston, and our large and loving entourage of family and friends.

Joan Maloof with Tim Kovar and Richard Preston

The musical was conceived by award-winning Broadway actor Idina Menzel. To name just a few of her credits, she played in Rent, and Wicked, and was the voice of Elsa in the movie Frozen. She’s been called the “Queen of Broadway,” and to have her turn her talents to old-growth trees is just amazing. 

Idina Menzel and Joan Maloof

In Redwood, Menzel’s character learns to climb the redwoods and in doing so, is healed by them. In preparation for the part, Menzel wanted to learn to climb them for real. And who would teach her? None other than Old-Growth Forest Network supporter and the “World’s Best Tree Climber” (according to Outside magazine) Tim Kovar.

I first met Kovar in 2013 when I was invited to give a presentation at a meeting of Tree Climbers International (TCI) in Georgia. Tim led “tree time” where climbers were blindfolded and followed a string through the forest that led to “their” tree (already set with ropes), which they climbed while still blindfolded. 

Who else would expect climbers to go up a tree, though blind, and also know how enriching that experience can be? Kovar. He leads climbing expeditions all over the world, and if you want to climb an old-growth redwood tree, he’s the guy. I’m honored to call him a friend.

The whole group on stage afterwards. There are many Old-Growth Forest Network supporters in this photo!

Another “tree star” who reached out to Kovar for climbing lessons was the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, author Richard Preston, who published The Wild Trees in 2007, about redwood canopy researchers in California. Preston eventually climbed old-growth redwood trees with researcher Steve Sillett, the pioneer of redwood canopy research. When I  met Preston at that same Georgia meeting I was already a fan, having read and admired The Wild Trees years earlier. 

Richard Preston, Tim Kovar, Sophia Sparks, and Idina Menzel

(The connections keep coming…another tree climber friend, Andrew Joslin, couldn’t attend the play that evening, but he created illustrations for The Wild Trees, and eventually went on to illustrate my book too, Nature’s Temples: A Natural History of Old-Growth Forests.) 

Although there were few real trees in Manhattan on that bitter cold February evening, the ‘tree’ that was the co-star of Redwood literally held  center stage. 

The play was marvelous, I highly recommend it. When they belted out the song Big Tree Religion, it felt as though we were all in nature’s church. There were frequent tears in the audience, including my own. But there was much laughter, too, and a standing ovation from the packed house at the end. 

I felt the energy from the many tree huggers in that audience, and it felt good. I hope Redwood shows for many years and reaches many, many people.