From co-creators Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith and Josh Gadthe Apple TV+ animated musical comedy series Central Park is back for its third season, with wealthy hotel heiress Bitsy (voiced by Stanley Tucci) laser-focused on buying the park in her pursuit of turning it into condos. At the same time, park manager Owen (voiced by Leslie Odom, Jr.) hopes to find a way to keep that from happening.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Gad (who voices the show’s main narrator, Birdie) talked about how the pairing of his musical theater background with the quirky family dynamic that Bouchard brings works perfectly for Central Parkhaving The Avengers of musical theater talented involved, his hope that they’ll eventually get to perform together live on stage, the experience of being involved with the creative process from the ground up, and getting to bring in an incredible line-up of guest songwriters to add to their already incredible in-house composers. He also talked about why the Beauty and the Beast prequel TV series focusing on Gaston and Lefou ultimately got put on hold, what it’s been like for him to work and collaborate with Alan Menkenand whether he’d like to try his hand at directing.
Collider: This show gives me so much delightful joy. I just love watching it, so thank you.
JOSH GAD: My pleasure. Thank you for saying that. That’s our hope, to infuse joy into people’s lives.
When I spoke to Leslie Odom, Jr. last season about this show, I asked him if he always knew that it would be so fun and odd and quirky, and he told me that since those are three adjectives he uses to describe you, that he knew that would be a part of the show.
GAD: (Joking) That asshole!
What’s it like to have the opportunity to have a creative outlet to do a show like this, that is a little bit different?
GAD: It’s incredible. Leslie and I have known each other since college, so he has the ability to speak to that. It’s the perfect marriage. My kind of musical theater background, from The Book of Mormon and Frozenand Loren Bouchard’s quirky family dynamic that he perfected on Bob’s Burgersis just this odd pairing that works so right. It’s a privilege and an honor to get to work with such incredible creative voices, behind the scenes. We have two new showrunners, Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu, who come from Bob’s Burgerswho have brought, in addition to Nora Smith and Loren Bouchard, such a great new perspective to the series. And then, of course, we have The Avengers of musical theater, with Leslie Odom, Jr., Daveed Diggs, Emmy Raver- Lampman, Tituss Burgess, Stanley Tucci, Kathryn Hahn, Rory O’Malley and, of course, the return of Kristen Bell, and Sam Richardson playing the new mayor. There are these riches that we get to play with, and it keeps us honest , as creators. We continue to push the boundaries of what we can do because we feel like we have the talent, in all departments, to do just that. And this season is no exception. It takes a little while to figure out what the hell it is you wanna do, and we’ve gotten away with it, but now we feel really confident that we’re doing exactly what we set out to do. It’s really exciting, in this season, we have some really, really, really unbelievable episodes that have challenged us, in terms of storytelling, and the result is pretty wonderful.
So, are you and your castmates working on a supergroup that you can form, to do live performances together?
GAD: It’s my dream to get a concert, at some point. The luxury of having this cast is that it’s one of the best casts ever assembled, but that also means that everybody is always busy. I’m in Australia right now, shooting , and everybody’s all over the globe, doing stuff. Tucci is in London. Kathryn is God knows where, doing Agatha. Everybody is everywhere. But as soon as we have a moment where we’re all in the same place, I think everybody would be so open to doing some sort of live concert performance.
What have you learned about being involved with the creative side of a musical, from the ground up? Obviously, you’re no stranger to musicals, but does it give you a different appreciation for what you thought you knew about them, before doing something like this?
GAD: A hundred percent. I was keenly involved in the creative process of The Book of Mormon and Frozenbut from the perspective of an actor, bringing these characters to life, while other people were doing the creative day-to-day. In the case of The Book of Mormonit was Trey [Parker]Matt [Stone] and Bobby [Lopez]and in the case of Frozenit was Bobby [Lopez]Kristen [Lopez]Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. So, taking all of those elements and immersing myself, from the ground up, was picking pieces from observing and watching and knowing what I wanted this to be. The first thought was, “There’s no way that any composer can write 40 songs. We’re going to need to come up with a plan and a pattern that would allow us to be able to have different composers coming in, almost like guest curators, to create songs.” We had our in- house composers, people like the incredible geniuses Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, who created the sound of our show. And then, we were able to bring in people, like Cyndi Lauper and Sarah Bareilles, and all of these incredible artists, like Big Boi and Shaggy, and have a diversity of sound, week-to-week, that I think makes the show stand apart from anything that has tackled music in television storytelling.
It seemed like a given, when we heard about the Beauty and the Beast TV series, but then it got postponed. Is that something that you’re hoping to still get into production, at some point?
GAD: Yeah. I think that Luke [Evans] and I are still very much interested in the story. There were elements that were really, really stunning and really brilliant. It’s that blessing and curse of, when you’re doing something as big and as ambitious as a Beauty and the Beast prequel, and you’re getting to play with the crown jewels, it’s gonna be an expensive undertaking. In terms of ambition and scope, and trying to marry it to one of the most expensive movies in the Disney library, its ambition ran away with it. There are ways that we can tell this story and live up to the promise of what it can be, but also do it in a way that won’t break the bank. Ultimately, I think that will be the way forward. I hope we get to do it. I know we’re still very interested. There’s some amazing stuff that Adam [Horowitz] and Eddy [Kitsis] did, and that Alan Menken did, that I hope audiences get to see and hear, one day.
For a musical guy like you, what has it been like to spend some of your career working and collaborating with someone like Alan Menken, and does that influence Central Parkat all?
GAD: Oh, yeah, a hundred percent. Alan is a close friend, and having him come in and write a song for Central Park was such a joy, to be able to sing an Alan Menken song. It’s one of those things where I pinch myself. I’ll give you an example, I have always been obsessed with Danny Elfman, not only his Tim Burton collaborations, but also his work as a lyricist and composer on The Nightmare Before Christmasso I was dead set on getting Danny to do a song for Central Park. And once we got him, I was dead set on getting Catherine O’Hara, who I’m obsessed with, to, once again, work with Danny and create a song, off of their collaboration on Nightmare. Being the person to be able to facilitate those two things is just such a privilege and an honor because it’s not only as a creator that I’m doing it, but it’s also as a fanboy. I’m getting to bring elements together that make me excited and hopefully give others that same level of excitement and joy.
You sing, you act, you work in film and TV, and you work on stage on Broadway, but the thing that doesn’t seem to be on your resume is director. Is that also something that you’re thinking about or looking to do?
GAD: Very much so. There’s actually a project that I’m very interested in right now, that I’m trying to find the right time for. That’s definitely on my radar and is something that I think will happen, in the near future . It’s something where I’ve been waiting for the right moment to feel like I’m ready to do that. I’ve been blessed with working with some incredible directors, who have taught me a great deal. So, watch this space.
Central Park is available to stream at Central Park.