“Where are the musicians?!”

That’s the question that many Freak The Mighty audience members have been asking after experiencing this fantastic world premiere musical. Read on for some fun facts about our live music setup in Freak The Mighty.

^{Freak The Mighty (2026) musicians in the PONCHO Lounge at Seattle Rep. Photo by Sayed Alamy.} 

We took the musicians out of the orchestra pit.

While there is a traditional orchestra pit in the Bagley Wright Theater, Seattle Rep often gets creative with the placement of our musicians. During last season’s Come From Away, the musicians were on stage with the cast (who also played instruments). In Freak The Mighty, however, a different solution was needed. Sound Designer Ken Travis wanted to create a sound more akin to a recording studio. To make this possible, Seattle Rep utilized our PONCHO forum, where Freak The Mighty’s musicians are housed during the show. The music is then piped into the theater for the audience and the actors on stage.

^{Associate Music Director and Conductor Ian Chan watching the action onstage via monitor. Photo by Sayed Alamy.} 

How do the musicians know when to play?

All Seattle Rep shows, including Freak The Mighty, are well-rehearsed ahead of time to ensure accuracy and timing. In addition to everyone remembering their cues, the conductors (Patrick Sulken and Ian Chan) have a very high-tech set to track the show. This setup includes monitors to track the action onstage, communicate with the stage manager, track different members of the band, and adding their own sound, all while they are playing Keyboard 1.

^{Musicians Jordan Voelker and Derek Smith play in the PONCHO forum during a performance of Freak The Mighty (2026) at Seattle Rep. Photo by Sayed Alamy.}

Seattle Rep supports local musicians!

Except for Music Director Patrick Sulken and Associate Music Director Ian Chan, all the musicians are Seattle locals! At Cleveland Play House earlier during the first leg of the show this year, the entire orchestra was Cleveland-based.

^{Drummer Jesse Whitford plays in a sound booth inside the PONCHO forum. Photo by Sayed Alamy.}

How big is the orchestra?

For each show, we have 8 live musicians, and the sound is supplemented with additional electronic instrumental sound cues—it’s hard to believe such a “mighty” sound comes from such a small group! 

^{Musician Brad Allison plays the trumpet during a performance of FreakThe Mighty (2026) at Seattle Rep. Photo by Sayed Alamy.}

We hope you enjoyed learning more about our special musical configuration for Freak The Mighty. Get tickets today to hear it for yourself—playing now through September 6.

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^{Curious about the musicians behind the music? Check out the full list of musicians for Freak The Mighty below:}