Meet Emily Simonian, creator of the Armenian-American musical “When Two of Us Meet”

“When Two of Us Meet” is a new musical by singer-songwriter Emily Simonian. It follows the story of her ancestors’ journey from Armenia to America in the early 20th century, highlighting the pivotal roles of faith, hope and love in their personal, familial and cultural evolution. On March 22, 2025, the Armenian International Women's Association (AIWA) sponsored a concert featuring songs from the musical’s first act. The concert highlighted the strength of the Armenian people, making difficult decisions “so our sons and daughters can live on someday,” and the moments of beauty, love and normalcy even amid “the darkness of humanity.” The music ran the gamut from jazz to pop to blues, authentically portraying each character’s unique perspective and story. In the weeks following the concert, we caught up with creator Emily Simonian to learn more about her creative journey, musical inspirations and what’s next for the musical. Rosie Nisanyan (R.N.): What is your favorite show on- or off-Broadway right now? Emily Simonian (E.S.): I just saw “Death Becomes Her,” which was really good. It was really fun, super funny, very witty. I never saw the movie and I didn’t know what to expect, but I laughed the whole time. R.N: Who is someone you’d love to work with, either as a collaborator or performer? E.S.: The list could go on and on! In terms of songwriting and collaborating, I have this dream of co-writing with Sia. I know she’s not in musical theater, but she’s just an amazing songwriter—her ability to craft super catchy pop songs, her rhythmic variation, and her ability to marry lyrics and music—I just love it all! And then, in terms of “When Two of Us Meet,” someone I’d love to produce it—shooting for the moon here—is Cher! She’s been on Broadway, she’s produced her own musical, she’s been in a number of movies and TV, and she’s Armenian, so I think it’s a perfect fit. R.N.: Who were your musical inspirations for “When Two of Us Meet”? E.S.: For the musical, Alan Menken, Elton John, Tim Rice, Stephen Schwartz. I’m naming like all of ‘90s Disney composers. I’m showing my age, but that’s just what I grew up on, and that’s what I went back to when I was creating “When Two of Us Meet.” I just wanted that vibe—character-driven, catchy, fun, upbeat, as well as love songs. R.N.: Speaking of the songs, do you have a favorite from the musical so far? E.S.: Yeah! My favorite song is “Nellie,” the boy band pop song. People are usually surprised when I say that. Maybe because it’s the lightest number and seemingly unconnected to the plot. It was actually super hard to write. I worked forever on it and kept saying this isn’t good enough, it’s missing something. And when I finally got it to a place I wanted it to be, it’s always stuck in my head. R.N.: “Nellie” is my favorite as well, as a big fan of boy bands like One Direction and Backstreet Boys. Another favorite is “Fighting for Your Life.” Throughout the show, there are a few different musical styles, like jazz, pop, blues and even a bit of rap. How do you decide which song or part of the story wants to be told, in which style? E.S.: In musical theater, there is what we call song spotting, where you’re looking at the plot and choosing the places where songs should go. As I’m song spotting, I’m also thinking about the style and the tone. I know a lot of musicals like to stick to a single genre of music, but I really didn’t want to. I wanted to keep them all different, but authentic to the character. The only rapping in the musical is done by the inmates; no one else is going to burst into rapping. “Fighting for Your Life,” the jail song, was inspired by “Chicago” and “The Jungle Book”—that kind of jazz, blues vibe. Anaïs Mitchel, who did Hadestown, did an ASCAP podcast where she was talking about “exploding the song.” That really sunk in for me. I would write a very contained song, and then, I’d “explode” it—deciding that it can go into a bridge here, or bring in another character, and now, they’re in a totally different place. In musical theater, you always want to leave a song in a different place than where you started, and every lyric counts. R.N.: Where did the story for “When Two of Us Meet” come from? E.S.: The story came from my dad. He heard it from his grandfather, who is the protagonist, Avo. Unfortunately, I never met my grandfather, who is the character of Aleck in the musical. But the way it was told, it was a larger than life story. In my family, we would say it sounds like a movie or a book; it was emotionally intense, but so dramatic! My sisters and I are all creative, so there was a lingering question of who was going to do something with this story? R.N.: How did your family first react when you brought up the idea or when they first heard the music? E.S.: Everyone was excited. They loved the concept of an Armenian musical and totally got it right away. I’ve always thought our culture would translate beautifully to the stage, with the music, colors, culture, dancing, food and language. I started writing the musical during COVID. My sister Melissa was one of the earliest supporters, giving me feedback on melodies, etc. What surprised me was how emotional my dad got. When he heard the first demos I recorded, he was crying. In hindsight, it makes sense. He’s the only one in the family who actually knew all these characters as real people. R.N.: How do you balance the tone and plot in trying to communicate this horrible tragedy while still telling a lighthearted or optimistic story? E.S.: I thought about this a lot. I really didn’t want it to be centered around the Genocide. I understand that every generation might want to express how they feel about the fact that there was a Genocide, and we shouldn’t stifle that. Even if some of us might want to move away from that narrative, in terms of artistic expression, it makes sense that a lot of young Armenians are going to want to process that trauma in their own way. But for this, I really looked at it as being character-driven. Even in 1915 and all of those terrible things happening, people were still getting married and falling in love and fighting with their mom and bickering at home with their siblings—life was still happening. You know, at the end of the day, it’s an immigrant success story. I think that translates today more than ever. It’s about more than just Armenian culture, and hopefully, other people can see themselves and their families in it, their cultures in it, and recognize that it’s about the power of community, as well. “When Two of Us Meet” can be any two people joining in solidarity. R.N.: How did you find your collaborators for the musical? E.S.: Rebecka Webb (Becky) is my cousin. She studied musical theater at UC San Diego and also helped me try out material early on. Alena Kutumian is a composer, as well as an orchestrator and arranger. She was in a workshop with Marc Shaiman that I dropped into. I saw another Armenian name in the workshop and reached out to her, so that’s how we met. R.N.: And how about the performers for the concert? E.S.: We put out a casting call on Playbill, and it was overwhelming. We got a huge response, with so many Armenian performers submitting. R.N.: How has the Armenian community supported you in the musical endeavor? E.S.: AIWA is the reason we put on the concert. I’m so grateful to them for becoming our first sponsor! Strobia Foundation has also been super helpful. And then, you know, members of the community, people in Southern California, friends from church have been very supportive. R.N.: Do you have any advice for aspiring Armenian musicians and writers? E.S.: Gosh, so much! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to share your work with other people. “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron has been immensely helpful for me, because it helps me get in touch with the fact that I just want to create. Even if my music never goes anywhere, or people don’t hear it, I just want to create. No matter what your artistic medium is, community is so important. I’ve been part of a writer’s group through MusicalWriters.com for a few years, and it’s been so helpful to just bounce ideas off of people, to collaborate and feel like you’re not alone. So, just surround yourself with people who will support you and whom you can support. R.N.: How can people support you and “When Two of Us Meet”? E.S.: We are actively looking for a director, a producer, investors and sponsors, because our next step is trying to get this to a fully staged production. And that takes time, money, connection and a lot of talented people, so we would love to hear from anyone interested in collaborating. Songs from the musical will be featured at two New Works Cabarets in Dallas at the end of April, and in Colorado in August. On Tuesday, May 6, a second concert, in Washington, D.C., will include songs from act one, as well as part of act two, and I will likely be performing with the rest of the cast. It’s open to the public—more information and tickets can be found on our website. Additionally, we’re considering producing a workshop in Los Angeles at the end of this year. But for it to happen, we need sponsors, investors and donors of all levels, in order to pay the cast, fund rehearsal time, secure a venue, etc. R.N.: Amazing! I’ll see you on May 6th! To learn more about “When Two of Us Meet,” visit WhenTwoOfUsMeetMusical.com, @WhenTwoOfUsMeet on Instagram, or @whentwoofusmeet on TikTok. To donate, visit https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/development-of-when-two-of-us-meet-a-new-musical.

Meet Emily Simonian, creator of the Armenian-American musical “When Two of Us Meet”

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Rosie (Toumanian) Nisanyan

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Rosie (Toumanian) Nisanyan

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