By Mary Ann Bourbeau
HOLMDEL – Joe Grushecky grew up in a coal mining town outside Pittsburgh, its population made up of immigrants who came from Europe to work in the mines seeking a better life.
“There were coal miners on both sides of my family,” said Grushecky, best known as the front man of the Pittsburgh-based rock band the Iron City Houserockers and his collaborations with Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt. “My dad dropped out of school at 12 to work in the coal mines. It was hard work. You were paid by the ton.”
Grushecky witnessed firsthand the city’s decline in the 1970s and 1980s when many of the steel mills in the region shut down. There was record-high unemployment, forcing young people to seek opportunities elsewhere while those who remained dealt with rising levels of substance abuse and crime. He watched the city’s decline but has also been there to witness its resurgence.
Grushecky’s songs about this era are now the basis for a new rock musical called “East Carson Street,” starring Broadway’s Constantine Maroulis (“Rock of Ages,” “Jekyll and Hyde”) and Teal Wicks (“The Cher Show,” “Wicked”). “East Carson Street” runs from May 3-12 and will herald the opening of the new Bell Theater inside the iconic Bell Works complex in Holmdel.
“I’m very excited about this,” said Grushecky. “It’s a touching and meaningful family story. I’ve written music for some plays in Pittsburgh, but this is a completely new venture for me. It’s interesting to see my music presented in a different light.”
“East Carson Street” tells the story of three generations of the Popovic family as they journey through the city’s changes. Grushecky has been there for it all. In the 1970s, he lived just off East Carson Street and remembers when the gritty bars were packed with guys getting off their factory shifts.
“By the ‘90s it had transformed into a hub of live music and nightlife,” said Grushecky who, along with his band, was a big part of that scene. Today in Pittsburgh, the mills, mines and pollution are all but gone, replaced by parks, clean water and thriving communities. “East Carson Street” is now a national historic district, lined with popular bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
The music is by Grushecky, with two songs co-written by Springsteen; playwright Jonathan Rosenberg (“Americano!” “House of Dreams”) wrote the book. A longtime fan of Grushecky’s, Rosenberg approached the musician about turning his songs into a musical.
“Joe Grushecky’s rock and soul music, accompanied by a moving intergenerational story of a working-class Pittsburgh neighborhood, is both a sound and a story that we rarely see on stage,” said Rosenberg.
Grushecky is now retired from a career as a special education teacher for intellectually disabled and severely handicapped teenagers in schools and institutions.
“I worked with the kids no one else wanted to work with,” he said. His career, he admits, helped finance his musical exploits. Along the way he met Steven Van Zandt, who went on to produce one of Grushecky’s albums. He became a part of the Asbury Park music scene, so much so that he is now a board member for the Light of Day Foundation.
“Asbury Park became another port of call for me,” said Grushecky. “I stayed there when Steve was working on my record, and my band just became part of the landscape.”
Van Zandt later introduced him to Springsteen, and the two worked together quite a bit.
“Hanging with Bruce gives you cachet,” he said. “It’s like hanging with Santa at the North Pole.”
“East Carson Street” is produced by the Axelrod Performing Arts Center. The creative team includes director Daniel Kutner (“Prince of Broadway,” “The Band’s Visit”), executive artistic director Andrew DePrisco, music director Charles Santoro and choreographer Michele Mossay.
Bell Theater is located inside Bell Works, 101 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel. Tickets start at $35 and are available at belltheater.org or 732-531-9106 ext. 14.
The article originally appeared in the April 25 – May 1, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
