Can you begin by telling us what inspired you and Will to create this concept album? I am a writer who is very inspired by three-dimensionalizing the characters from society as sort of two-dimensionalized from the tabloids. My career has sort of always been re-contextualizing these tabloid figures, whether it’s like the Balloon Boy family from 2009 or Heidi Fleiss, and giving them an empathetic portrayal. Will and I were told to find something to work on together, so as we were discussing, we discovered, one, we were both really inspired and energized by once in a generation female talent of a certain age, and two, these larger-than-life, tabloid figures.
Around that time, an article about Heidi Fleiss had come out in The Hollywood Reporter about her macaw activism and where she is now. When I saw that, I said, ‘That is the heroine of a Billy Recce musical.’ So, I started writing it, and with Will to direct it, we were supposed to do a 29-hour reading of this show structured as a one-woman rock concert with three backup girls. We were supposed to do a reading of it in spring of last year, but obviously, COVID put the kibosh on that.
We realized we had so many incredible female artists at our disposal, who were sort of looking for work, and they were willing to help put this album together. We said, the doorway into this show is the music because it is like a Hedwig and the Angry Inch rock concert, and we wanted to do something like Jesus Christ Superstar, or even more recently, Hadestown. Let’s give people the music first and be transparent about what this show really is before it opens one day. That is how the concept album got started. For those who are not familiar, who is Heidi Fleiss, and why do you think people should be interested in her story? Heidi Fleiss, she was known as “Hollywood Madam” in the early 90s. When she was about 26 years old, she basically controlled the upscale sex industry in Hollywood. She had hundreds upon thousands of rich one percenters in her little black book and basically controlled all their secrets. It sort of all came crashing down when she was arrested and lost everything. Now, she lives in the deserts of Nevada with 40 parrots.
Like I said, one, this is just a crazy story that deserves to be told again, but two, I think Heidi Fleiss represents a woman who, yes, may have broken the law, but was more so caged and shut down because she was an ambitious woman. Because she was conquering an industry that women would not be thought to control at the time. With this show, we really wanted to give her that sympathetic portrayal of looking at a woman who was vilified by the press and lost everything nearly because she was the one they chose to go after and destroy.
I think, especially now, we are living in this time where we are getting these sympathetic re-contextualizations of the tabloid villainesses of the 90s. From Tonya Harding to Monica Lewinsky to Marcia Clark to Lorena Bobbitt. For one reason or another, Heidi has not gotten that sort of new look again, and more than anything, it is an honor to be retelling this story in this way because whether or not what she did was right, she deserves this. 
The album came out last month, and I assume it has been received well by listeners? I saw that it landed on Apple’s top 10 soundtrack chart. Yes! We made it to number six on the Apple soundtrack charts, and we were 11 on the Billboard charts, which was crazy. It is unheard of for a concept album with no production to make it there. I am just so honored and touched that people are liking and listening to it. What do you hope listeners take away from the album? For one, if they are people who were around when Heidi Fleiss was in the news, I hope they walk away with a new, more well-rounded look at allowing a sex worker to stand center-stage and tell her story, which never happens in the media. I hope they are willing to listen and find the humanity in this woman. If they do not know the story of Heidi Fleiss, I hope they really get into it and learn it.
For me, I was not around when Heidi Fleiss was a thing in the media, so I hope that people discover these badass qualities of her and this boss-lady, ambitious mentality that she had. I think people are willing to give a woman like that a second look because they are aware that women were so mistreated in the tabloids in the early 90s. I think they will see that there is a flesh-and-blood, complex woman at the center of the story that deserves to be heard. With theaters still shut down, have you begun thinking about how you want to put the production together? We are sort of shopping it around. The big thing for us was using this album as a tool to get people excited for the show and get people interested. Luckily, we have people who are coming to us and saying they want to see this show. I cannot talk about what those next steps are just yet, but we are very thankful that there are some next steps bubbling. Although you want to make the stage production a one-woman show, the soundtrack features an all-star cast. Any thoughts on who you would like to see play Heidi? We certainly have a lot of people who we have on our dream list. I would say, without spoiling any names, I want somebody who has the power, charisma, and badassery that Heidi Fleiss does. At the end of the day, people are going to be coming out not just for Heidi’s story, but to see this one incredible actress tell this story. It has to be a woman who is sort of equal to that icon status of Heidi Fleiss. What is the overall message you hope Little Black Book conveys? Little Black Book is a story about redemption. It is about a woman who was destroyed by the press rediscovering who she is, what brings her joy, and deciding that she is enough. She is able to start again and put “Hollywood Madam” behind her. Reclaim her story and personhood. It is a musical about reconciliation, redemption, and Heidi Fleiss as our phoenix rising from the ashes. 
Does the real Heidi Fleiss know about this project? Yes. I cannot say too much, but we are talking with Heidi, and she does know about it. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you would like to mention or plug? Anything else you think our readers should know? I would just say, if you like Little Black Book and the music, please talk about it and share it on your socials. You can buy the album on iTunes and Amazon, and please leave us a review. The more people who are talking about the show and listening, that means more people will be able to discover it. Spread the word of this redemptive look at Heidi Fleiss. This show is a celebration of who Heidi Fleiss is, was, and will be. For more information and production developments, visit Little Black Book’s official website. To stay up-to-date with both Recce and Nunziata, follow them on Instagram.Photos Courtesy of Gabriella Spiegel and Dara Seans
