‘PRIMAL SCREAM’ Comes to Pepperdine University

Juliana Jurenas

Letting go of your childhood can be quite the laborious task, especially when it is still haunting you decades later and wreaking havoc on your adult life. That is the essence of the musical “Primal Scream,” a powerful story set in group therapy that exhibits the lives of multiple characters scarred by their pasts and as a result are looking for solace through primal therapy.

A collaborative project, “Primal Therapy” was contrived by Dr. Arthur Janov, his wife Dr. France Janov, and composer David Foster. Dr. Arthur Janov is the inventor of primal therapy, which is recognized as the first science of psychotherapy. Published in 1970, Janov’s book, “The Primal Scream,” covers multiple stories of patients suffering from neurosis that he worked with. Sixteen-time Grammy award winner David Foster discovered Janov’s recreational poems and began putting them to music. The two noticed the strength in their teamwork, and started writing a musical to build awareness for primal therapy and prove its self-proclaimed 100 percent success rate. Turning the tables from doctor to playwright, Janov toyed with characters based off patients he had worked with over the years, finding a way to instill comedy, love, and an understanding of the human psyche into the story.

“Primal Scream” centers around two characters, Jim and Julie, both in search for the source of their neurotic behaviors. Julie, who is loosely based off France Janov herself, is a painter suffering from depression. Jim is a cynical musician sent to therapy for abusing his ex-wife. Jim and Julie, alongside others in therapy, transform throughout the musical into better versions of themselves, ridding their minds of the past and their individual causes for deep-seated suffering. France Janov, who is also a painter, will create all of Julie’s paintings in the show, extending the artistic collaboration of this project even further.

Nowadays, musicals tend to be judged as a confetti-throwing-song-and-dance experience straying far from truth, but “Primal Scream” could not be more different. Not only is the material scientifically proven, but this show will challenge audiences to laugh, cry, and most importantly, think. Primal therapy works to unconsciously dig into the memories of one’s past to allow them to re-experience them as an adult, which helps them leave their past behind once and for all.

Director Jim Fall, whose work has been seen all over Los Angeles at venues such as the Colony Theatre and the Acme Theatre, has been developing this production with his creative team for the past month. Although this is the premiere of Primal Scream, the team is hopeful for its potential success and ascension to Broadway in the future.

The Primal Therapy Center, founded by Dr. Janov, is located in Santa Monica, CA. The center’s focus is to treat incoming patients, train therapists in the practice of Primal therapy, and continue ongoing research. All of the proceeds for this musical will go to the Primal Therapy Center to continue the evolution of this practice. The proceeds also go towards paying for therapy for those who cannot afford it. Dr. Janov continues to explore the imprinted memories of life spanning back to as early as inside the womb. Working with Dr. Justin Feinstein, the Director of Research, the two of them aim to find an indication of imprinted pain through brain scans and therapy work.

“Primal Scream” is more than just a musical; it is an opportunity to better understand the power behind a safe practice of therapy and explore how the end of human suffering is possible.

“Primal Scream” will ensnare senses on Oct. 17 at the Smothers Theatre at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Tickets are available here.