Tai Freligh chats with Milo Manheim and Fiona Palomo about Journey to Bethlehem…
Journey to Bethlehem is a new musical retelling of the nativity story and stars Fiona Palomo (Outer Banks, Control Z), Milo Manheim (Disney’s Zombies series, Prom Pact, School Spirits), Antonio Banderas (The Mask Of Zorro, Uncharted, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny), and artists Joel Smallbone (King & Country, Priceless) and Lecrae (Good Lord, Breakthrough) and is in theaters now. I caught up with Milo and Fiona over Zoom and asked them what it was like to work together on this holiday special, how they approached working on a musical, and what they hoped people would take away from the film.
Journey to Bethlehem is described as a live action, Christmas musical adventure. What drew you to this? And what aspects of the story that you find most compelling given that it’s kind of one of the oldest stories?
Milo Manheim: Right? For me, the instant thing that grabbed my attention was the music. It’s just I don’t know, I’m a musical guy. And it just does something to me, it gives you that feeling where you just feel like a kid again, that’s what I knew. And then as I read the script, at first I was actually concerned about the subject matter, I wanted to make sure that I honored it the right way. And as I read the script, I saw how fun it was. And that was just such a huge added bonus that the writing was so incredible, as well. And the story is a reminder of love and following your heart. And that is why I did it, viola, go for it.
Fiona Palomo: For me, I was already interested in it. I thought it would be a really beautiful challenge to tackle that story and that character. And then on top of that it being a musical, obviously, it’s terrifying. And I wanted to very much honor it and respect it. But once I met Adam (the director) over zoom, way earlier on and heard his vision for the story and how much he just wanted to, you know, uplift people and put color and reinstall certain values, speak about purpose about family, and about all the things that I think are very, very essential to mankind. I was like, I’m on board, because I share that so much as well as an artist. And this I mean, the Scripture is beautiful. The music, I fell in love with it immediately. There’s just something about it that was like yeah, this is my place. It’s my family.
That’s awesome. And you mentioned hopping on a call with Adam. That is director Adam Anders, who worked on ‘Glee’, ‘High School Musical’. So given that background in musical productions, how did that kind of influence how you guys were on set, given it’s a musical and his musical background?
MM: I love musicals. That is sort of like, I guess, unintentionally, the path I’ve created for myself in this career, which I’m very excited about. And I loved Glee growing up and I at first was like, Okay, this isn’t, this is gonna be different, of course. And I wasn’t really too familiar with Adam at that point. And when we met, he was honestly kind of intimidating. He pretty much knows what he’s doing. He’s like, on top of it, and this is his baby. So he, you know, has very strong visions that I just hoped I could fulfill. And as I got to spend time with him and his brother, Alex. I felt like they were really holding my hand through the whole process. It was completely different for me, even though I come from doing musicals, but there’s something about a musical that’s so great because you kind of forget what’s going on in a way that you don’t when you’re just doing a scene when you’re singing a song you can just let it go. You’ve already got it all in your body and system, so it’s kind of like a party. I feel like we had a party in Spain un fiesta de tres meses si Espanol better Fiona go for it.
FP: I agree that this project was indeed his baby. There’s so much work and people behind it already for so many years. So he had such a clear idea of course of what he wanted through the whole thing as it is but also for each character. For me, it was very comforting and wonderful to know that I could work with someone that had worked on those projects and as well as just being immensely talented artists and beings. It was really really easy as well once you share things as people and what you’re seeking and kind of what you want to communicate and put on screen. I think once you agree and you find yourself with that the rest just becomes playing and creating and everything so I felt very, very taken care of by them musically speaking and as an actress. So it was honestly just very much a very big Fiesta.
Now, Milo you mentioned, you’ve done musicals before, but this one was kind of different, different how?
MM: You know, when I do the Zombies franchise it’s both movies are fun, zombies and this, it’s fun. But with Zed, I don’t feel like there are that many things that I can do to fail him, you know, I originated him to begin. So who he is, is who I am. Um, but with somebody like Joseph, although he was just a human being, he is so important. And, you know, it’s, it was very important to me that I just, I did him, right. So I guess I put more weight on my shoulders for this one. And I just wanted to make sure that the message of the story was being told the right way. And also, in Zombies. There’s not very many songs where, you know, he’s angry or really conflicted on that scale, you know, Zed definitely goes through his troubles. But um, for the most part, it’s light hearted. This one was much deeper. So it was interesting exploring how to come at a musical in that way. And I’m still learning. And I’ll figure it out as I go. It was fun. We got it. We got a gem of a movie no matter what the world thinks of it. And I’m happy that we have that.
It’s a pretty heavy hitting cast with Antonio Banderas and Joel Smallbone. What was that collaborative experience like? And did you have any particularly memorable moments on set?
FP: I would personally say the filming of the whole kind of nativity scene. There was the first one we’re all kind of in the same room together with Joel and everything as well. And I think he is incredible. It was just beautiful. I actually learned a lot from him as well. Um, so that was that was a very magical day, I think for everyone. Like there was something in the air that you’re filming it and that is very precious memory to me.
And then with Antonio. You guys remember scar from Lion King? He was walking around and kind of warming up and just like, riffing, and I was like, Oh, this is gorgeous. It’s gonna be amazing. This hair, it’s going to be amazing. And he walked over and he was talking about how much he loved the music. And I remember talking about that for a little bit, but just the way he was just, like loving like Harrods skin in the costume. And everything was so beautiful. It’s so beautiful to see so much passion, especially from someone like him into the film and into the character. So I knew something beautiful is around the corner. It was very big. Both of them.
So this, this movie is kind of described as like a live action, musical version of the telling of the story. How do you think it kind of distinguishes itself from other? You know, there’s been multiple tellings of this story. Not necessarily as a musical, but how do you think it kind of distinguishes itself for this holiday season?
MM: Well, I think that when people are making art centered around this story, people are nervous to do it wrong. And because of those fears, they just don’t do it. And Adam took 10 years to say, this story is important, and we’re gonna honor it. But let’s make it super fun. And let’s take 10 years to figure out the way we can do it perfectly. So that we can have, you know, an experience where you are smiling throughout the whole thing. You’re not feeling like you’re in religion class or anything. You know, and I think the moral of the story is, Adam rides the line perfectly. He has a great balance when these things and I think that’s why this movie shines through.
FP: I think that, well, I went through as many films I could get my hands on as possible. That showed and, you know, told this story or Mary or Joseph, whatever it kind of was, and I think this is beautiful, because I’m also very excited about it’s a I think it’ll be really colorful, and good for you know, families and kids. And that’s a whole other generation, the kids, that is the future of the planet, and they are growing up with having a sensation of being uplifted and thinking about values and family already. I think we have a really beautiful future ahead. And that is very, very important to me. So I’m very excited that it’s out now.
A young woman carrying an unimaginable responsibility. A young man torn between love and honor. A jealous king who will stop at nothing to keep his crown. This live-action Christmas musical adventure for the entire family weaves classic Christmas melodies with humor, faith, and new pop songs in a retelling of the greatest story ever told—the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. A unique new entry into the collection of holiday classic movies, this epic Christmas musical is unlike any before it. See JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM, now playing exclusively in theaters.
The film stars Fiona Palomo (Outer Banks, Control Z), Milo Manheim (Disney’s Zombies series, Prom Pact, School Spirits) and Antonio Banderas (The Mask Of Zorro, Uncharted, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny), in addition multiple Grammy© award-winning artists Joel Smallbone (for King & Country, Priceless) and Lecrae (Good Lord, Breakthrough) with music by Adam Anders (Glee, High School Musical, Descendants, The Passion), Peter Barsocchini (High School Musical franchise), Nikki Anders (Glee, High School Musical, Descendants) and Peer Astrom (Rock Of Ages, Glee, High School Musical, Descendants).
Journey to Bethlehem is out now exclusively in theaters.
Many thanks to Milo Manheim and Fiona Palomo for taking the time to chat. You can watch the entire 15 minute interview on my YouTube Channel HERE.
Tai Freligh writes about entertainment and pop culture for Flickering Myth from sunny Huntington Beach, California…just a hop and a skip from Los Angeles. He can be found on Twitter and TikTok and his website.
PHOTOS: Sony Pictures
(article originally appeared on Flickering Myth)