Jane Levy Happily Embracing the Musical World of ‘Zoality’ in ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST, debuting Sunday on CTV

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Jane Levy of the new musical drama ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST didn’t hesitate when asked to name her all-time favourite song: “Harvest Moon by Neil Young,” she said. Whether that song will be performed on ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST remains to be seen, but there’s no shortage of singing and dancing as the lively and unique series debuts with back-to-back episodes, Sunday, Feb. 16 starting at 8 p.m. ET on CTV. Levy plays lead character Zoey Clarke, a brilliant computer coder living in San Francisco. Following an unusual event, Zoey starts to hear the innermost wants and desires of the people around her … through song. Obviously Zoey doesn’t have a clue what’s going on inside her brain, and it isn’t too much of a spoiler to say that as the season progresses, she gets in on the singing and dancing herself. ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST also stars Skylar Astin, Peter Gallagher, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart, Carmen Cusack, Mary Steenburgen, and Lauren Graham. There’s a lot of musical talent in that group, and Levy – who is best known for the sitcom SUBURGATORY, a number of horror films, and her role in the first season of CTV Sci-Fi Channel’s CASTLE ROCK – admitted to being initially terrified. “I enjoy working with these actors so much and I’m learning so much about musical theatre, because I am very much like Zoey in that I am tone deaf to musicals,” Levy said. “Everybody’s always referencing these stage musicals and songs, and I never know what anyone’s talking about.” But Levy definitely is learning as she goes. “It keeps growing and growing, this world of, we call it, ‘Zoality,’ ” she said. “I have been so invigorated. Learning to sing and dance is really fun. It’s also really humbling. I am someone who’s really competitive, I come from a sports background, and failing makes me feel like (bleep). And I’ve failed many times. But I just keep persevering.” Levy also acknowledged that the series has given her an understanding of the emotional power of music, and musical theatre, that she didn’t quite have before. “Recently we were doing a scene, and I was talking to the director, and I didn’t understand what the scene was about,” Levy recalled. “We kept going forward, because we had to. And then live on set, Alex Newell sings the song that was included in that scene, and suddenly everything was crystal clear! It was like, ‘Oh, this is a song about love, and how love is something that gets messy, and it’s complicated, and you can’t really explain it in the way that you would in a straightforward scene.’ And I was like, ‘Oh! This is the magic of musicals!’ It’s a different tool. It’s a different way of storytelling.” But the emotional power of music notwithstanding, there’s a comic side to ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST as well, especially with Levy’s facial reactions to what she’s seeing and hearing. We’ve all been in places where the music is too loud. And Zoey finds herself in situations where her expression is indicating something along the lines of, “OK, music is fine, but NOT NOW, I’m busy, not again!” That’s where the comedy comes from in this bold series. “I like that interpretation,” Levy agreed. “Yeah, totally. I personally hate live bands at a restaurant. Makes me crazy.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv