‘Journey to Bethlehem’: Fiona Palomo and Milo Manheim on Playing Mary and Joseph in Musical (Exclusive)

Journey to Bethlehem takes a unique approach to the story of Mary and Joseph as the film is a musical. Playing the roles of Mary and Joseph are Fiona Palomo and Milo Manheim, who understand that portraying the characters the right way is the key to the film’s success. PopCulture.com spoke to Palomo and Manheim, who talked about their experiences playing two important characters in history. 

“Terrifying,” Palomo told PopCulture. “I did a lot of research. I went through those films, through other incredible actresses who have played Mary before. And then I think the rest was just up to the script I had and was working with, as well as the vertigo of knowing that it was up to me to create this particular Mary. And it was very easy to fall in love with and understand as a human being that went through something enormous. Yeah, so it was just a lot of homework, of putting her together as a person, as a tangible human being.”

For Manheim, he enjoyed playing Joseph because he’s not talked about in the Bible as much as Mary. “It was interesting to explore,” he said. “There’s less Joseph than I thought in the Bible and in these scriptures and whatnot, so I didn’t have as much as I thought I would to work on. …I was really curious to learn and serve this story, like I want to do with everything I do, and I know that this is a particularly important one. So the research was extensive to make sure that I did not fail him. But what I ended up finding was that I really couldn’t, because he is a human being and he’s just trying his best. And the thing I wanted to really shine through was that he becomes a man through this journey because of Mary. And I think I did it.”

Journey to Bethlehem tells the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus through humor, faith and new pop songs along with the addition of Christmas melodies. Palomo enjoyed singing and dancing in the movie since she has a musical background. “In my family, there are a lot of musicians. And I’ve always loved singing and I can kind of mess around with the guitar. The piano I really love playing,” Palomo said.

“The songs were there, the demos were ready, I just had to learn how to sing them. And they were so far from what would be my normal vocal range if you will. So it was a lot of work and coaching and everything that was so fun. And that gave me the gift of singing through this movie, which was really beautiful. And the choreography, Zach [Woodlee] and Haylee [Roderick] did so beautifully at coordinating so many people while being so bright. They were never… I not once saw them overwhelmed, stressed out. They were always bright and in control.”

Manheim revealed that learning the songs and dance routines was challenging. “It wasn’t easy for me. It never is. If it looks easy, I’m glad it does,” he admitted. “I put a lot on myself on this movie. I just cared so deeply about it from the beginning, so I was stressing. The day that I was really anticipating was the song Ultimate Deception, which is a song that I sing with myself. So I had to learn the choreography for both of those versions of Joseph. That was just a behemoth day. And when we got those done, it was very fulfilling and I feel like I could finally focus on the rest of the movie. So that was a big one for me to overcome.” 

Journey to Bethlehem is out in theatres now.