Dear Friends,
After winning the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award this past June, Jerry Herman announced that he was retiring from writing; he realized the sound of the music he writes is “no longer relevant.”
I found this statement sort of sad and yet incredibly empowering; for a writer to know his time has passed–whether or not you agree with the statement–is a grand notion. To essentially say: “my function on this earth as an artist is no longer needed,” to me, was a sad and yet wonderfully self-aware assessment from a Great Contributor to the Art Form.
As I listened to the Broadway Channel on SIRIUS Sattellite Radio the day after closing B.R.A.T.T. Camp while driving our lighting equipment back to its various homes, “Mascara,” from Herman’s La Cage Aux Folles came on, I was overcome with emotion. Maybe it was because I was on two hours of sleep from continually re-writing with Bobby Cronin, our composer, the night prior, or maybe it was because I was remembering Jerry Herman’s statement: his time is no longer; our time is now.
I feel in my soul that the music you will hear this summer, in your backyard of Highland Park, will be heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio one day, and that these writers and actors you see will be names you’ll say “you saw when.” Your feedback for B.R.A.T.T Camp has left indelible marks on the piece and I look forward to sharing future incarnations with you.
The greatest compliment I have received thus far was that we have made patrons feel comfortable giving honest feedback–this, indeed, is the mission behind La Red Music Theatre: You help shape The Work. I hope that your honest feedback continues and that you’ll join us for The 9/11 Report: A Bipartisan Musical Fantasia, by Michael Mahler adapted by yours truly, July 22-August 2. We are knee-deep in rehearsals and I’m positively ecstatic to share this work with you.
See you in the theatre (very soon!)
Warmly,
Jessica
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