New update 6-24-17
[http://www.nymf.org/festival/2017-events/fourth-messenger]
Hello my lovelies. As usual, it's been a good long while. I hope
you're thriving, surviving, savoring joy wherever you find it, being
brave—all that good stuff.
I'm sitting in the hallway of a rehearsal studio in NYC, after the
first full read-through of _THE FOURTH MESSENGER
[https://www.facebook.com/TheFourthMessenger/]_ for the NEW YORK
MUSICAL FESTIVAL
[http://www.nymf.org/festival/2017-events/fourth-messenger]. Over the
past few hours I've gotten goosebumps, teared up, burst out laughing,
and felt my heart reach out in all directions at once. And I'm now
camped out in the hallway, as a symphony of noise pours from the other
rehearsal rooms, mulling over what just happened.
It's strange and wonderful to listen to something partly of your own
creation after some time away, immersed in other things. It allows you
to be tricked into hearing it as though for the first time; the ego
momentarily forgets you were ever involved. (The ruse is harder with
my solo stuff, where my voice is inescapable.) When I was in the thick
of the writing of this piece, the world premiere production in
Berkeley, and the album recording, I had to live in fix-it mode: does
it work? What do we need to adjust? What are our options? And to be
honest, sometimes I'd just get down on the whole thing, out of
exhaustion or frustration: you know what, whatever. Let's leave it. It
is all that it's going to be at this point.
But today I sat in the room and just listened, innocently. And what
struck me is how remarkable a story Tanya has woven, together with her
many collaborators, and how relevant it feels in this moment. It is a
story about a Buddha figure, but to me it's as much about how you
build a bridge across an unbridgeable divide. What do you do when
someone has caused you irreparable harm, for their own good reasons
that they don't regret? What does it mean to participate in a greater
movement that asks you to subsume your personal needs, or other
callings? How do you lean into the discomfort of reckoning with your
responsibilities as a human being? The two main characters begin their
journeys in their respective bubbles—as most of us do. As they move
on collision course, a cynical taste for scandal and a yearning for
real community drive the action in equal measure. That all feels
timely, too.
Of course the version of _The Fourth Messenger_ I heard today _is_ new
in many ways. The pacing is tighter, the plotlines intersecting more
elegantly than I remember. The funny bits are funnier. The speech
patterns and idioms for several characters feels more authentic.
There's a rewrite with a new musical reprise near the end that makes
total sense (why didn't I think of that, years ago?). And just as
we've been lucky to have a superb cast, creative team, and crew for
every incarnation of this musical, the group for this New York run is
no exception. I'm particularly dazzled at the moment by Samia Mounts
[https://www.instagram.com/p/BVpzWPShO9G/], who plays Raina with a mix
of ferocity, humor and tenderness all her own, and who also happens to
host a fascinating podcast called Make America Relate Again
[https://www.makeamericarelatepodcast.com/]. Life-imitating-art
casting is awesome.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN NEW YORK JULY 18-23, OR CAN BE, I REALLY HOPE
YOU COME SEE IT. (Daveed Diggs from _Hamilton_ says
[https://www.facebook.com/daveedDdiggs/posts/10155596419686015?pnref=story]
you should too, which leaves me a bit starstruck.) On any given night,
chances are I'll be in some nearby seat in the Acorn Theatre, taking
it in with you.
Love,
VT
