DR Noel - As for Ricky Ian Gordon, Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa and Adam Guettel - or the "anointed" as you like to call them... None of them have had any real new work so far this century - well, maybe JRB's
Last Five Years and AG's
Light in the Piazza, and MJLaC's
Marie Christine...
-Signature Theatre is finally doing Michael John LaChiusa's
The Highest Yellow - based on van Gogh's life - next season. Of course, it was originally announced about four or five years ago... they even had a set model already! But... -I have to wonder how many of the "21st Century" musicals truly started in the 21st Century.... In any case...
And if I may continue to expound on this topic for just a few more sentences... I think the one thing these "anointed" have had in common is "luck". Good luck, plain and simple. It just took one - or two - of the "right" people listening to their music at the "right" time - when they were in the "right" mindset. Or it could have been the result of a chance meeting at a bar, restaurant, party, subway ride, audition hall, grocery aisle, etc.
Oh, and they probably have good agents plugging away for them too.
Yes, we may get tired of hearing from the "same people" all the time when it comes to the sound of the "new Broadway", but at least it is something new. Whether we like their music/shows or not. Frankly, LaChiusa's music bewilders me at times. JRB (as the "kids" call him) can get very "motivic" and "hookish" for me. Adam Guettel's harmonic language sounds strained to me at times. And Ricky Ian Gordon seems to be "trying very hard" to be "serious" (
Dream True, anyone?). BUT there are things I find I like in all of their music. And there are things I don't like in all of their music.
And we musn't forget the recent contributions of Ahrens & Flaherty, Andrew Lippa, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (
Avenue Q), Marc Shaiman,...
Even the "great composers" had their "lesser" moments - Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy... Porter, Loesser... Bernstein, Sondheim (as the recent discussions of
Bounce seem to prove).
And among cabaret devotees, the names of Bucchino, Goldrich & Heisler, Carnelia, Freidman, Lunden & Perlman, etc. are very much heralded and esteemed. *And I've even played a Noel Katz tune here and there at a cabaret and an in audition.
It really just comes down to luck. That may seem like a cop out, but I don't really think it is. And, unfortunately, in today's entertainment business - and I mean business - everything from a hairdo to an unintentionally funny off-hand remark can make or break a career - or even create one. And I believe this not only applies to movies, TV and "pop music", but also to theatre and music theatre.
For myself - Do you have any idea how hard it is to break into a "pit" in NYC and/or on tour? Players stay with shows for as long as they can. And when they want to bring in someone new, it's not really someone "new" - it's someone they already know. In some cases, it's literally a case of waiting for someone to move onto another show, retire and/or die. -Just like getting a rent control apartment!
It's not for a lack of trying on my account - and not for a lack of some nice "connections" I've had the fortune to make over the years... There is just simply no room in the inn... well, in the pit. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard, "I wish I could bring you on the team, but..." over the years.
Yes, I get very frustrated at times when some "lesser talents" - and sometimes even some self-admitted lesser talents(!) - happen to land a show I was hoping to get. And, yes, I get frustrated when I find myself working "under" someone who doesn't know the show as well as I do. But I can't let all that frustration get in my way. I enjoy playing piano when it comes down to it. I enjoy making music. I enjoy what I do... Emphasis on enJOY. If I happen to bring "baggage" into an audition room, people will notice the "baggage". (And if an actor brings "baggage" into the audition room, most definitely will the "baggage" be noticed.)
Thankfully, I've established a nice career in the DC area and in some other markets. And work is work. And, thankfully, most of the time it has been good work, with good people, with good material. Worthwhile material. And a lot of those times, that material has been written by some lesser and unknown composers. And we find ourselves asking, "Why wasn't this piece more successful?" "Why didn't this writer get more recognition?" The answer...
-I haven't had a "day job" in over six years - that truly is "lucky"!
Actors - with whom you work daily - have to deal with the ""IT" factor" - whatever "IT" is - ?!?!?!
Ever been to a classical piano competition? Something as "simple" as repertoire choice - to an "ugly" dress - can mean the difference between a Gold and Silver.
And I've always wondered if Stephen Sondhem had not met Jamie Hammerstein...?
What if Comden had not met Green?
What if Rodgers had not met Hart?
What if George Gershwin's parents had not splurged on a piano?
What if Jason Robert Brown hadn't gotten divorced?
What if Michael John LaChiusa and Andrew Lippa had not seen a copy of "The Wild Party" on the bookstore shelf? -Well, that can be a loaded question for some people here.
What if...?
-Yes, I'm starting to wax philosophical here - and long-winded - but the close is coming up soon...
Luck. In the big picture sense of the word. As I heard Lynn Redgrave say in a speech once, "Make Your Own Luck." So much truth in that statement. And Happiness.
-and I think I'll leave it at that for now...
