Only in New York

I woke up this morning thinking that this would be the most uneventful day of my week. (Now I wonder how I could possibly have assumed such a thing; after all, I am living in Manhattan!) Here are just a few things that ended up happening:

1. I saw Charles Strouse for the last time this summer (he leaves tomorrow to visit his son in Toronto). He spoke with his producer about getting me onboard as an assistant music director/conductor for the upcoming Annie revival, and it looks like this is really going to happen!

2. A documentary about Charles' life and creative process is currently in the making, and today, I became an unofficial member of the cast! (As the videographer filmed me working with Charles and Richard, the conversation turned to The Book of Mormon musical and my own Mormon background. Who knows? Maybe that will make it into the documentary!)

3. I survived my first earthquake.

It's true! I'm not making any of this up. Really.

Sitting on the 19th floor of Charles' apartment building around 2:00 PM, I thought I felt the room sway. Deciding that I was probably just a little tired and dizzy, I shook my head and went back to work. Then I felt it again. The floor was actually moving beneath my feet! Jewel poked her head through the door. "You might want to stand in a doorway just in case the roof caves in." In a few moments, the swaying stopped, and I stepped cautiously back towards my computer. Then, wondering what had just happened to me, I turned to the source of all answers: GOOGLE.

The world's a funny place when, in order to figure out what we've just experienced in the physical world, we have to look it up online. Not five minutes after I felt the initial tremors, the Chicago Sun-Times had published this full-blown article about the incident. There had been an earthquake in Virginia--and a pretty big one at that! It was a 5.8 on the Richter scale--the biggest earthquake to hit the east in over a century. Apparently, most major buildings in DC were evacuated, and Times Square flooded with anxious people trying to get out of their apartments. Luckily, no damage has been reported in NYC. That's the way to do it: Maximum dramatic impact, minimum negative repercussions.

Saying goodbye to Charles made me realize, for the first time, that I'm really and truly leaving New York. The documentary videographer took photos of me with Charles and Richard using his nifty camera, and he's going to email me the files. Charles also signed a copy of his autobiography for the dean of my conservatory. It all seemed so conclusive. Now that I've finished transcribing all of Charles' classical compositions, I'm going to ask the Dean Chin if we can organize a recital at Longy centered around the classical chamber music of Charles Strouse. He wrote most of these quartets, quintets, and solo pieces under the tutelage of Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger, and they're really good! None of them are currently published, nor do they have any decent recordings. I think Longy should give them back to the world--or at least to the Boston community.

I composed in a whirlwind today in preparation for my final meeting with Charles and Richard. Luckily, both of them liked all the arranging I'd done. Conversation soon strayed to other topics, and Richard ended up asking about my mom's writing background. When Charles heard that she writes picture books, he asked if she has any that she'd like turned into children's musicals. "She's got an interested composer and lyricist right here," he said. What do you say, Mama? ;-) I actually think that Keeping up With Roo would make a lovely little one-act children's musical. Wouldn't Richard do a nice job with the dialogue?

And now, to wrap things up, a review of the latest show I've seen on Broadway: Phantom of the Opera.

Overall, I really enjoyed the performance. What would have been a mediocre production was made much more riveting by the lead character (Phantom). The actor who played him had a remarkably consistent and versatile voice (with such a beautiful tone!). He controlled it perfectly and allowed it to break down in all the right spots. And his acting during the final scene left me breathless on the edge of my seat.

I also loved the grandeur of it all. You don't get such a lavish set, such beautiful costumes, or such a huge cast (including an entire ballet chorus!) in many Broadway shows these days. And even if Phantom is considered the illegitimate merging of opera with Broadway kitsch by the classical crowd, I still love that lush, fully-orchestrated sound.

Of course, some things were certainly dated--the 80's drum track and synthesized sounds, for example--and frankly, a few of the special effects would have worked better in a community theater production. The entire first act builds up to that pivotal moment when the Phantom unleashes his rage and the chandelier comes crashing down in the opera house. I knew the crash was coming, and when it finally happened, I actually giggled. The whole thing was so anti-climactic. The lights on the chandelier started blinking and flashing like an old ferris wheel, and when the thing fell, it didn't even crash--it just floated lazily to the stage where it landed, awkwardly, like a deflated balloon.

Still, there's something to be said for a show that can pack a full house on a Monday in one of Broadway's largest theaters TWENTY-THREE years after first opening. And it's amazing to me that my friends in Ukraine who have never heard of Broadway ALL know the music from Phantom.

The theater scene in New York City is thriving, folks! Phantom of the Opera is just one evidence of that.