Re:By My Side

This was actually Steve Schwartz's favorite verse musically, but it was strictly exposition so, when we were ma!in" cuts in #ct $ this was the verse % elected to cut& %t comes directly after&&& '(ar beyond where the horizon lies, where the horizon lies and the land sin!s into mellow blueness, oh please ta!e me with you& (or % fear % shall weep, and never lau"h a"ain& % do want to lau"h a"ain and a"ain& % want to smile inside, and put my eye in every flower, please ta!e my hand&' )ow, *ust writin" that made me remember how intense the experience was sin"in" that to Steve +athan all throu"h our run at ,a Mama and then all throu"h rehearsals and previews at -herry ,ane until % cut it& .ilmer's harmony part was so beautiful too& Than!s for as!in"/ 0e""y .ordon % actually recorded it for my own historical purpose 1we never recorded the ori"inal music at ,a Mama&&& shame since the ori"inal melodies by 2uane Bolic! are amazin", complex, ran"y and wonderful to sin"3& % hope to "et an M04 of that full version& %f % do, %'ll send it to you throu"h this e5mail address as an attachment so you can have it/ 0e""y .ordon % wrote the son" very or"anically when % was 67 years old 1% !now many more chords on the "uitar now then % did then3& The pro"ression made sense with the lyrics meanin", they alternate between the emotional pain of yearnin" and the implicit *oy of fulfillment& So, as % composed from 8ay 9ambur"er's poem 1it is a monolo"ue of sorts, as opposed to lyrics written in son" structure3, it felt ri"ht to alternate between ma*or and minor chords in the lyric sections that echoed 'her,' my emotional pain as opposed to my emotional expressions of hope& The endin", ori"inally, was in 2 minor& This was before Steve +athan and % wor!ed out the choreo"raphy of the endin" 1the ori"inal cast alon" with Steve Schwartz and our musical director Steve Reinhardt created all the musical harmony parts and all the ori"inal choreo"raphy3& )hen Steve Schwartz saw our endin", our outstretched arms to each other, our hands almost touchin", he felt stron"ly and correctly that the endin" should echo my character's powerful commitment to him 1plus the empowerment of havin" overcome my fearfulness3 so, he wanted the endin" to be # ma*or& % was resistant at first but when % heard it, % a"reed& :ou don't see them "oin" off into the sunset but, the # ma*or endin" "ave the audience the emotionally powerful experience of !nowin" that their *ourney to"ether wasn't over& % would literally hear people weepin" by the end& % still "et chills when % see that moment successfully created in faithful .odspell productions& %n order of your ;uestions&&& %f you've never read Steve Schwartz's bio"raphy,

2efyin" .ravity, it's an amazin" read& %n it, briefly, % tal! about the "enesis of By My Side in the son" section& %t was written for somethin" else, a play 8ay 9ambur"er wrote, a !ind of #ppalachian Romeo and 8uliet called Mari"old and <l!in& 9e handed me a monolo"ue he'd written for Mari"old and as!ed if % could write music to it& % did& (ast forward a few years 1since that play was never finished3, we were brin"in" in son"s, stories, "ames that we'd play for $= minutes each ni"ht before we be"an to improvise .odspell& Since the entire premise of the show is a re5investi"ation of who 8esus mi"ht have been separate and apart from -hurch do"ma and ritual experienced throu"h the unbiased, innocent prism of a pre5adolescent child, 8ohn Michael made the .odspell >niverse a child's fenced play"round populated with children's iconic characters: clowns and a comic boo! styled superhero clown in the person of 8esus& This was non5 ne"otiably what 8MT called .odspell, and his vision is lar"ely what made us such a hu"e critical and commercial success& So, we'd play this child's "ame of show and tell for $= minutes before we be"an rehearsal to "et us into the mindset of bein" about !inder"arten a"e& % tau"ht what had been 'Mari"old's Son",' to .ilmer on her 6$ strin" "uitar& )e brou"ht it in for the "roup& 8ohn Michael listened to it, loved it and put it exactly what you see it now in the show& % chan"ed the title to By My Side because, in .odspell's context, the son" is about him always bein" by my side& My favorite son" in the show is ?n The )illows& %t's "or"eous& #s for >zo's interpretation, it's very mannered on the recordin" but it was much more emotionally effective live& % loved wor!in" with Steve& 9e's the most "enerous, creative director and producer& 9e creates the optimum environment for you to do your best wor!& % actually love )ic!ed and his son" %'m +ot The .irl, % thin! that's the title& % thin! it's his best wor! to date but he's still creatin", so stay tuned&&