Gargoyle Garden Closes

The fifth and final performance of Jeff LaGreca and Allen Schulz's Garoyle Garden was last night. It was the best performance yet and we had a huge, enthusiastic audience to share it with! As the music director for the show, the performances were relatively easy; once the cast and band knew the music, all I had to do was show up, give a few cues, and play one blistering heavy metal guitar solo about 1/3 of the way into the show (a little-known secret of mine is that before I became an orchestra conductor and composer of "art music," I wanted to be a rock star - I suppose I exposed some of my 1980s musical tastes and inclinations during that 3-minute guitar solo).

That's me on the left!

Like I said, the performances were pretty easy for me. The rehearsal period - that's another matter altogether. First, we learn notes, rhythms, and words. Then we add the next level of musical finesse - dynamics (volume), balance, and articulations. This process is not easy, but when it's accomplished, we really get subtle and work to unify phrasing ideas, musicality, and that special je ne sais quoi that separates a good performance from a great performance (I'll rant some other time about the overuse of the word "great" in reference to performances).

In this case, the cast was amazing. They learned the music very quickly and memorized it shortly thereafter so Jeff LaGreca (writer and stage director) could make the show happen from a dramatic point of view. I should mention that I had to leave NYC for 2 weeks right in the middle of the rehearsal period (egad!), and Allen Schulz, the composer and my dear friend, handled the musical rehearsals deftly in my absence - well, no one knows the music better than him! When I came back to NYC, I was pleased to find that the show had evolved very quickly in my absence.

Some of the cast member are old friends of mine and colleagues whom I've worked before (Elizabeth Mondragon, Allan Gillespie, and John Taylor), but others were new to me. I also had the opportunity to work again with one of the most talented new-music pianists I've even met, Laura Barger, and the talented percussionist Chris Graham (for the first time). Needless to say, it was a pleasure to work with consummate professionals, whatever their relationship to me.

After 6 weeks of rehearsals and preparations, and 2 weeks of performances, it was great fun to give the show it's last performance with reckless abandon in front of that very generously enthusiastic audience. Allan Gilespie ("Chimney Man") hosted a party at a great bar in the Village called Wicked Willie's, and that's always fun ("And the dances continued throughout the night," to quote Jeff LaGreca's great lyrics).

I am very happy that the show was such a hit, and I'm especially happy for and proud of Allen Schulz and Jeff LaGreca (picture to the left) for writing such a great show and bringing it to fruition in such a high-profile way as getting it in the NYC Fringe Festival (it was called one of the six shows not-to-miss). Amazing work, buddies.

Some reviews:

TimeOutNY

American Theater Web

NY Daily News

But when a project that you've invested so much time energy and emotion in comes to a close, you can't help feeling a little sad. The cast and crew become very close when they spend so much time together in such a short amount of time, and you hope sincerely that you see each and all of them again soon. Sometimes you do. Sometimes you don't.

If you're a musician - or any other type of performer - you spend a lot time and energy bringing things into the world, giving life to things that previously were only blots of ink on paper. When a project is finished, you can't help feeling like you've given a part of yourself away. But the beautiful thing about being a musician is that there's another project right around the corner, and the long list of things you've given yourself to, the things that you've created in your lifetime...well those things make you the artist and the person you are.

So, now that I've given a big chunk of myself to Gargoyle Garden, what's next? Well, I'm re-orchestrating and arranging a piece of music I wrote about 10 years ago - a full ballet - for a performance in the spring, I'm organizing a fundraising event and concert in Round Rock (TX), a series of concerts in New York City, and a run of Nutcracker with the Moscow Ballet this fall. And of course I've got my cats, my bicycle (I've become a full-fledged bike nut), and my wife to think of. There are plenty of things and people to give myself to, and I'm grateful that there's a lot of me to give.

Thanks to Rebecca Bratspies for the great photos!