It's Life.

When I write Director's Notes for the program, for each of our shows, I always try to imagine what about this particular show might be the most challenging for the audience to understand or key into. We often do very smart, unconventional, complex shows that demand a lot from our audience.

Then again, Life itself is quite often challenging and complex and demands a lot from us. Art reflects Life,, right?

We often do very confrontational shows, sometimes very vulgar or intentionally offensive shows (like Bukowsical and Jerry Springer the Opera). So I do my best to think about what might be hard for the audience to accept or understand, what might be confusing about the show's concept or style.

In a few cases, it's about what preconceived notions about a famous show our audience will have to get past. Many people have huge misconceptions about Rocky Horror, Grease, Anything Goes, Jesus Christ Superstar, and other "mainstream" shows that have been dumbed down and robbed of their original sting over the years. So sometimes I have to ask our audience to consciously let go of their preconceptions.

When I thought about what to write in my Director's Notes for The Story of My Life, there were several unusual elements I thought to write about. But I concluded the most important thing to help audiences with was the idea that the entire show takes place inside Tom's head. As you'll see from my notes, that's not a radical idea for a musical, but it is unusual.

So here's what I wrote....

Welcome to Tom Weaver’s head. Tom is a writer, and the action of The Story of My Life takes place entirely inside his head. We meet his best friend Alvin, but since we’re in Tom’s head, this is Tom’s conception of Alvin, his impression of his best friend, more than the real thing.

You’d be surprised how many musicals take place inside the hero’s head – Company, Pippin, A Strange Loop, most of A New Brain, much of Kiss of the Spider Woman, much of Lady in the Dark, the title song of Jesus Christ Superstar, almost all the songs in High Fidelity. You’d probably be less surprised at how much that changes the story, when the hero’s subconscious is making the storytelling rules, instead of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

With The Story of My Life, Tom starts out trying to tell Alvin’s story, but by the end of the show, we see that it’s so much more complicated than that. Instead of laying out the story of their lifelong friendship in chronological order, this story is more like stream-of-consciousness. Rather than taking us down a direct narrative path, the structure of the show – like the structure of Tom’s brain – is more like a jigsaw puzzle. Tom and Alvin (who’s really Tom, right?) offer up one puzzle piece at a time, and when the last pieces are put in place, we see the full picture.

And the show’s title becomes more meaningful.

This is an adult musical. It’s not R-rated, like New Line’s Bukowsical, Jerry Springer the Opera, I Love My Wife, American Idiot, or bare. This is a story about being an adult, about the adult world, about the endless complexities and maddening nuances of adult human relationships, and the messy, nagging question marks that sometimes remain.

This is a story about stories, the foundation of all human communication, what they are, where they come from, what we do with them, why we need them, and how they can define a life. This is also a story about the Butterfly Effect, the idea that a tiny, seemingly trivial change can create a chain of events that results in massive consequences.

In terms of narrative structure, that Butterfly Effect is essentially what some writers call the Obligatory Moment, that moment toward which everything before it leads; and from which everything after it results. Think of it as a “hinge” moment that divides the story into Before and After. (Like in West Side Story when Tony and Maria see each other at the dance; or in Rocky Horror when Brad and Janet decide to walk back to that castle.) Take out that Obligatory Moment and there’s no story.

You’ll see that moment just a couple scenes into The Story of My Life, and with it, I think you’ll recognize the Butterfly Effect in your own life, that one special teacher who said that one inspiring thing, or that consequential choice you once made. It’s a universal human truth. We all have Obligatory Moments in our lives. Which is why this makes such a great story and why we connect to it so powerfully.

I hope my notes will make seeing the show a slightly more fulfilling, meaningful, powerful experience for folks.

The Story of My Life is a very dense musical, overflowing with imagery, subtext, connections and references, textual and musical themes, subtle foreshadowing. There's a lot going on.

Then again, human lives are pretty dense, too.

And as much treasure as we've discovered as we've worked on this amazing show, no one in our audience will catch it all in one viewing. So I want to do what I can to help prepare our audience to see all the richness and complexity in this beautifully crafted musical.

We learned long ago that our audiences can handle anything we throw at them, but they're always grateful for a little head start.

Come join us for this extraordinary experience. It's exactly the tonic we need for these crazy, disorienting times. We run till Oct. 23.

Long Live the Musical!

Scott

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