Posts Tagged ‘jill jayson’
Rave Review For Letters To Daddy
Just got word that another awesome review of “Letters To Daddy, Jr” has been published!
Here are some highlights:
The concept of an all-kid musical, of course, has been tried before. But the genre is ripe for an update, and Letters To Daddy, Jr. offers a straightforwardness and sincerity rarely seen in today’s musical theater. Creators Mark Shepard and Jill Jaysen have owe a lot to the example set by You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, but in some ways their take on preteen angst is more believable…
the dedicated young cast is so engaging, and Shepard’s upbeat score so heartfelt, that it’s impossible not to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride…
I See The Blue Breaking Through
I See The Blue Breaking Through | Song # 401 | 10/7/09
Now what? We begin to begin again
Now that the rain has decided to end
And our hearts are certainly on the mend
(Can you comprehend?)
How good it feels to look up and see
Blue sky begin to break through and The
Clouds of grey beginning to blow away
Gravity. Sometimes drags you down
Relax. Stretch out upon the ground
Look up. And watch the blue break through
Refrain:
I see the blue breaking through
Do you catch a glimpse of it too?
What’s it like to be brand new?
I can’t say I knew it would work this way
Had a moment when I had to keep fear at bay
But at the end of a very long day
(I have to say we found a way)
To have fun while we got the job done
And I want to thank everyone
Who joined in and helped us with our play
(hip hip hooray)
Refrain:
So what’s next?
Where do we go from here?
Climb with me up to where the air is clear
And watch the blue break through for you…
Refrain
Commentary: This song arose out of a conversation I had with Playwright and Director, Jill Jayson of Center Stage Theatre Company reflecting back on the intense week of rehearsals and 4 performances of “Letters To Daddy, Jr” with 19 amazing elementary school age actors. Saturday We did 2 performances in Westport CT. It poured rain all day. But that did not dampen anybody’s spirits! The rain let up just as we had to break down the set and pack it into a half dozen parent’s cars for the NYMF performances in Manhattan on Sunday. Sunday dawned clear and beautiful and everyone and every thing got to New York City by 9 am! We set up. We did a run through for lighting cues. We checked the sound. The kids did two great shows (although by the 4:00 pm show you could tell they were tired (I know I was exhausted!).
Then we had to break down the set and pack it all away in all the different cars and head back.
It’s all a blur now but, Tuesday morning Jill and I were discussing future projects and while we were speaking the sun broke out of the heavy clouds and blue sky began to show through…I said to Jill, “I see the blue breaking through…”
“There’s a new song!” she said.
So here it is still in a bit rough form but you get the basic idea. Can you imagine 19 kids belting out the chorus?
I just want to send out a special thank you to Jill Jayson, and the Parents of all the cast members! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Copyright by Mark Shepard
I See the Blue Break Through by Mark Shepard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Please leave a comment below!
Letters To Daddy Review From NYMF
Letters to Daddy, Jr. is chock full of life’s lessons without ever being preachy – in fact it’s all done with humor and bright and catchy soft rock tunes that the kids obviously relish singing especially the wonderful “Together We Can Change The World”. Oscar E. Moore (read the rest of the review here)
Well. We did it. Somehow Director Jill Jayson managed to get 19 seven through eleven year old kids and their parents AND the entire Center Stage set packed up Saturday night in half a dozen cars…
Early sunday Morning in Manhattan we found the theater, unloaded the sets and the props and the musical instruments and the sound equiptment…
Then set it all up, ran through the show for lighting cues, checked the sound… and all of a sudden it was 1:00 pm and time to start the first show.
The kids were wonderful and as always full of surprises and the kind of earnest intensity that performing live in a real theater creates.
But don’t take my word for it, check out the full review of Letters To Daddy by Oscar E. Moore!
Letters To Daddy To Be Performed At NYMF
Just got great news! The awesome version of Letters To Daddy that was adapted by Jill Jayson of Center Stage Productions in Westport, CT has been invited to be performed at the New York Musical Theater Festival a.k.a. NYMF
In case you don’t know what NYMF is, it is considered the “Sundance Festival” of Musical Theater. Many of the recent TONY award winners have premiered at NYMF. So it’s kind of a BIG deal. No. It is VERY DEFINITELY A BIG DEAL.
As it turns out, I will be part of the show, accompanying on guitar. I’m excited!
Here’s an article from Broadway World with all the details:
LETTERS TO DADDY JR. To Get Special Presentation at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center
Music & Lyrics by Mark Shepard
Conceived and Developed by 4e Productions
Get Tickets To Letters To Daddy, Jr. (a NYMF Special Event)
Seating is Limited so get your tickets Now!
Sunday, October 04 at 1:00 & 4:00 PM
at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center
248 West 60th Street
New York, NY 10023
The theater is located between Amsterdam and West End Avenues.
Take the 1, A, B, C & D to 59th Street/ Columbus Circle.
In case you can’t make it into NYC on October 4th for the NYMF performances of Letters To Daddy, Jr., There will also be a Westport CT performance on Saturday Oct 3, at 1 pm & 7 pm
Seabury Center
45 Church Lane, Westport, CT
all tickets to the Westport shows are $15
Call 203 341-9659 for reservations (seating is extremely limited so reserve ASAP!)