- Elegies (William Finn)
Elegies is a
song cycle byWilliam Finn about the loss of friends and family and is a response to theSeptember 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Most of the songs were composed in memory of Finn's friends, several of whom died ofAIDS . Three songs deal specifically with the passing of his mother, Barbara Finn. The final set of songs deal with the collapse of theWorld Trade Center and its emotional aftermath.The first performance of the song cycle was directed by
Graciela Daniele at theLincoln Center Theater inNew York , it ran fromMarch 2 2003 toApril 18 , 2003, starringChristian Borle ,Betty Buckley ,Carolee Carmello , Keith Byron Kirk, and Michael Rupert. The production was recorded nearly complete and released on compact disc by Fynsworth Alley (distributed throughVarèse Sarabande ).Musical numbers
*Looking Up Quintet
*Mister Choi & Madame G
*Mark's All-Male Thanksgiving
*Only One
*Joe Papp
*Peggy Hewitt & Mysty del Giorno
*Infinite Joy
*The Ballad of Jack Eric Williams (and other 3-named composers)
*Fred
*Dear Reader
*Monica & Mark
*Anytime (I Am There)
*My Dogs
*Venice
*14 Dwight Ave., Natick, Massachusetts
*When the Earth Stopped Turning
*Goodbye
*Boom Boom
*Looking Up
*Goodbye (Finale)Main characters represented
*
Mark Thalen , attorney and gay-rights advocate
**Bill Sherwood , director/editor/screenwriter of the filmParting Glances
*Joseph Papp , producer and impresario
*Peggy Hewitt , character actress
** Misty del Giorno, chiropractor
*Jack Eric Williams , composer and performer
**Ricky Ian Gordon , composer
**Quentin Crisp , raconteur/actor/writer
* Monica Andress, a friend of the composer
*Bolek Greczynski , art therapist, creator the Living Museum at Creedmoor
* Barbara Finn, the composer's motherPremiere performances
"Boston Premiere by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA (ran May 7-29, 2004)"
Cast:
*Kerry Dowling
*Michael Mendiola
*Jose Delgado
*Will McGarrahan
*Leigh Barrett Directed by
Paul Daigneault ,Musical Direction byPaul S. Katz ,Production Stage Management byDana Elizabeth Wolf ,"Toronto Premiere by Acting Up Stage Theatre Company at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto, ON (ran February 15 - March 4, 2007)"
Cast:
*Thom Allison
*Barbara Barsky
*Steven Gallagher
*Eliza-Jane Scott
*Michael Strathmore Directed by
Lezlie Wade ,Musical Direction byWayne Gwillim ,Produced byMitchell Marcus ,Stage Managed byDot Routledge .References
* [http://www.falsettos.net/elegies.php Elegies information] at the Falsettos.net William Finn site
* [http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?pagewanted=print&res=9E03E7D91E30F93BA15750C0A9659C8B63 NY Times review]
* [http://www.showbusinessweekly.com/archive/220/nyclive_finn.shtml Showbusiness Weekly review]External links
* [http://www.curtainup.com/elegies.html Curtain Up review]
* [http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/philly/phil14.html TalkinBroadway review]
* [http://www.elegiesasongcycle.com Acting Up Stage Theatre Company Show Page]
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