Someone told me last night that they heard a rumor about me.
So, here’s my response to that rumor. Yes, I left a show. However, there was no
throwing of anything, nor was there any “storming out.”
I guess, in a way, it’s nice to know that people are
thinking about me and talking about me. But I would prefer you talk TO me. You’ll
at least get accurate information. Of course, I understand that you may prefer
to share a juicy story. But this one is just not true.
Here’s what is true.
I had some very basic problems with a director. I gave it a
lot of thought and concluded that for my own mental and artistic health I
needed to not continue in that situation. I also realized that my leaving the
show would be the least damaging solution for the production and the theatre. I
emailed the producers, and we had a series of meetings. There was no happy
solution, just a confirmation that there were serious problems, including a
significant disagreement about a basic artistic principle on which the director and I were unwilling to budge.
I told the producers that I had discreetly asked around but been
unable to find anyone I could confidently recommend who was available to
replace me. And I told them I would be willing to keep looking to help them
find someone, if they wanted me to. They didn’t say much one way or the other about
that. I complied a detailed list of everything I thought a replacement music
director would need to know: what I’d already taught; what probably needed more
work; band members contact info; etc. I sent an email to the band members and pit
singers to let them know I was not continuing as music director and that they
could contact the stage manager for more information. Over the next few days, I finished the work I had been
doing on the band parts and sent that to the lead producer. (The show
is written for 18+ musicians, and we were doing it with 8, so I had been
working on and off for a month, putting together a version that would work.
Also, that particular score and parts are notoriously full of mistakes.)
So. I didn’t just walk out of a show. I was angry, but it
was not an emotional decision. I have known people who walk out of shows,
semi-regularly. That’s not me. This is only the second time in the 25 or so years I have been doing music direction that I have left a show. Yes, I am passionate, but I am not rash nor
thoughtless. And if you really know me, you’ll know that I am honest and
direct. If you hear something about me, you can ask me about it. Then, you’ll hear
first-hand information, and just maybe we’ll get to know each other a little
better in the process.
