A Blog by Margaret Rose
That moment just before the overture begins. That moment, whether I’m in the audience, whether I’m the writer/director peeking in from the back row, or whether I’m backstage on the crew or in the cast … that moment when all are assembled, ready, anticipating … that moment just before we collectively launch ourselves into a shared journey of musical theater. One of my favorite moments in any show I’ve ever seen. The Moment Before. That moment, when we don’t know yet if
“Musicals aren’t written – they’re rewritten.” I was living this old adage, as I worked on a rewrite of the last section of our song, “A Perfectly Good Umbrella.” I was working to remove the word, “insignificant” from an early line of the section, so as not to lessen the impact of the word when used in the final line of the same section.
In the rewriting process, I realized another fault of the lyric: it took too long to
I love great lyrics. I thrill to witty wordplay, internal rhymes, and alliteration. The cleverness of Sondheim excites me, the pure simplicity of Hammerstein fills my heart. I appreciate the skill and cleverness that goes into writing a perfect lyric. I have studied the craft of writing lyrics and know the basic rules to craft a good one. My goal is always to write the best lyric I can, and sometimes
It was 1984 and I had just moved to New York City. By night, I was working as a Stage Manager for a production of Comedy of Errors at the Equity Library Theater. By day, I held down a job typing contracts for a publishing company. I would work through my lunch hour in order to be able to leave work a little early. I’d throw on my sneakers and
One Sunday afternoon in February on the Main Stage of the Sacramento Theatre Company, the Young Professionals Conservatory was showing the final performance of their production of PIPPIN to a packed house. Across the courtyard in the black box theater, another audience was enjoying STC’s production of BARK! The Musical. Upstairs, a different cast and crew were in rehearsal for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. In the staff conference room, there was a meeting of the creative team for a new musical, about to launch a 2-day workshop and staged reading in preparation for
The stage is dark. From the darkness, a voice sings the notes of an ancient song, the words unknown, the syllables mysterious and intriguing. The melody teases with a sense of the Far East, an exotic blend of woodwind and harp and human voice. From the darkness, a glow of light reveals the singer: a man wearing a turban. His refrain finished, he turns his focus to the audience and speaks directly to them. “This story has never been
