By Tim Huang (Book, Music and Lyrics)
“M tryng my hardest 2 sell my soul. But M running low.” says my phone. I hit send and quietly await the response. It’s 3 A.M. and par for me at this hour, the only thing breaks my stride is the giant foot that’s in my mouth as I text.
I’m “O.T.P.” with
Becca Ayers, enjoying another pre-dawn silent-gab-fest. She’s in my new show, LINES, and she kind of knocks my socks off. Ordinarily, when I write musicals, I imagine a smarter guy than me and do what I think he’d do: maybe that means letting character, place or time help determine the musical language and style. But since LINES is a song cycle inspired by an abstraction (an exploration of the word, its meanings, and the power we lend it) I’m more “S.O.L.” than “O.T.P.” And I could use all the help I can get.
“How do u mean?” buzzes my Blackberry. Good question. I guess I mean I made a conscious effort to be a little more commercial this time. More accessible. The music that makes LINES is partly rock, partly soul, partly folk, but wholly familiar. I’m kind of betting that you, dear reader, will feel at home enough with the songs and the characters to realize it isn’t so much them you’re loving as it is the actors themselves. Because bet as I might, it’s still no gamble.
Jared Gertner has this truly sick, extra-terrestrial versatility.
J. Elaine Marcos needs only to stand up to make you “LOL”.
Joe Aaron Reid’s energy quite literally lights up every room he enters.
Thomas Cannizzaro has so much gravitas, I gain six pounds just walking by him.
Becca Ayers, whose voice, not unlike a tall glass of lemonade, just makes everything better. And Maurice Brandon Curry whom you might not think you see on stage, most assuredly appears in everything. If you look at it that way, we’re kinda golden.
“nvrmnd my soul.” My phone says. “Im just glad you guys have so much hRt.”
