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30 Days of NYMF on BroadwayWorld Day 16: ROOMS by Miriam Gordon

By: Sep. 17, 2005
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Paul Scott Goodman started writing ROOMS in 1999 the day after his musical Bright Lights Big City closed at the New York Theater Workshop. The idea for ROOMS emerged after periodic meetings with Mike Okrent, the renowned Broadway director of shows such as Big, Crazy for You and Me and My Girl. The inspiration for the show was Paul's own Jewish middle class upbringing in Glasgow, Scotland and his collaboration with Ian, a rock and roll songwriter from a Glasgow Catholic working class background. Equally as talented, ambitious, driven, and stubborn, Paul and Ian admired each other as much as they were at odds. In the true vein of musical theater, the story became a romantic comedy with Paul miraculously turning into Monica, a combination of himself and many of his Glasgow Jewish female friends.

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Paul and Mike presented a first reading of ROOMS in the summer of 1999. What I loved most was not only hearing Paul's beautiful music and lyrics but hearing that dry cynical witty banter that is so unique to Glasgow done in New York theater. As Paul's wife I was excited about the shows development and happy for Paul that he had found another musical with such great promise so quickly.

With the unfortunate, and sudden/yet expected passing away of Mike Okrent several months later, both Paul and ROOMS were left unsure of the future. Paul eventually plowed forward with rewrites and the University of Michigan presented a production. Shortly afterwards, in 2001, Paul asked me if I would collaborate with him in rewriting, reshaping, and finishing the show. Paul and I had worked together on a couple of other musicals, including Him & Her and God Save the New Wave. It's always a bit dicey working with ones spouse, but hell, we lived through the others somewhat intact, and besides, I was quite honored to be asked. At times I felt as though we were Monica and Ian, with clashes arising and mounting tension, although I'm not sure who was who. As the worked progressed, we presented a reading and a showcase and finally hooked up with Scott Schwartz in 2004, a director we both admired for his work on Bat Boy, Tick Tick …BOOM!, and Golda's Balcony. Scott helped us pull the show together for production and when we were invited to participate in the New York Musical Theater Festival with ROOMS we decided to give it a go. Writing and producing a show is not only like giving birth but letting go of the child at the same time. Whether the child is 3 or 30 it's your baby who is vulnerable to praise and criticism, success or failure in the big world. Oy Vey! I feel like such a Jewish mother with the show about to open.

There's an old Scottish saying, "If ye porridge hasn't boiled over, kippers is all that ye shall eat." What? I suppose anything worthwhile needs to be able to take the heat, go through some boilovers, and still taste…Ach! Enough of all these metaphors to childbirth and cooking...let the show begin. Look what's become of me…I'm a Jewish girl from the Bronx making up ole' Scottish proverbs.

 







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