TV Exclusive: CUTTING-EDGE COMPOSERS CORNER - Josh Young Sings Adam Gwon's 'Seeing You There'

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This week's feature is "Seeing You There" by Adam Gwon. Tony-nominee Josh Young (Jesus Christ Superstar), who happens to be a co-founder of Cutting-Edge Composers, sang this at our first concert at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

We asked Adam about his inspiration for writing this song, and this what what he had to say:

"'Seeing You There' was one of the first songs I wrote when I got the notion for my musical Ordinary Days -- and it has since been cut from the show! But it's my mother's favorite song and she's always asking when she can hear it again, so I'm happy to see it live on in concerts and on YouTube. With musical theater songwriting, I feel like my biggest responsibility is to the story, and so I'll spend a lot of time thinking about a song before I actually sit down to write it --figuring out the journey the song is taking, how it does that, how the structural stuff works-- and this song is no exception. Once I have a general map in my head of how a song does its thing, the actual writing of the words and the music happens pretty fast. But the thinking part can sometimes take awhile. 'Seeing You There' was a useful character sketch, but ultimately didn't serve the story of Ordinary Days as the show evolved. I went through a number of songs for this moment in the show, each unearthing a different piece of this character, until I ended up with the song that's there now, 'The Space Between,' which felt like it met the needs of both character AND story. (Which is always the goal!)"

Adam Gwon's musicals include ORDINARY DAYS, CLOUDLANDS, and THE BOY DETECTIVE FAILS, which have been produced at Roundabout Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Signature Theatre, and many other theaters around the globe, including in London's West End. Adam's songs have been heard at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, 54 Below, Ars Nova, Joe's Pub, and more, performed by such luminaries as Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara, Liz Callaway, and Brian d'Arcy James. Honors include the Kleban Award, the Ebb Award, the Loewe Award, the Second Stage Theatre Rosen Award, the ASCAP Harold Adamson Award, and the MAC John Wallowitch Award, as well as commissions from Roundabout Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons, Broadway Across America, South Coast Repertory, Signature Theatre, and the EST/Sloan Project. Recordings: ORDINARY DAYS (Ghostlight Records), Audra McDonald's GO BACK HOME (Nonesuch), and OVER THE MOON: THE BROADWAY LULLABY PROJECT (Entertainment One). www.adamgwon.com

Cutting-Edge Composers is a platform for the next generation of musical theatre writers who have not yet been produced on Broadway. In addition to footage from our live concerts featuring Broadway performers, Cutting-Edge Composers on Broadwayworld.com will present in-studio clips, composer interviews and new musical sneak-peeks! Cutting-Edge Composers was co-founded by Director/Producer Laura Pietropinto and Josh Young, and and is co-produced by Jillian Robbins, with Music Direction by Julie McBride and Virginia Hart Pike. Stay tuned for original music by all of your favorite Cutting-Edge Composers sung by Broadway's hottest performers!