WHISPER HOUSE: Kyle's Blog - Back From Vassar

Grammy and Tony award-winning songwriter and composer Duncan Sheik returns with his new album WHISPER HOUSE, from Sony Music. WHISPER HOUSE marks Sheik's first solo album since 2006's critically-acclaimed White Limousine and comes on the heels of the success of Spring Awakening. WHISPER HOUSE, which will have its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in January 2010, is a collaboration with up-and-coming young playwright Kyle Jarrow, already an Obie winner for A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant.

It's 1942 - at the height of World War II- and Christopher, an imaginative young boy, is sent to live with an aunt he's never met: Lilly, a reclusive woman who serves as the keeper of a remote lighthouse. Not yet comfortable in his surroundings, Christopher begins to hear strange music no one else can hear seeping through the walls. It doesn't take long for him to suspect the lighthouse may be haunted, and these ghosts tell him that Yasujiro, a Japanese worker that Lilly has employed, should not be trusted. Is Christopher's imagination getting the best of him? Or are these ghosts warning Christopher about the very real dangers that lie ahead? Whisper House is a touching and beautiful story about how we should embrace, rather than fear, the unknown.

BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you Kyle's exclusive WHISPER HOUSE Blog!

So, we're back from leafy Vassar in the hot and sweaty city. Our workshop presentation of Whisper House at New York Stage and Film is done, and we've had about a week to recover. Now it's time to look back and consider what I've learned from the workshop experience. Because before long, we'll be deep into pre-production for the world premiere at The Old Globe in the winter. In other words, the time for reflection is now -- as things are going to get busy very soon.

The main thing I learned is that the show fundamentally works. I mean, I was pretty sure that it would. But I had some concerns. After all, it's kind of a crazy idea to create a musical where the actors never sing (except for one very short sequence toward the end, in which they don't need to sing particularly well), and the singers don't ever speak. I guess you could describe this as more of a "play with music" structure, rather than a traditional musical. There's some precedent for this kind of thing -- in Brecht, for example -- but it's definitely not the way that modern audiences usually expect their musical theater to work. However, I was excited to see how successful it was on the stage at Vassar. Crazy as it is, I think this structure tells this particular story effectively and engagingly.

Phew.

Another thing I learned from the workshop process is that writing a show that has an 11-year-old main character is a pretty ambitious (and possibly somewhat loopy) thing to do. We had the privilege of working with a fantastic young actor up at NYSAF, Matthew Lobenhofer-but the bottom line is that kind of a role is a heavy burden for a young actor to shoulder. As I do rewrites in preparation for The Old Globe production, I think I can and should take some of the burden off of that young actor, by giving some more of the "heavy lifting" in scenes, whenever possible, to the adults around him.

Armed with these realizations, and some other smaller ones, it's time to do some rewriting. Onward and upward!

Kyle - Whisper House Blog 7-21-09

Kyle Jarrow is a writer and musician based in New York City. He writes for the stage as well as film and television, and he plays in the bands The Fabulous Entourage and Super Mirage. He won the prestigious OBIE Award at age 24 for his Off-Broadway hit A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, which has subsequently been produced all over the country. Kyle's play Armless won the Overall Excellence Award at the New York International Fringe Festival. Other plays include Love Kills, Trigger, President Harding is a Rock Star, Rip Me Open (co-writer), Hostage Song (music & lyrics), Gorilla Man (script available from Samuel French), and the upcoming Big Money (with Nathan Leigh) and Whisper House (with Tony-winner Duncan Sheik, record now available from RCA/Victor).

For more information on Whisper House visit: www.duncansheik.com/whisperhouse

For more information on Kyle visit: www.landoftrust.com

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Photo of Kyle by Sarah Sloboda