WHISPER HOUSE: Kyle's Blog - 'THEATER VS. FILM'

Grammy and Tony award-winning songwriter and composer Duncan Sheik returns with his new album WHISPER HOUSE, which hit stores on January 27 from Victor Records/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. The idea for WHISPER HOUSE came about when actor Keith Powell (30 Rock) approached Sheik about developing a musical theatre piece with him.

Following a trip Powell took to New England, a story began to emerge centered around a lighthouse, and up-and-coming young playwright Kyle Jarrow, already an Obie winner for A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant, signed on to create the book. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you Kyle's exclusive WHISPER HOUSE Blog following the show from it's inception through the tentatively scheduled Broadway Production in 2010, now continue the journey with Kyle to WHISPER HOUSE!

THEATER VS. FILM

A short dialogue to consider...

HIM: So. What do you want to do tonight?
HER: Want to go see a play?
HIM: How bout a movie?
HER: Why not a play?
HIM: Let me count the reasons. Movies are a cheaper, louder, and usually more fun. Plus you can eat and drink things while you watch them.
HER (shrugs, then): Okay. Then I get to choose the movie.
HIM: Fair enough.
HER: I choose "17 Again" starring Zac Efron. I love that guy.
HIM (shaking head in abject horror): Oh God.

The question, "why go see a play instead of a movie?" is a tough one to answer. (Well, unless you're talking about "17 Again" in which case possibly anything would be better than going to see it.) One of the questions I've been asking myself while working on WHISPER HOUSE is "why would someone want to see this instead of a movie?" Phrased another way: "what kind of experience can WHISPER HOUSE deliver that a movie can't?"

Here are four answers I've come up with:

1. It has live music. There's an electricity in watching people make music live that cinema simply can't match.

2. The contract between music and dialogue scenes is greater-and more impactful-live. The explosive energy of the songs, versus the quietness of the scenes, lets us explore the differences between external and internal lives. On film (even in something that is exploring the same idea, like "Dancer in the Dark") this contrast is less extreme. Partially because of the simple fact that the volume of the audio is normalized over the course of the film.

3. WHISPER HOUSE is spooky. There's something about seeing a ghost story live that's much different than seeing it on a screen. It's the difference between visiting a haunted house and a horror movie. A completely different quality of spooky.

4. It's a play about people who have trouble connecting with others, finally managing to connect. There's something much more rewarding, I think, about seeing that kind of gradual connection happen live onstage.

As we work on developing WHISPER HOUSE further, and move toward a production, I'm going to keep referring to this list. Trying to make sure we're staying true to it. At the end of the day, I want to make sure the experience of seeing WHISPER HOUSE is better than, or at least competitive with, the experience of seeing film. Because, especially in a financially tight time, that's the choice The Audience is making. And in the battle of Theater vs. Film, I want them to choose Theater.

-Kyle Jarrow

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

Visit these links for exclusive newsletters:

Whisper House Newsletter: http://www.duncansheik.com/whisperhouse/signup.html

Masterworks Broadway Newsletter: www.masterworksbroadway.com

Photo of Kyle by Sarah Sloboda