Ronvé O'Daniel and Jevares Myrick Release New Music Video 'So Far to Go' From LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT
The video is now streaming online as part of O’Daniel and Myrick’s newly launched Composer and Lyricist Artist Channel on Broadway on Demand.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Oct. 27, 2020
New American musical in development Letters to the President has released a music video of "So Far to Go," written by Ronvé O'Daniel and Jevares Myrick. The video is now streaming online as part of O'Daniel and Myrick's newly launched Composer and Lyricist Artist Channel on Broadway on Demand.
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Letters to the President is a new musical that reimagines letters written to US Presidents throughout history as a multi-composer musical piece. The show was initially presented as a sold-out concert at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in April 2019, and had been slated for a world-premiere production at Berkshire Theatre Group in Summer 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
"So Far to Go," the penultimate number in Letters to the President, is inspired by historic letters written to presidents from W.E.B. DuBois, Jackie Robinson, and WWII veteran Stewart A. Street. The video features Andrew Chapelle (Hamilton), Oyoyo Joi Bonner (Book of Mormon), Michael Stiggers (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), and Ronvé O'Daniel (Once Upon a Rhyme, Greenwood), and was edited by Tyler Milliron. Orchestrations and vocal arrangements are by Jevares Myrick.
The "So Far to Go" music video was premiered as part of a Letters to the President sneak-peak session at "Transformation 2020: Popular Democracy Defined," three-day virtual event hosted by the Center for Popular Democracy and Level Forward.
In his opening remarks for the Transformation 2020 Letters to the President event, co-writer O'Daniel said, "Here we have three different letters written at three completely different points in history, all essentially pleading for the same thing. For me, that's sobering. You know, especially in a time where-- up until about two-three months ago-- had we discussed race relations, people probably would have answered, 'We're doing pretty well, considering. We've come so far.'" He continued: "We have. But we still have so far to go, as we're seeing today. Jevares and I feel uncomfortably validated that this song has aged well in these times, but we're hoping that people will listen."
The "So Far to Go" music video can be found on O'Daniel and Myrick's Artist Channel on Broadway on Demand, linked here. Broadway On Demand's Artist Channels are a section of the platform devoted to musical theatre composers and lyricists. The Artist Channels provide a digital space for theatre fans to explore hundreds of videos showcasing the talent of the musical theatre songwriters who are creating today's new musicals.
About the Writers: Ronvé O'Daniel and Jevares Myrick's work have been produced at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Festival, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony Residency at Goodspeed Theater, New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) as well as NYU Tisch School for the Arts. Their original musical, Greenwood, based off of the true events of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, was featured in the Musical Theatre Factory's 4x15 showcase. Recently, Ronvé and Jevares were commissioned by Virginia Stage Company and Virginia Public Works to write The Earth Remembers, a full musical that will serve as both education and a celebration of the unique history of the Hampton Roads, Virginia community. They were also recently featured in the Letters to the President concert at New York City's historical Great Hall to celebrate Cooper Union's 160th anniversary. Their other work include: Once Upon a Rhyme (formally known as iLLA! A Hip Hop Musical), BAPS (Music and Lyrics for National Tour), as well as The New Girl, a children's musical made in collaboration with Chicken Soup for the Soul Theater Series. You can keep up with them at ronveandjevares.com.
About Letters to the President: Since George Washington took office in 1783, writing letters to the President has provided citizens of all ages, races, political parties, and backgrounds an outlet to express their most personal concerns, hopes, and dreams. Letters to the President reimagines this archival canon of letters as a multi-composer song cycle, with each song inspired by an individual letter in the archive. Featuring historical letters from the National Archives and spanning topics including marriage equality, World Wars I and II, space exploration, and the Civil Right Movement, Letters to the President offers a powerful look at American dream, setting the White House's most memorable mail to song.
Letters to the President features songs by Ari Afsar, Candace Quarrels, Anna K. Jacobs, Ben Wexler, Dawn Avery, Elliah Heifetz, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Madeline Myers, Mark Sonnenblick, Naomi Matlow & Teresa Lotz, Nick Blaemire, Preston Max Allen, Rona Siddiqui, Ronvé O'Daniel & Jevares Myrick, Simone Allen, Will Van Dyke & Jeff Talbot, and Zack Zadek.
Letters to the President was conceived by director Michael Bello (We Are The Tigers, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical) and dramaturg Jessica Kahkoska (The Death of Desert Rose, Agent 355), with direction by Bello, and the letters curated by Kahkoska. Music direction by Patrick Sulken (Pretty Woman: The Musical).
"So Far to Go," the penultimate number in Letters to the President, is inspired by historic letters written to presidents from W.E.B. DuBois, Jackie Robinson, and WWII veteran Stewart A. Street. The video features Andrew Chapelle (Hamilton), Oyoyo Joi Bonner (Book of Mormon), Michael Stiggers (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), and Ronvé O'Daniel (Once Upon a Rhyme, Greenwood), and was edited by Tyler Milliron. Orchestrations and vocal arrangements are by Jevares Myrick.
The "So Far to Go" music video was premiered as part of a Letters to the President sneak-peak session at "Transformation 2020: Popular Democracy Defined," three-day virtual event hosted by the Center for Popular Democracy and Level Forward.
In his opening remarks for the Transformation 2020 Letters to the President event, co-writer O'Daniel said, "Here we have three different letters written at three completely different points in history, all essentially pleading for the same thing. For me, that's sobering. You know, especially in a time where-- up until about two-three months ago-- had we discussed race relations, people probably would have answered, 'We're doing pretty well, considering. We've come so far.'" He continued: "We have. But we still have so far to go, as we're seeing today. Jevares and I feel uncomfortably validated that this song has aged well in these times, but we're hoping that people will listen."
The "So Far to Go" music video can be found on O'Daniel and Myrick's Artist Channel on Broadway on Demand, linked here. Broadway On Demand's Artist Channels are a section of the platform devoted to musical theatre composers and lyricists. The Artist Channels provide a digital space for theatre fans to explore hundreds of videos showcasing the talent of the musical theatre songwriters who are creating today's new musicals.
About the Writers: Ronvé O'Daniel and Jevares Myrick's work have been produced at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Festival, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony Residency at Goodspeed Theater, New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) as well as NYU Tisch School for the Arts. Their original musical, Greenwood, based off of the true events of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, was featured in the Musical Theatre Factory's 4x15 showcase. Recently, Ronvé and Jevares were commissioned by Virginia Stage Company and Virginia Public Works to write The Earth Remembers, a full musical that will serve as both education and a celebration of the unique history of the Hampton Roads, Virginia community. They were also recently featured in the Letters to the President concert at New York City's historical Great Hall to celebrate Cooper Union's 160th anniversary. Their other work include: Once Upon a Rhyme (formally known as iLLA! A Hip Hop Musical), BAPS (Music and Lyrics for National Tour), as well as The New Girl, a children's musical made in collaboration with Chicken Soup for the Soul Theater Series. You can keep up with them at ronveandjevares.com.
About Letters to the President: Since George Washington took office in 1783, writing letters to the President has provided citizens of all ages, races, political parties, and backgrounds an outlet to express their most personal concerns, hopes, and dreams. Letters to the President reimagines this archival canon of letters as a multi-composer song cycle, with each song inspired by an individual letter in the archive. Featuring historical letters from the National Archives and spanning topics including marriage equality, World Wars I and II, space exploration, and the Civil Right Movement, Letters to the President offers a powerful look at American dream, setting the White House's most memorable mail to song.
Letters to the President features songs by Ari Afsar, Candace Quarrels, Anna K. Jacobs, Ben Wexler, Dawn Avery, Elliah Heifetz, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Madeline Myers, Mark Sonnenblick, Naomi Matlow & Teresa Lotz, Nick Blaemire, Preston Max Allen, Rona Siddiqui, Ronvé O'Daniel & Jevares Myrick, Simone Allen, Will Van Dyke & Jeff Talbot, and Zack Zadek.
Letters to the President was conceived by director Michael Bello (We Are The Tigers, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical) and dramaturg Jessica Kahkoska (The Death of Desert Rose, Agent 355), with direction by Bello, and the letters curated by Kahkoska. Music direction by Patrick Sulken (Pretty Woman: The Musical).
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