30 Days of NYMF: Sophia's Fall

By Ben Birney (Music and Lyrics)

The cast of Sophia's Fall is scared of our show - they don't tell me these things of course, but sitting at the edge of rehearsals, I can see it. They're a brave, talented, athletic, charismatic bunch, but they have good reason to fear Sophia's Fall. It's hard.

I don't blame them. I'm scared of it myself.

They have to sing - tough music with tight harmonies that don't go where you expect. They have to act - characters that are super-human but who must also be understandable and inspire empathy from we, mere mortals in the audience. And they have to dance - not just during the numbers, but in all their movements and interactions with each other. They have unique dance language depending on where they are in the world of the show, even; nobody gets to just sit on his own style and not change.

Oh, and, by the way, they have to do it on top of a rock band that won't give them any breaks, that demands full-barrel, high intensity performances on every number.

So why am I sharing this? Surely one does not conduct a PR effort by proclaiming that the cast is scared of the show. Bear with me.

NYMF is about opportunity. It is an opportunity for young songwriters like Rob Seitelman and me to lift up our works, an opportunity for directors and musical directors to build their portfolios and to experiment with new material. It is an opportunity for a cast to shine in a high-profile and well attended venue.

There is also opportunity in the fear that we all feel right now. We are scared of the show and of the process because we all know that the difficulty of the material and setting gives us an opportunity to tell a bigger, broader and more exciting story than any of these media on their own. When Danielle Erin Rhodes ("Sophia") wraps up her battle with Ryan Williams ("Lucifer"), it will have been all the more magical because she did it on the tips of her toes, singing at her highest intensity, and supported by that magic back beat that demands: We, the audience, must care. We must be there with them, because the music and dancing and acting is too hard and too committed for us to fold our arms and sit by the side.

Sophia’s Fall plays at 37 Arts September 18th, 19th and 20th. It will be beautiful because it is hard.