Blog - Staging SEASONS OF LARSON

Director Grant Murphy on Seasons of Larson

The opportunity to showcase some of Jonathan Larson's best work and also some lesser known brilliant pieces is an absolute honour. His work changed the dynamics of new writing for a whole generation; challenging composers, playwrights, creatives and actors to find new and exciting ways to tell brilliant stories.

I cast my mind back to being a young naive student, innocently asking class mates 'What's the time?' and getting a reply from a chorus of friends 'Well it's got to be close to midnight!'. I had no idea what was going on until I was handed the original cast recording of RENT. My life then changed forever. I sat for hours listening to the stories of Mark, Roger, their friends and a struggling community and I became completely lost in the world Larson had created. Every melody and lyric painted a clear world, sometimes joyous, sometimes heart wrenching, but always honest and true. I understood then why my simple question had been met with a group of voices in unison. Larson created a bond through his music, a bond of friendship that my friends and I would continue to re-live for years to come.

Staging this concert isn't an easy task. How do you finish 'One Song Glory' without going straight into 'Light My Candle'? Or find a new way to tell the struggle of 'Therapy' that brings something new and current to today's audience. A challenge I accepted and one that I look forward to exploring. The performers that have been assembled from a truly stellar cast and they each have their own experiences of the great works that are going to be showcased. Ultimately, my job is easy; allow a brilliant company to tell the stories of some astonishing characters through the work of an amazingly talented man.

Larson himself would never see the true scale and accomplishment his work would achieve. I hope that this evening pays homage to some of his greatest work, touches people's hearts and creates a new bond of friendship for a whole new generation.

Seasons of Larson plays for one night only on Monday 25 January at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. For information and tickets visit www.seasonsoflarson.com