Starry (musical)

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Starry is a pop-rock musical based on the lives of Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh and his brother Theo van Gogh. [1] It has a book written by Kelly Lynne D'Angelo, music by Matt Dahan, and lyrics by both. [2]

Contents

Development

The show started development in 2017. [3] [4] Dahan and D'Angelo had previously been working separately on their own musicals about the life of van Gogh, but when they met, they decided to collaborate and combine their outlines. [5] They wrote the story of the show based on the letters Vincent and Theo exchanged, which had been compiled, translated, and published by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Theo's wife. [5] [6] [7] Dahan and D'Angelo also looked at historical documents from painters Paul Gauguin and Émile Bernard. [6] The music was created next, followed by the book. [6]

By late 2017 StarKid Productions members Jaime Lyn Beatty, Mariah Rose Faith Casillas, Jeff Blim, and Dylan Saunders had joined the cast. [5]

In the summer of 2018, the musical premiered at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles, California. [8] The workshop run received positive reviews and sold out many of their shows. [6] [9] [10] In May 2019, the show was performed in concert at Feinstein's/54 Below. [6] [9] The show returned there in February 2020. [11]

In August 2019 a four person cast (Huck Walton, Amanda Walter, Laura Hartley, and Tim Hein) performed Starry at the Voodoo Rooms and The Liquid Room at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. [12] [13] [14] In March 2021 Dahan and D'Angelo performed pieces from Starry as part of New York Theatre Barn's New Work Series. [1] [15]

From March 28 to April 7, 2022, the show had a workshop production in the United Kingdom. [4] [7] This was followed by a closed industry performance on April 8. [4] [7] The production was produced by Ameena Hamid, directed by Dean Johnson, and choreographed by Nileeka Bose. [3]

In January 2023 the show had a second London workshop.

The show was scheduled to have its London premiere on the West End in 2023, but has not done so as of March 2024. [3] [4] [7] [16]

Synopsis

Act 1

The story open in Montmartre, Paris, France, where Theo van Gogh works as an art dealer and is constantly being asked by artists to publicize their art ("Impress Me"). Meanwhile, Theo’s brother Vincent is in town. The two of them discuss their dreams of breaking from the status quo and doing something amazing ("A New Horizon"). Vincent visits Madame Segatori’s café, where he meets a group of artists who, despite their constant bickering, have a sense of camaraderie and solidarity ("United in Distaste"). The group shares their art philosophies with Vincent and ask him to share his own.

Meanwhile, Theo meets Jo Bonger and falls head over heels for her ("Something After All"). Jo explains her life philosophy of constantly striving to learn more about the world ("Enlightenment"). Back at the cafe, Paul Gauguin has decided he is fed up with the other artists and decides to strike out on his own ("Where are we Going?"). Vincent continues to work on his own artwork, despite not selling any of his works and other people disliking his style. Jo and Emilé Bernard remind the others that change cannot happen without discomfort, and they say they believe Vincent is on to something ("The Sower"). Jo and Theo have continued to grow closer, and Theo proposes to her. Vincent, meanwhile, is dealing with his own emotions regarding his art and his path in life ("The Road").

Act 2

Vincent has moved in with Paul Gauguin in the countryside, and he and Theo continue to write letters to each other ("The Yellow House"). Theo provides Vincent with an allowance to buy art supplies and Vincent sends Theo his finished works. Jo writes Vincent a letter one day, explaining that she and Theo have married and it's going well, and that Theo is proud of his brother and his work ("Sunlight and Storms"). However, Vincent’s mental health begins to spiral following a fight with Gauguin ("Threshold of Eternity") and he realizes the only thing that might help him is continuing to paint. Theo writes Vincent, telling him that he has sold his first painting: The Red Vineyard. Theo tells him about his dreams: Vincent moving back to Montmartre and painting Theo’s son and him seeing his art inspiring other people ("The Red Vineyard"). Vincent, in a moment of clarity, paints The Starry Night, deciding it will be his legacy ("The Starry Night"). However, Vincent chooses to go out into the wheat fields and shoot himself. Theo travels to him and stays with him until he dies the next day ("Wheat Fields"). After his death, his work becomes recognized due to Jo’s efforts, and the show ends with the ensemble declaring "the sight of the starry night makes me free" ("Finale Ultimo").

Music

The show's music was composed by Matt Dahan, with lyrics by both Dahan and D'Angelo. [7]

Several of the show's songs are named after van Gogh's artworks, including The Sower, The Yellow House, The Red Vineyard, The Starry Night, and Wheat Fields. One song, "Where Are We Going?" is named after Paul Gauguin's painting Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? and is sung by Gauguin.

Album

The show's concept album was released on January 31, 2020. [17] The album hit #14 on the iTunes pop charts and #42 on the main iTunes charts. [18] In November 2020 the album was re-released with four additional demos not included on the original album. [2]

Track listing:

Cast

Rockwell Table & Stage [8] [10] Concept Album [17] [19] 2022

UK Workshop [7]

2023

UK Workshop

Vincent van GoghDerek Carley, Huck WaltonDylan Saunders Jamie Muscato David Hunter
Theo van GoghMatthew SandersonJoe Viba Dean John-Wilson Carl Spencer
Jo Bonger Mariah Rose Faith Maiya Quansah-Breed Cleopatra Ray
Paul Gauguin Jeff BlimAdrian Hansel
Émile Bernard Lovlee Carroll Jaime Lyn Beatty Milo MccarthyFreddie Love
Toulouse-Lautrec Michael MintoAaron TeohNicholas McLean
Agostina Segatori Natalie Llerenan/aNatalie Paris
Edgar Degas Jenaha McLearnNatalie Masinin/an/a
Berthe Morisot Mareena NicoleAmanda Waltern/an/a
Camille Pissarro Lennon HobsonClayton Snydern/an/a

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent van Gogh</span> Dutch painter (1853–1890)

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. His oeuvre includes landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, most of which are characterised by bold colours and dramatic brushwork that contributed to the rise of expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh's work was beginning to gain critical attention before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot at age 37. During his lifetime, only one of Van Gogh's paintings, The Red Vineyard, was sold.

<i>Sunflowers</i> (van Gogh series) Series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh

Sunflowers is the title of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, made a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions. About eight months later, van Gogh hoped to welcome and impress Gauguin again with Sunflowers, now part of the painted Décoration for the Yellow House that he prepared for the guestroom of his home in Arles, where Gauguin was supposed to stay.

<i>The Starry Night</i> 1889 painting by Vincent van Gogh

The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh, painted in June 1889. It depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village. It has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941, acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. Widely regarded as Van Gogh's magnum opus, The Starry Night is one of the most recognizable paintings in Western art.

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Theodorus van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer and the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh. Known as Theo, his support of his older brother's artistic ambitions and well-being allowed Vincent to devote himself entirely to painting. As an art dealer, Theo van Gogh played a crucial role in introducing contemporary French art to the public.

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The fame of Vincent van Gogh began to spread in France and Belgium during the last year of his life, and in the years after his death in the Netherlands and Germany. His friendship with his younger brother Theo was documented in numerous letters they exchanged from August 1872 onwards. The letters were published in three volumes in 1914 by Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Theo's widow, who also generously supported most of the early Van Gogh exhibitions with loans from the artist's estate. Publication of the letters helped spread the compelling mystique of Vincent van Gogh, the intense and dedicated painter who died young, throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

<i>Décoration for the Yellow House</i> 1888 painting series by Vincent van Gogh

Décoration for the Yellow House was the main project Vincent van Gogh focused on in Arles, from August 1888 until his breakdown the day before Christmas. This Décoration had no pre-defined form or size; the central idea of the Décoration grew step by step, with the progress of his work. Starting with the Sunflowers, portraits were included in the next step. Finally, mid-September 1888, the idea took shape: from this time on he concentrated on size 30 canvases, which were all meant to form part of this Décoration.

Vincent Van Gogh was displayed at the 1890 Les XX exhibition—an invitation-only show exclusively for members—in Brussels, Belgium. This served to demonstrate the recognition Van Gogh received from his avant-garde peers during his life. The choices of his works and their arrangements illustrated his thinking about his years of work in Provence.

<i>The Painter of Sunflowers</i> 1888 painting by Paul Gauguin

The Painter of Sunflowers is a portrait of Vincent van Gogh by Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh is depicted sitting before an easel, presumably painting his “Sunflower” series. The work, which is a piece from Gauguin’s “Arles Period”, was created in Arles, France, in December, 1888. The painting is in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. 

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural depictions of Vincent van Gogh</span> Vincent van Gogh depicted in culture

This is a list that shows references made to the life and work of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) in culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johanna van Gogh-Bonger</span> Dutch teacher, editor, translator and art organizer

Johanna Gezina van Gogh-Bonger was a multilingual Dutch editor who translated the hundreds of letters of her first husband, art dealer Theo van Gogh, and Vincent van Gogh.

<i>Vincent</i> (opera)

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<i>Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy</i> (Van Gogh series) Series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh

Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy is a collection of paintings that Vincent van Gogh made when he was a self-admitted patient at the Saint-Paul asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, since renamed the Clinique Van Gogh, from May 1889 until May 1890. During much of his stay there he was confined to the grounds of the asylum, and he made paintings of the garden, the enclosed wheat field that he could see outside his room and a few portraits of individuals at the asylum. During his stay at Saint-Paul asylum, Van Gogh experienced periods of illness when he could not paint. When he was able to resume, painting provided solace and meaning for him. Nature seemed especially meaningful to him, trees, the landscape, even caterpillars as representative of the opportunity for transformation and budding flowers symbolizing the cycle of life. One of the more recognizable works of this period is The Irises. Works of the interior of the hospital convey the isolation and sadness that he felt. From the window of his cell he saw an enclosed wheat field, the subject of many paintings made from his room. He was able to make but a few portraits while at Saint-Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Gogh's family in his art</span> Appearances of Vincent van Goghs family in his art

Van Gogh's family in his art refers to works that Vincent van Gogh made for or about Van Gogh family members. In 1881, Vincent drew a portrait of his grandfather, also named Vincent van Gogh, and his sister Wil. While living in Nuenen, Vincent memorialized his father in Still Life with Bible following his death in 1885. There he also made many paintings and drawings in 1884 and 1885 of his parents' vicarage, its garden and the church. At the height of his career in Arles he made Portrait of the Artist's Mother, Memory of the Garden at Etten of his mother and sister and Novel Reader, which is thought to be of his sister, Wil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Vincent van Gogh</span> 1890 death of the Dutch painter

Vincent van Gogh died in the early morning of 29 July, 1890 in his room at the Auberge Ravoux, in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise, after presumably shooting himself two days earlier.

<i>The Letters of Vincent van Gogh</i> Collection of letters written and received by Vincent van Gogh

The Letters of Vincent van Gogh is a collection of 903 surviving letters written (820) or received (83) by Vincent van Gogh. More than 650 of these were from Vincent to his brother Theo. The collection also includes letters van Gogh wrote to his sister Wil and other relatives, as well as between artists such as Paul Gauguin, Anthon van Rappard, and Émile Bernard.

<i>Houses at Auvers</i> Painting by Vincent van Gogh

Houses at Auvers is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh. It was created towards the end of May or beginning of June 1890, shortly after he had moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, a small town northwest of Paris, France.

<i>Rain</i> (Van Gogh) 1889 oil painting by Vincent van Gogh

Rain is an oil-on-canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1889, while he was a voluntary patient at an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. He repeatedly painted the view through the window of his room, depicting the colours and shades of the fields and hills around Saint-Rémy as they appeared at various times of day and in varying weather conditions. Rain measures 73.3 cm × 92.4 cm and is held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the United States.

<i>Reaper</i> (Van Gogh series) 1889 series of three paintings

Reaper, Wheat Field with Reaper, or Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun is the title given to each of a series of three oil-on-canvas paintings by Vincent van Gogh of a man reaping a wheat field under a bright early-morning sun. To the artist, the reaper represented death and "humanity would be the wheat being reaped". However, Van Gogh did not consider the work to be sad but "almost smiling" and taking "place in broad daylight with a sun that floods everything with a light of fine gold".

References

  1. 1 2 Rabinowitz, Chloe. "New Musicals STARRY and SEASONS Will Headline New York Theatre Barn's New Work Series". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 Wild, Stephi. "STARRY Original Concept Album to Be Re-Released With New Songs". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Wood, Alex (24 March 2022). "Van Gogh musical Starry to have workshop from this month ahead of 2023 world premiere | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Darvill, Josh (24 March 2022). "New Van Gogh musical Starry announces London Workshop". Stage Chat. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Episode 12: MATT DAHAN & KELLY LYNNE D'ANGELO". Broadway Podcast Network. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Rosky, Nicole. "BWW Interview: Kelly Lynne D'Angelo Goes Van Gough with New Musical, STARRY". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Putnam, Leah; Wiltbank, Michael (6 April 2022). "Take a Peek at the Industry Workshop of New Vincent Van Gogh Musical Starry in London". Playbill. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. 1 2 Musbach, Julie. "STARRY, A New Musical About Brothers Theo & Vincent Van Gogh, To Premiere In Los Angeles This Summer". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 Musbach, Julie. "Sherie Rene Scott & Norbert Leo Butz, Joe Iconis, and More Set for 54 Below This Month". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 Stier, Julia (10 October 2018). "STARRY, reviewed by Julia Stier". STAGE RAW. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Rabinowitz, Chloe. "STARRY, a Pop-Rock Musical About Vincent van Gogh, Will Return to Feinstein's/54 Below". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Musbach, Julie. "Pop-Rock Musical about Vincent van Gogh, STARRY, to Debut at Edinburgh Fringe". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Starry, A New Musical In Concert - Monday 12th August 2019". The Voodoo Rooms. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. ↑ @starrymusical. """A breathtaking new musical…" - Stage Raw ✨ That's right! - we're going to @edfringe with our concert series of #Starry from August 12th-14th, with shows both at the Voodoo Rooms (18+) and The Liquid Room Annex!"". Instagram. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Harms, Talaura (24 February 2021). "Taylor Iman Jones, Jelani Remy, Marc delaCruz, and More Perform New Works for New York Theatre Barn". Playbill. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Chan, Goldie. "Revealing Unforgettable Stories With Kelly Lynne D'Angelo". Forbes. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  17. 1 2 Riggio, Kaitlyn (3 February 2020). "REVIEW: "Starry" concept album shines with impressive musical moments, potential for growth – The Daily Free Press" . Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  18. ↑ "Images Released from Workshop of Starry". Theatre Weekly. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "STARRY". starrymusical.com. Retrieved 13 January 2023.

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