The Bone Chandelier,

[ellenkushner]

or,
“And How’s that Play You’re Supposed to be Writing?”


_The Bone Chandelier: a Ruritanian Jacobean Revenge Tragedy with some Really Great Tunes_

Book by Ellen Kushner (with Delia Sherman & Sara Berg Cole)
Music by Ben Moore, with Lyrics by Ben Moore & Ellen Kushner

You’d go see it, right??

Well, quite a few NYC pals did come to our first (and, to date, only) read-through when we presented our rough draft in May, 2003 in a now-defunct Rehearsal Space near Times Square. It was SO EXCITING! Real NY actors & singers faking their way through our script and gorgeous operatic songs . . . We were all so proud. And so aware of how much more work the show needs…!

After that, we all took an unexpectedly long break to pursue other projects – Ben’s witty songs are currently being sung as “encore” pieces by Met soprano Deborah Voigt, Sara was running a small theatre company (Titans, now on hiatus), and I was cleaning up Sound & Spirit and working on the New Novel (which is almost done) . . . . But I promised Ben & Sara ages ago I would work on it with them this month, so Tuesday this week found me in a Village café arguing with Sara loudly about whether we could addict the missing Duchess to drugs, or just give her a mysterious past, and do we really need to explain why she left her lover and baby daughter . . . . Sara is a brilliant dramaturg who saved me ten times over when I was writing/rehearsing “Esther: the Feast of Masks” – and, in fact, it was her idea more than 10 years ago to have me write a play with lots of swordfights and gender-bending, and maybe I'd like to meet her friend Ben . . . a remarkably patient woman, Sara.

It’s hard for me to switch gears between projects. I know you may want to hear about The Novel, which takes place some 20 years after Swordspoint; but plenty of time for that when I’ve handed it in (by May – I just promised my editor at Bantam, the patient and philosophical Anne Groell). Right now, I need to be excited about the play. So that’s what I plan to ruminate on for a bit here, hoping to rev up my engines as I launch into a fresh set of revisions. If you hear nothing, it probably means it’s going well – or that I’m thrashing out plot points sprawled all over the livingroom floor. . . .

Watch this space.

Comments

[annnimeee.livejournal.com]

::lifts head from lurker-dom::

A Jacobean play with gender-bending and swordfighting? Now THAT sounds cool.

And The Novel. ::sigh:: I am yet another one of those people who will try to be patient as we wait for The Novel. Mmm....more of Riverside...yum.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I am another lurker, and I second the enthusiasm for the Jacobean revenge tragedy. I highly approve of genders bent and swashes buckled. Any faint chance the play might be performed in California?

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Thank you both for un-lurking! I always take it as an honor when shy or close people come out to have a say.

[fufaraw]

::bounce. bouncebouncebounce::


(being quiet. being patient)

[diony.livejournal.com]

I certainly would go see it! Just bring it to San Francisco, pretty please.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Now there's a thought! Right now, we're concentrating on the (Off-)Broadway/Lincoln Center axis to try and launch the project . . . but look what happend to Greg Maguire's "Wicked"! in a few years, there will probably be performances of that in high schools all over the country, so why not dream big?

[diony.livejournal.com]

Exactly! And a West-Coast tour could be very luxurious -- Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and maybe one or two of those cities further south.

You know, it's been my habit for a long time when somewhat humorously encouraging someone to dream big to paraphrase the bit from Swordspoint where Alec is teasing Richard by saying, "You're a hero. Small children will press bunches of flowers into your hands..." etc etc. And I was just about to do that now, a nice speech a little like that about the theatre and the people of Seattle putting up statues to you when I suddenly realised who I was talking to.

Life can be so very strange!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes! Seattle! Bring it to Seattle!

elswhere (http://elswhere.blogspot.com)

And a publication?

[(Anonymous)]

From André, in France:

And will there be a publication of the book, for this play? I wanna see it, at elast the words for it... When I read "ruritanian" I'm always very excited! ;-)

Chandelier...

[jessag.livejournal.com]

Ellen...

Glad to hear the Chandelier is back in somewhat more active works.. we loved the read through and cant wait for round 2... besides, Spencer needs to meet his fairy godmother. :)

Jess