And it made me want to fly out of myself and into the hidden sky...

I only do this when I really mean it:

The musical The Hidden Sky is getting its first New York production.

GO SEE IT.

I haven't seen this production yet, so perhaps I'm speaking too soon, but I doubt it. This piece is phenomenal. It's an utterly magnificent work which I have followed since 2006, hoping and praying for a New York production.

I was introduced to it by Manoel Felciano, who played Toby in the Sweeney Todd revival and has done all in his power to make this piece known. Starting by singing the title song (which simply soars) at his solo gigs, he eventually produced two concert versions of the piece. They weren't even the full concerts, some songs were cut for them, as was the ending, but even in those small versions, the power of the piece was clear. I had the pleasure of attending both, even though I was living in Virginia at the time. The second concert, which took place at Joe's Pub in May 2007, is my most ridiculous New York trip to date. I knew they wanted a particularly supportive house because producers were going to be there, so I went up with my friends Emily and Carolyn. We took an 8am train up on Monday (yup, we managed to finagle missing school for this), bummed around in New York for a few hours before going down to Joe's Pub. (At that point, I had been accepted to PHTS, which is right across the street, and I insisted that we stop and just stare at 440 Lafayette for a few minutes.) We saw the show, cried, shook, Emily couldn't speak for ten minutes, and then we went to Penn Station and took the 3am train back to VA. We arrived in Richmond at 9:40am, were picked up and driven directly to school. Ridiculous? Yes. Worth it? ABSOLUTELY. The last stretch of my senior year of high school was spent analyzing what I knew of THS with my friend Marga.

The Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company here in New York was at that concert and fell in love with the piece. They presented a workshop of it last year around this time, which I was invited to. Then, in October, I ran into the composer at BAM, who told me it was finally getting a full production.

GO SEE IT GO SEE IT GO SEE IT.

It's based off of an Ursula K Le Guin short story, which makes it a fantasy musical? Awesome already. The world has gone through a nuclear holocaust which has caused a thick layer of soot to cover the sky. Science and reason is blamed for this, and therefore society has regressed and "outlawed" knowledge. Roman numerals have replaced our numeric system, because roman numerals are more difficult to work with. The most advanced technology is a primitive steam engine. The knowledge that IS allowed is kept under lock and key by an order called The Masters. The sun is now worshiped as God, and the ruling Priests bring anyone caught seeking knowledge to justice.

The story largely follows the tension between science and religion. Those seeking knowledge tend to dismiss religion as fairy-tales, and the Priests have labeled knowledge, science, as evil. But both groups are searching for that which is beyond them. They are both seeking answers to the same questions. It is through the story of Ganil that the two are united. During the piece she discovers the Fibonacci sequence, the numerical pattern that underlies all of creation, and that scientific discovery leads her to sing, "I have seen the face of God!" These two pursuits that we see today as completely separate are not at all. They are actually different ways to the SAME THING. As Mano said in his introduction to the piece in the first concert, "The pursuit of science and the pursuit of spirituality are not necessarily opposed--they are often complimentary and can lead to the same place."

The music is gorgeous. So rich. There are some samples here. I used this word before, but it soars. The only musical, the ONLY musical that in my head tops The Hidden Sky is Sweeney Todd, largely because of the personal history I have with Sweeney. It's one of the best scores I've ever encountered. I have not seen this version. I don't know if it's "perfect" or anything like that... I know it's been going through workshops and that kind of thing so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some changes to the script since last I saw it. But I strongly feel that this musical is a vital new work and I'm beyond thrilled that it's finally getting a production in New York.

It is playing at Prospect Theater Company through February 28th. There's a symposium on the 20th that I cannot go to because of the workshop for Maker of Dreams, but I think I'll probably have spies there telling me what's discussed. Tickets can be purchased here, they have student tickets, and there's a discount code for performances through the 17th ($20). I'm perfectly happy to go with you. JUST GO. IT'S SO GOOD. Really, if you like anything I talk about regarding religion on this blog, you'll probably like this piece.

GO GO GO GO GO.