Tarragon Theatre and The Musical Stage Firm are presenting the world premiere of the musical After The Rain, a brand new Canadian musical. The piece is written by Rose Napoli, with music and lyrics by Suzy Wilde.
The present runs within the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace from Might 27 to June 22, 2025, opening June 4.
The Present
The premise of the present is easy — deceptively easy as described on paper. It centres across the character of Suzie Evans Stone, a struggling composer who’s getting cash secretly giving piano classes, all whereas singing backup in her mother and father’ band.
She takes on a brand new scholar, and within the course of, finally ends up altering her life. The coed, an older newbie, insists on studying and mastering just one piece: Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No.1.
The story follows Suzie touring together with her mother and father’ band, as she makes new relationships and discoveries in regards to the individuals near her, and helps her scholar make sense of Satie’s seminal work. There are household troubles, life’s complexities, and, after all, a whole lot of music. It’s a refined story in regards to the ups and downs of life, how a music evolves, and the way making music collectively has an simple therapeutic energy.
Music additionally tells the story. You possibly can hear a pattern of it right here.
We spoke to Rose Napoli and Suzy Wilde in regards to the present.
The Interview
Toronto-based Suzy Wilde is a songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, instructor, choir director, and reside performer. She works in each the reside music and musical theatre communities.
Canadian playwright and actor Rose Napoli is an alumnus of Nightwood Theatre’s Write From the Hip Program. As an actor, she has labored extensively in TV and movie in addition to on stage, and acquired a Dora nomination in 2016 for Excellent Efficiency, amongst different accolades.
It’s not the primary time that Wilde and Napoli have teamed up. Their mission The Carrette Sisters, a part of a collective adaptation of the works of Mavis Gallant titled Retold, was nominated for a Dora Award. After The Rain acquired Tarragon Theatre’s Bulmash-Seigel prize and the Aubrey and Marla Dan Fund prize for brand spanking new musicals.
How did the story come about? It appears… fairly particular to have been dreamed up out of the blue.
“I’m not a musician. I’m a music lover. I took piano as a baby. I took piano classes, and didn’t have the endurance in it,” says Rose.
Her personal story resonates with the coed character of the story, who’s a middle-aged novice.
“I might undoubtedly draw off these experiences that I had,” she says.
“However, Rose has nice rhythm,” provides Wilde.
Wilde relates how After the Rain took place.
“It began with a music, an outdated music that I had written and carried out nothing with,” she begins.
The music was about two individuals she’d met who had turn out to be her music college students. It will be a matter of years earlier than she obtained round to enjoying the music for Rose, who instantly acknowledged the potential.
“She mentioned, it is a present,” Suzy remembers. “However actually, the present is, we at all times say it’s in regards to the life you must reside to put in writing a single music.”
“And that music is named After The Rain,” Napoli provides.
In different phrases, there’s a truthful foundation for the present, and a whole lot of dramatization of the reality within the story.
“We’re by no means specific of which is which — and sure, it’s based mostly on quite a few true tales.”
For the present, they’ve assembled a created band, and the musicians provided their very own anecdotes which grew to become a part of the fabric.
“Numerous Canadian musicians will see this present and acknowledge tales that we’ve extrapolated from their reality,” Napoli says.
Why Satie?
Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No.1 is a piece that any scholar of the piano will acknowledge.
“One of many characters has a gorgeous meditation on the music as she’s truly enjoying it on the piano,” Napoli says.
As she performs, she talks in regards to the piece.
“It appears as if it’s fairly easy whenever you take heed to it,” Rose says.
However, that simplicity is misleading. There’s lots that goes into having the ability to create that air of peacefulness and ease.
“The music serves as a extremely stunning metaphor about what a whole lot of the characters within the present are searching for,” Napoli provides. It’s the right method to seize the spirit of the play.
“It’s such a pop music in a method,” Suzy provides. “We had a good time studying about Satie and what he was like through the present.”
The lead character is intrigued by the truth that Satie failed music college, and that his lecturers famous his ‘laziness’.
“He looks as if a humorous, quirky form of particular person,” Wilde says.
“He brazenly mentioned that he had no want to achieve success,” Napoli factors out. “He discovered transgression in tranquility.”
The concept such a refined and easy sounding piece of music might be so highly effective and affecting is the purpose.
“Music doesn’t should be in your face,” Rose says. “Music could be life altering and be quiet and easy on the identical time.”
At many concert events these days, the conductor will discuss to the viewers, giving context and biographical particulars to raised perceive the music that’s about to be carried out.
“I feel in a method, that’s what we’re endeavouring to do with our present,” Napoli says. By the story of teaching one particular person on one musical work, they take about two hours to construct up the context, together with the individuals who surrounded and influenced the composer.
“It feels that there’s so many layers of have an effect on within the present, that we’re understanding one lady making an attempt to be taught Satie — however the viewers as nicely is studying,” Rose says. “These tales actually enrich your expertise of that music.”
The present additionally seems to be to demystify the music, and show that even a brief piece of music can transfer you as a listener — the composer’s entire life, primarily, goes into every work, regardless of how easy or temporary.
“We actually, with our present, we wished to democratize the music. We wished to speak that music isn’t a virtuosic factor,” Napoli explains. “They are often equally moved by simplicity as by virtuosity.” She factors out that it’s additionally about underscoring the sense of group that comes from the act of creating music. “It’s a particular factor no matter one’s music skill.”
“When someone sits down to put in writing a music it’s popping out of that particular person, it’s additionally popping out of the particular person they spoke to 5 minutes in the past, and somebody they knew ten years in the past. It’s such a domino impact,” Suzy says.
As she factors out, it was a girl who requested for piano classes to be taught one single music that sparked all of it.
“And due to her thought, a music was created, a present was created,” Wilde says. “Little tiny seeds from anybody can actually develop into one thing particular.”
“It implies that we’re all artists,” Rose provides. One of many songs within the present entails a girl singing about her mom, and recalling that she would sing whereas she swept the flooring. “I didn’t develop up in a household that may have known as themselves artists,” she says. Nonetheless, there was singing and music. “There are such a lot of individuals on the market who’re stuffed with creative sensibility. I feel this present desires to pay homage to the artistry of these individuals.”
Suzy additionally factors out the function of music training and the best way it’s primarily vanishing from public faculties.
“In a metropolis the place music in faculties is beginning to crumble, it appears increasingly essential to have these conversations,” she says.
“They should come to see our present,” Rose says of metropolis politicians.
Hitting the highway…
The present will likely be touring to the Nationwide Arts Centre in January.
“Our want is to proceed to take this present out on the highway and journey it. We do assume, like Satie, there’s something deeply essential about this present,” Napoli says. “It feels prefer it’s huge and it’s small on the identical time.”
Above all, it’s a human story of discovery and group, in addition to delving into the music and what music efficiency is, with out getting on a soapbox.
“Like Satie, it seems like one thing fairly easy, and but fairly transgressive.”
- Discover extra particulars in regards to the Toronto premiere, and tickets, [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 a long time, and a artistic writing teacher for Ontariolearn.
