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Singer, songwriter and folk rock pioneer Suzanne Vega will take the stage at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Saturday, September 3.
No stranger to the South Fork after performing once and sometimes twice a year at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, the “Tom’s Diner” and “Luka” songstress will take over Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater for one night to perform songs from her latest album in addition to her usual repertoire.
Titled “Lover, Beloved: Songs from An Evening with Carson McCullers,” the new album is not only a collection of songs, but also the soundtrack to a musical she co-wrote with Duncan Sheik of Broadway’s “Spring Awakening” and “American Psycho.”
Speaking via telephone from her New York studio, Ms. Vega explained the musical—which premiered Off-Broadway in 2011 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater—focuses on the life of the late Carson McCullers, the American novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist and poet best known for her debut novel, “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.”
Ms. Vega said she first fell in love with Ms. McCullers’s work as a teenager, and after reading her biography she became captivated by her life—particularly the adversity she overcame, namely seizures and other health issues.
“I really identified with her,” she said, referring to the passion and empathy exhibited in Ms. McCullers’s novels and other works.
The piece, Ms. Vega said, experiments with structure by positioning the first act as the story of Ms. McCullers in her 20s living in New York City in 1941, while the second act brings the audience ahead to 1967, a few months before her death at 50 years old. In both acts, Ms. McCullers is hosting a lecture, which she did often in reality.
“She’s not a particularly great lecturer,” Ms. Vega admitted. “She tended to drink and wander off topic.”
The lectures lead into the various musical numbers, which range in style from Rodgers and Hammerstein standards to church hymns to drinking songs, each revealing a bit about Ms. McCullers’s life and journey.
“The songs go from very outgoing and funny to more introspective songs,” she said. “There’s a wide range of moods.”
Writing the music with Mr. Sheik was a “real pleasure,” Ms. Vega said. The two met through their mutual sect of Buddhism, she said. Over the past five years, they have constantly collaborated. And with his experience writing for the stage, she said the partnership for “Lover, Beloved” was a natural fit.
“He’s so talented,” she said. “He can come up with musical ideas so quickly … and he has knack for putting mood into music.”
A reworked version of the musical is set to premiere in Los Angeles in October with two actresses, who happen to be mother and daughter, playing the younger and older McCullers.
From there, Ms. Vega said she would like to bring the show to New York with herself in the title role, as she did in the show’s original form in 2011.
She said she could also see a transgender person playing the role in years to come, due to the gender fluidity of Ms. McCullers.
“There’s so many possibilities,” she said.
Suzanne Vega performs Saturday, September 3, at Guild Hall, 158 Main Street, East Hampton. Tickets range from $55 to $150, with discounts offered for Guild Hall members. Call 631-324-0806 or visit guildhall.org.
on Aug 25, 2016