A New Brain ~ A Musical by William Finn
STARRING
BROADWAY'S ANNA MCNEELY
By the Tony-award winning authors of Falsettos and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee comes an autobiographical comedy about overcoming obstacles. When composer Gordo Schwinn is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, he must rely on all the wacky characters in his life- his overbearing mother, a homeless woman, his crazy best friend and more- to help him sort everything out.
This wonderful story will give you a brand new appreciation for life and each crazy day- as it did real life composer William Finn.
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The Story behind the Story
The quirky and heartfelt comedy follows a young composer, Gordon Schwinn, as he undergoes treatment for a deadly brain disorder. Days before being rushed to the hospital, Gordon struggles to complete a song for the children’s television show “Mr. Bungee’s Lilly Pad.” To take a break and clear his mind, Gordon meets his agent, who is also his best friend, for lunch. Gordon complains of a headache, collapses face first into his pasta and is rushed to the ER. He wakes in a hospital room surrounded by his mother, friends, doctors and nurses who tell him that he has an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, and will need to have surgery.
“The composer, William Finn, creates a magical journey out of these dark events, and along the way deals with such surreal and unexpected topics as hallucinations, sailing, homelessness, genetics and children’s television,” Kontos said. “The story is based on Finn’s own life experience. ”Three days after winning the Tony award for his musical “Falsettos” in 1992, Finn was diagnosed with AVM. He feared he would never be able to write music again, but after being treated with a successful surgery, he wrote about his near-death experience and a new-found appreciation for life.
“He found that whenever he sat down at the piano, new music would pour out of him,” Kontos said. “The songs he wrote became the basis for ‘A New Brain.’ ” “I think the audience will laugh and cry all within the hour and a half show,” she said. “I hope that the seriousness of the topic is profound; however, I want the audience to walk away laughing and thinking about life and its joys.”
The story of A NEW BRAIN is drawn from Finn's own life. Back in 1992, shortly after the successful opening of Falsettos on Broadway -- the culmination of years of work -- Finn suffered a brain seizure and was hospitalized. During this painfully difficult time, his doctors could not immediately pinpoint the cause of the seizure and were not sure if he would survive. Finn also feared that, even if he lived, he still might lose his ability to write.
From such dire source material came this surprisingly joyous and funny musical about songwriter Gordon Schwinn. Bolstered by the support of his mother, his boyfriend Roger and many other good friends, Gordon finds the courage to confront his mortality and allow his doctors to perform the necessary surgery. In life and on stage, thankfully, there is a happy ending.
Finn recovered completely and this musical is a glorious rediscovery of his distinctive songwriting 'voice', an exorcism of a painfully dark period, a coming-back to the world, with Finn writing in a freer and warmer way than ever before. This is a very touching show, but not a downer at all -- it's a big upper!
