As I’m writing and forming the shape, content and characters for the play (More about that next week) I’m thinking more broadly about the other means which will be used to tell the story- particularly the aural landscape, what the audience will listen to.
I Love You Baby isn’t a musical but music will feature heavily, as an original composed soundtrack and score, and ‘Can’t Take My Eye’s Off You’- with it’s irresistible central chorus of ‘I love you baby…’ (Try listening to Andy Williams below without joining in) will be a central thematic song especially arranged in various ways for the production.
It’s a song most of us of all ages have heard in various guises, it featured in a Bridget Jones movie, it’s been covered by Lauren Hill, the Killers and Shirley Bassey to name just three and was beautifully and unforgettably worked to add poignancy and pathos to the bar scene in Michael Cimino’s The Deer hunter, on the night before a group of young men go to fight in the Viet Nam War.
During the development period I’ll work with composer Loz Kaye to find different ways of adapting and weaving this extraordinary song into the score for I Love You Baby- alongside the rest of the soundscape, finding arrangements which will offer scope to explore physical storytelling.
For now research is all and listening and absorbing is an absolutely valid process (Wonderful).
This phenomenal Radio 4 documentary is really worth a listen. It starts with a space shuttle astronaut’s account of playing the track in space…
