Inside the creation of “Side Man” at IU
From the first draft of his Tony Award-winning Side Man, playwright Warren Leight knew he wanted the play to be musical. A play about jazz musicians, and the sacrifices they and their families make, required an authentic, engrossing, mood-altering soundtrack.
"I wanted each scene to have its own rhythm, whether hard driving, or romantic, or mournful, or bluesy," Leight wrote in his notes about the play.
From left: Harper Jones, Matt Thompson Gripe and Tijideen Rowley rehearse a scene from the Department of Theatre and Drama production of "Side Man" in the Wells-Metz Theatre.
Erik Friedman, a second-year M.F.A. directing student at Indiana University Bloomington, had the same goal in mind when setting out to direct Side Man at IUB's Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center. (The show opens Feb. 2 and continues Feb. 3 and Feb. 5 to 8 at the Wells-Metz Theatre.) For his directorial debut at IU, he relied on his own background in music and the expertise of others -- such as his friend and IU music student Nate Sutton -- to come up with music that both enhances the telling of Leight's story and engages audience members, including those who might be unfamiliar with jazz.
"In order to make this play work, [the music] is absolutely critical," says Friedman, who has degrees in music from Butler University and DePaul University, and has worked extensively on IU Opera Theater productions. "The music is sort of the soul of these characters. When we see these characters in the play, they don't deal with life very well, but when they're playing suddenly there is a depth and an understanding and a participation in life that we don't necessarily get from them in the rest of the piece."
Side Man, which won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Play, tells the story of a journeyman jazz musician named Gene as he faces the challenge of balancing his career and family life. Narrated by Gene's son Clifford, Side Man depicts the plight of the journeyman jazz musician -- also known as the "side man" -- from the heyday of the big bands in the 1940s through the decline of the big bands, rise of rock 'n' roll and dark days of the 1970s and 1980s. At its core, it's also about the breakdown of a family and a young man coping with a distant, uncommunicative father and unbalanced, alcoholic mother.
As a longtime classical musician now making the transition to dramatic theatre, Friedman, 30, could identify with the musicians portrayed in Side Man, their passion for their work and the obstacles they faced. "It's that sense that these guys just have this need to do this special thing, to express themselves in this unique way," he explains. "This need trumps everything else in their lives. The father has no idea how to communicate with other people. The only time he's really alive and truly able to communicate is with music and with other musicians that share this particular inner expression."
Josh Hambrock and Rachel Sickmeier rehearse a scene from the Department of Theatre and Drama production of "Side Man" in the Wells-Metz Theatre.
Nate Sutton, 33, is studying with distinguished jazz professor David Baker while pursuing a master's degree in jazz studies at the IU Jacobs School of Music. When he first read the script for Side Man, he was "astonished" at the play's authenticity and how well it captured the nuances of how jazz musicians interact. He volunteered to help his friend and fellow music student educate the cast members on what the characters in the play were experiencing and to identify music that was not only authentic but also accessible.
"There are a lot of misconceptions about jazz," says Sutton, who is serving as the music supervisor for Side Man. "One cliché is that it's too cerebral, too sophisticated, out there, crazy or avant-garde.
"We didn't want to shut anybody out," he continues. "Whenever music is called for, we've presented it authentically, but also for the untutored lay person who doesn't know anything about jazz or maybe doesn't even like jazz."
In this regard, he says he was simply continuing his role as a jazz educator. He has served as an associate instructor for Baker's classes and has spent the last 15 years studying jazz. He also tours locally with his own group, the Nate Sutton Quintet featuring Courtney Crouse, and has performed with such legendary acts as the Temptations, the Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas.
He's eager to extol the virtues of jazz, which despite its well-documented troubles, "is not going away," he says.
"So many times, critics have said 'this music is dead.' But look at me, I'm in my early 30s, living in Indiana in the vast cornfields, and I'm still finding work!"
He also expects audiences to come away from the play with a better understanding of and appreciation for the music. "The more I've educated myself about the music, the more I recognize its quality, its vitality and what it has to offer. By the same token, people will have a much deeper appreciation for the music. They'll be more apt to check it out."
Says Friedman, "I hope they'll come away interested in looking at this music and this world in a different way."
For an earlier "Live at IU" story about the set design for Side Man and professional artist Shakor, whose studio was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, go to http://newsinfo.iu.edu/web/page/normal/4691.html.
For more information about the IUB Department of Theatre and Drama, visit http://www.theatre.indiana.edu.
