Jon Anderson performs with TransAtlantic

Hi,

(Long ... and only if you like theater and film, plz!)

Of all these, the one that can make the stage best, would be "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", because in many ways it ALREADY is a written stage show.

The hard part is "translating" all the material into stage action, so it can be done and not just "imagine" things like most rock bands like to do to you! You're supposed to .... and so on. In theater and film, this does not translate at all! You can not see into the character's mind.

There is a way to get around this and I would love to direct this. Precedent - ETC La Mamma.

About 35 or 40 years ago, I don't remember when, the ETC La Mamma group travelled across the country with a production of "Carmilla" (the vampire story!). The stage was simplicity itself! One incredibly large sofa for 4 or 5 in dark red velvet nothing else! So during the production various things take place ... so they are in a carriage and the horses are running, and the sofa becomes a carriage and the actors are bouncing all over the place and such. Later it becomes a bed. Later it becomes a living room, you get the idea. Now here comes the kicker. The "sets" were all done with FILM and you saw that right over/above/inside the couch/sofa. The back of the sofa was huge and had this opening, and when the carriage was running, you only saw what you would normally see through the window ... trees running by and such.  So when the carriage was moving fast, the actors on the "inside" the carriage for the duration of that piece would be moving around like nuts.

This would help create some sets for "The Lamb's" story (as an example) and this would allow more than one person to do the vocals (if needed depending on the point of view and concept ... you don't need PG all alone!) ... and also add some to others that could be a part of the "story" to help clear it up a bit more, and smooth out the transitions. This part might be the one that some folks would probably criticize the most as it "might" interfere with the story as you are familiar with it in the album! But it smoothes things out on the stage.

The music needs to be live on the stage like any orchestra work with a staging like ballet, opera and so forth.

Using "film" would help this, and it could be done on 3 or 4 sides/parts of the stage to help with the design of the production.

Question is ... would you go see it? The price for one of these, would likely be over $150/$200 dollars a ticket, because of the film, the sets and the band! That is the price, nowadays, for the Met, for example.

In the end, it is all about how well we grow into the classical areas. If many of these musicians become the conductors and the musical directors in many of these, you will see some of these things. If not ... it's over, and Dean's comment that it is all "pop music" is a very strong comment and then some. It would also mean that the audience that would normally want to see this, just like "The Wall" that I bought a ticket for my friend as his Christmas present, because all he knew was Rush, Styx and Dream Theater, and he had no idea whatsoever, what a "show" meant!

None of the "great" pieces, that I can remember have been made into a proper stage show, that would take it away from the rock audience some. And I think that a lot of this is about the audience itself. I might fall here in the area that Dean likes to criticize me for, but in this case, I don't think that "rock" and "pop" audiences, are ready for a full fledged show and story that would make something special for all of us! My only contention is, that if what I say is not true, it would have happened, but the few tries that have been done, for the most part have been so trashed and ignored, that many artists/musicians and everyone else ends up frustrated and burned out. I still see that interview with Melody Maker on the middle pages when PG left Genesis as a really sad interview. He never really said it, but you knew that people didn't get it with "Lamb" and the band was not exactly supporting his point of view and work. And that hurts when you live for your "art" and "creativity" ... it's like your child is deformed and gotta dispatch it to the end of the world and never see him/her again!

Not one of us, anywhere, lives for that!

I would love to have a chance to direct "The Lamb". But it would make "The Wall" look like a cheap redo, and crap, because none of the moments in it would ever get wasted or be hidden.

Next, I wanna do "Passion Play" but without Ian Anderson, because he would interfere too much! Same thing. Band, stage, actors, film. AND a ballerina! Because I would create it all from beginning to the end with her! I might even use the swan ballet on that! How perfect!