Musicals by John Graves
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"An Empty Bench"
“An Empty Bench” presented
by ECA
By Paul Roberts
Audiences love musicals. But these
days it’s unusual
to see an original musical production. Local
luminary John Graves has composed songs for his original one-act musical
play, entitled An Empty Bench. The first public presentation of this delightful
love story will take place at Stage Under the Stars, Pagosa’s exciting
new performing arts venue, August 22 and 23 at 7pm.
Through its superb music and lovely story, An Empty Bench
evokes the tradition of the Golden Age of Broadway. The second half of
the production is a variety show - in a cabaret setting - featuring the
fabulous, multi-talented cast: Matthew and Tiffany Brunson, June Marquez,
Sally Yates, Larry Elginer, Kimberly Judd and Honor Nash-Putnam.
“ I’ve only written six songs in my seventy-two years of performing,” says
Graves. “I wrote them in the ‘60’s and just a few months
ago, I discovered that if I put all those songs together in a certain order,
they tell a story.”
Graves scripted the storyline with his longtime co-producer and collaborator, John Porter, director and producer of An Empty Bench. Since Graves and Porter met in Pagosa ten years ago, their many creative contributions have included musical theater, straight theater, concerts, radio programs and vaudeville shows. Two of their notable productions were “Boom, Bust and Battle,” music and the culture of the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, and “The Hills Are Alive,” a tribute to Rogers, Hart and Hammerstein.
“ We did several benefits, raising money to try to
start a performing arts center,” says Graves of his collaboration
with Porter. “We work very well together. He’s a great detail
man, a nuts and bolts guy. I’m just the opposite. I don’t want
to deal with nuts and bolts, so it works out pretty well. His function
as a producer is to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to
be, everyone knows what they’re to do and that the costumes, lights
and sound – everything is taken care of. He’s very good at
that.”
Porter, a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, has
been directing and performing in plays since 1959. He is a prolific playwright;
over 40 of his original plays have been performed.
An Empty Bench is presented by Elation Center for the Arts. For more information, call 731-3117, or check out the website at elationarts.org
"Boom Bust or Battle"
"Boom, Bust, and Battle" was a radio series he originated to explore the music and culture of the 20s, 30, and 40s. It became the basis for a musical variety show he produced with John Porter featuring a Dixieland band, singers, dancers, and comedians celebrating those three decades.
"The Hills Are Alive"
This year (2004) he created an original musical revue based on the life work of Richard Rodgers called "The Hills Are Alive...," which featured a cast of nearly fifty singers, dancers, and instrumentalists celebrating Rodgers' collaborations with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II.
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John's daughter Kerry
Graves has written these children's musicals |
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Sleeping Beauty
Produced
in Ann Arbor, Michigan by the Ann Arbor Community Theatre Company
and in Pagosa Springs by the Pagosa Pretenders.
Produced at Siena Heights University in Adrian Michigan.
Has a cast of 72 and can range from 20 to 75
