An Octoroon

From left, Chris Myers, Danny Wolohan and Amber Gray. Credit Pavel Antonov 

Composing for Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon at Soho Rep this past spring was one of the most exhilarating artistic experiences of my life. The song I wrote for the end was meant to be a moment of healing or reflection after the intense discomfort and insane melodrama that the play intentionally creates. Lester St. Louis is the fantastic cellist who makes it happen in the show.

NY times Review HERE.

Here's my original demo of the closing song:

"When You Burn It Down."
Music and Lyrics by César Alvarez

Cumberland Gap

I found this song in an old Pete Seeger songbook that belonged to my Dad. I love how the shape of the melody mirrors the topography of a valley. I rewrote some of the words and added a bridge so that it would fit into my musical, which coincidentally is set right near the Cumberland Gap in and around Whythe County, VA.

Cumberland Gap (DEMO) by musicisfreenow

IMAGE CREDIT: Hunt, S. V. D. (Samuel Valentine), engraver. “Cumberland Gap,” 1872. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Reproduction Number LC-USZ62-52628