“Listen To Your Heart” is the 10-Minute Musical I wrote and presented to the BMI workshop on June 29th, 1992. 

The piece was derived from a dream.

In my dream, I watched a young woman, my character Trudy,  use some kind of medical apparatus to control my character Johnny’s heart, causing him to experience an infatuation with Trudy and say “I Love You.”  In my dream, Trudy was assisted by a female medical technician. The dream unfolded in a dark place, with faces spookily lit from below by red and green blinking LEDs.

(In the audio of "Listen To Your Heart", this dream scene is realized starting at the 1:15 mark)

I had played around with composing a musical setting for my Listen To Your Heart dream for a couple of years before I became involved with BMI.  And although I explored the possibility of developing other stories to fulfill the 10-Minute Musical assignment, Listen To Your Heart seemed like a natural - particularly as I was then on the very cusp of getting married.  In fact, I got married on June 20th, 1992, and then presented “Listen To Your Heart” to the workshop at BMI on June 29th, very soon after returning from a honeymoon in Maine.

Somehow Karen and I pulled off the wedding. It was wonderful and beautiful and also somewhat stressful.  But we did it.

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The Honeymoon was delightful.

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Then we got back.

I got through the 10-Minute Musical crucible thanks to Stacey Luftig and Bob Elhai, who sustained me through the whole thing, top to bottom. 

Stacey found me a director and wonderful singing actors. She let me rehearse at her apartment. She put on a white lab coat and played the Technician. From a drawer she produced a little totem man with a heart sewed to the front of his chest to serve as a perfect "controller" prop in Trudy's hands.

Bob signed on to be my Musical Director, rehearsed my singers, and then played piano for

the performance at BMI.  

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Just listen to the job he (and the cast) did with my music.

Wow.

We had one rehearsal, at Stacey’s apartment in Chelsea. There came a moment where Bob was at the piano along with Jason, my director, rehearsing my actors. It became abundantly clear to me that my little show was in very good hands and I really wasn’t needed in rehearsal anymore.  In fact, to remain in the room would be to be in the way.

What blissful relief!  I walked downstairs to the street with Stacey and sat on her doorstep, exhausted and confident.

“Listen To Your Heart” was a great success when it was presented. People had fun and laughed. I had fun and laughed.

I am so fortunate! 

I would love to see Trudy and Johnny live again some day.