theatre
STRUMMING HIS WAY TO HEALING IN THE LION
by lisa lipsey
BENJAMIN SCHEUER
As I performed the songs I would talk in between, eventually I began writing down what I said and memorized it. Then I realized I had two things: a script and a score.”
Art heals. Perhaps no one knows that better than Benjamin Scheuer. He also knows the difference between healing and curing…He’s experienced both. Healing through art seems to follow a time-honored process: creation, reflection and sharing. For Scheuer, a singer/songwriter/guitarist who has toured with Mary Chapin Carpenter and performed around the world—from Royal Albert Hall in London to Lincoln Center in New York—the sharing part ultimately becameThe Lion, his Drama Desk Award and Theatre World Award-winning one-man show. Directed by Sean Daniels, the creative team includes Neil Patel (scenic design), Jennifer Caprio (costume consultant), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Leon Rothenberg (sound design), Dom Ruggiero (production supervisor), Mind the Gap Productions (technical supervision) and Maximum Entertainment Productions (general management). Scheuer who has been a writer-in-residence
at Goodspeed Musicals, Weston Playhouse and Johnny Mercer Songwriting Workshop says of the play, “This show came out of coffee shop open mic nights in Greenwich Village. I would share a song about my struggles with my father, who passed away 20 years ago. Or about what happened when I was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011. Coffee shops are a great way to gauge interest. You can watch people’s faces, see when they are bored; they will check their phone,
get up to pee or get another beer or coffee. I wanted them to be entertained the entire time.” Scheuer recalls, “Music gave me some sense
of control. Cancer is inherently bad and music is inherently good, so I made something that felt good. I thought I was singing something so personal. I was alienating and separating myself, then people started saying ‘me too’ and I began connecting with other people again. As I performed the songs, I would talk in between, eventually I began writing down what I said and memorized it. Then I realized I had two things, a script and a score. Sean Daniels [director] helped me to hone the sound, lights, set and costumes. As I played my guitars, it became this intimate and sexy show.” He then took his poignant, autobiographical musical from the coffee shops to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and won the award for “Best Lyrics in the Festival.” The Lion likewise has beautiful melodies, all the
show promos boast that Scheuer plays six different guitars, including a 1929 Martin, a Les Paul and a Froggy Bottom H-12. Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein says, “I first sawThe Lion two years ago and it knocked me out. Scheuer is one of the most winning, charismatic performers I’ve seen. He can do it all: a wizardly guitarist and brilliant singer- songwriter, he’s put together a theatrical memoir that is unique, moving and hugely uplifting.” In addition to taking his show on the road this past year, Scheuer has released the album,Songs From
The Lion and music videos for the songs “Weather the Storm,” “The Lion,” “Cookie-tin Banjo” and “Cure,” which have won prizes at the Annecy Film Festival, British Animation Awards and Encounters Film Festival. His new animated video for “Golden Castle Town,” is set for release this month. Another vulnerable choice Scheuer made, was
to be photographed each week during his cancer treatments, “The reason I did that was because I was fascinated by what my cancer doctor had said, ‘The more you are getting better on the inside, the worse you will look on the outside, at least for a while.’” Scheuer asked photographer Riya Lerner to
take the photos. This past June, the pair had a gallery exhibition entitled, Between Two Spaces at the Leslie-Lohman Museum’s Prince Street Project Space. Then came the art bookBetween Two Spaces, which is now available for sale. Fifty percent of the proceeds go to the Leukemia/ Lymphoma Society. For more information, visit
betweentwospaces.com.
The Lion runs through Sunday, October 30 at The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. For tickets and more informa- tion, call 619.234.5623 or go to
theoldglobe.org.
benjamin scheuer wrote and stars in the lion,
directed by sean daniels. photo by matthew murphy
52
RAGE monthly | | OCTOBER 2016 OCTOBER 2016
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