Short Description

Boys become men battling their demons. Miles falls from Earth into the forest primeval where he fights his way out of Hell. The Wind guides his lyrical journey home during his interior battle against not only the classic vices, but also unrealized virtue lingering in his soul. Combining medieval and modern through the seamless application of slam poetry, neo-programmatic composition and universal human frailty, V&V unifies religion, philosophy and the human condition with accessible beauty.

Full Synopsis

“Virtue & Vice (and everything sliced)” is an original fantasy coming of age musical stage play. Running throughout are twenty-five pieces of original music.
It is a story about a boy, Miles (20s), who feels alone in the world (Act I Earth, his home) when he is suddenly dropped into a new world (Act II Hell, the forest primeval) where he finds a bow and arrow. He gathers himself and begins this classically structured Odyssean journey home. The Soft Breathy Wind guides Miles and helps him battle the demon vices (Act II) and virtues (Act III Purgatory) that rise from his soul. In the end he wakes in his marital bed to find he went to sleep a boy and awoke a man.
ACT I
With the curtain down, Act I is introduced by a short wind and percussion piece featuring a Brazilian cuica theme that recurs in Act III. The curtain rises on Miles in a house, accompanied by a twelve-tone piano and string variation (THE ABYSS). He begins, “I exist lost...,” expressing discontent with his vacant and disengaged life, and longing for a purer connection to himself and to his wife Sophia. As if in answer, the floor opens up and Miles falls into a Hell-like primeval forest (THE FALL – woodwinds over a vocal trio). Miles’ character is split into two ever-present onstage characters, Miles and Miles as Narrator, who verbalizes Miles’ thoughts and feelings. Miles also encounters The Soft Breathy Wind, with whom he interacts verbally and physically. He also stumbles upon a satchel containing a bow and arrows for the journey ahead (THE SATCHEL – brass and percussion).
The words of Virtue & Vice are inspired from many many places, including “The Ode Less Traveled” and poets from Homer and Lord Byron to Regan Good. The content is inspired by a combination of philosophy and religion, classic story structure and the universal plight of man. During Hurricane Katrina, “W” slapped his appointee on the back and exclaimed “Heck of a job, Brownie.” The disbelieving TV reporter exclaimed, “Wow, he just turned the virtue of loyalty into a vice.” That was the inspiration for the second half of this work, which takes on the routinely overlooked topic, that unrealized virtue and its negative effect on the soul is as destructive to the soul as unmitigated vice. Do you feel better having thought about helping an old lady across the street, or by actually helping her? Can loyalty between politicians be a virtue when it strangles their duty?
ACT II
Curtain down, Act II is introduced with six strings before the curtain rises to 5 strings (VICE SLICED). Miles follows The Wind along a path in the unfamiliar forest, armed with his bow and arrows. “Berries on the bush, gut and glands in tandem, I inhale it with reckless abandon” begins the first battle against the first of the seven deadly Vices, that of GLUTTONY (woodwinds, brass and percussion). Guided by The Wind, Miles dissipates this gelatinous monster with his bow and arrow. He moves on to battle ENVY, PRIDE, GREED, SLOTH, LUST and ANGER (each accompanied by music of the same name). These vices take various fearful shapes such as quicksand, a whore Sofaria who tempts his lust, or The Wind itself, who proves to be both a trusted guide and feared enemy. As these battles in Hell come to a close, Miles seeks to collect on what he perceives was his reward, going home.
ACT III
Curtain down, woodwinds introduce Act III, then the curtain rises to a string quartet (VIRTUE SLICED) and Miles embarking on the second half of his journey. In Act III, based on the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, virtues are often grouped, akin to how Miles confronts them in Act III. First is JUSTICE & LOYALTY (string trio), during which Miles confronts The Wind, followed by BROTHERHOOD & TEMPERANCE (string quartet), during which Miles confronts Harold, one who failed to complete the journey. This is followed by LOVE (string trio), KINDNESS, CHARITY & HUMILITY in the manipulative form of a Beggar Woman (woodwinds, harp and cello), TEMPERANCE (brass and harp), FORGIVENESS, DILIGENCE & TEMPERENCE, a conflict with The Snake representing unprovoked violence, FORECAST AS FUTURE (brass), DRAMA BEFORE THE WARM (marimba lead percussion), RE (woodwinds and brass) and HOME AT LAST (harp with string quartet). All the while, of course, Miles confronts himself, and it is only through shedding these qualities from his soul that he achieves purity and thus manhood. He awakes from his dream a stronger man with a renewed sense of self and passion for his wife.
ABOUT THE DIALOGUE
About the dialogue, its philosophy and style: originally a modern epic poem, Virtue & Vice was written entirely in verse to be read in a slam poetry style whose meter might best be compared to “'Twas The Night Before Christmas” at 120 beats per minute. It’s the story of a boy who must battle and shed the vices that ensnarl his soul and the virtues he harbors whose unrealized state keep him from being fully realized. Literature
is replete with Vice-based stories and philosophy, but very little has been written about virtue. This paucity of pages on virtue is due to the assumptions that good need not be explained and that any good is valuable, each of which are true, but inadequate. To be a fully realized man one must confront virtue and render it clear in his soul. In the end, the foundational virtue is temperance, also known as chastity. This is not abstaining from physical love, but instead a purification of the soul leading to the self-production of all things good and the absence of self-produced evil.
The characters tackle various philosophical questions (“I am a pig raise to slaughter, so eat me to let life fulfill me” and “am I my parents true son or am I from another one”) where the final understanding is absurdity, that the human condition analyzed is absurd and our temperance defines our character. We all, however, must confront our passions, leanings and Virtues & Vices. Only then are we fully realized.
The classic story structure can be juxtaposed against such works of literature as Dante’s Divine Comedy and Homer’s Odyssey or The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars. It’s a fall from grace, a battle through hell, another battle through self and a landing in reality, the marital bed, purgatory.
ABOUT THE MUSIC
Neo-programmatic is a new term that I use to classify my music. It stems from a type of programme music inherent in all twenty-five pieces, which are characterized by Americana and percussion, influenced by Copeland, Schoenberg, Carl Stalling, Catholic alleluia spirituals, Hindemith, Messiaen and Verdi. Virtue & Vice is orchestrated in many classical constructs (string quartets, SATBs, Piano w/ String Trio etc.) and in what I call specialty orchestras due to the featuring of a unique element. The composition is at times sparse – having single lines running, rising and descending and it is at times thick – fat chords over a variety of instrument families, but in almost all cases, the music of Virtue & Vice is mathematical, stemming from a foundational chord progression [I-II- IV-vi-(V)-IV-II-I].
Beyond the musical systems at work, Virtue & Vice attains a uniquely Americana feel attained by the use of woodwinds and percussion – not to say the strings aren't crucial, but they seem to be less of the soul than the wood. The Americana nature of the sound and the slam-poetry style of the music break down into a beautifully accessible work, despite the heavy nature of the content.