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A contemporary musical set in London with a rich and complex musical score. The journey of the LIFT takes one minute (or thereabouts) but the journey of the show takes us through a minute within everyones imagination, allowing us to say and see things that might not be possible in real life.
From an article about LIFT songwriter Craig Adams in Exeunt Magazine: "The play is about eight characters from a mixture of backgrounds... who share a 54 second lift journey at Covent Garden tube station. They say nothing to each other but the audience is treated to a song-cycle of the anxieties rushing through their heads as they make their journey. There is far more connecting them than they will ever know.
Adams began writing the show while training as an actor at Mountview Academy in 2005. It started as an abstract, devised piece inspired by an interest in lifeless objects. 'Beds, chairs, lifts, all these things bare witness to so much that we will never know,' he says in his energetic Mancunian accent. But over the seven years of writing the show his attitude towards the world has inevitably changed and it is clear that this has impacted on his intentions for the work. His motivation now lies in the people inside the Lift. He gives a shy laugh as he admits: 'Im not necessarily trying to change the world any more, I want to be truthful to the characters and their stories.'
Truthfulness to character and story is often proclaimed and rarely honoured by writers of musical theatre, but Adams is doing things a little differently. Despite forming a satisfying rhythm, very few of his lyrics actually rhyme; he says that was more concerned with finding the right words for his characters than tying his phrases in pretty poetry. LIFT indicates the continuation of an exciting new trend in musical theatre.
Adams unapologetic enthusiasm for LIFT is contagious. For him, the show is about how unrequited love and loss manifest themselves in our behaviour and consequently in our relationships. The confined space of the lift only serves to highlights the fact that the closer we get to each other the more afraid we become to speak. Adams has tapped into a culture that, for all its glorious freedoms, has left us ashamed to say what we feel." --Stephanie Smith, Exeunt Magazine, February 1, 2013
Director Richard Gray is one of Seattles leading creators and practitioners of musical theater. He has worked in every major local theater as a performer, composer, writer and director. Richard received the 2017 Gregory Award for Outstanding Leading Performance in a Musical for the ACT Theatre/5th Avenue co-production of Murder for Two. At Cornish he has directed productions of Quilters, Drood and Grand Hotel, as well as an iteration of the Senior Cabaret. This summer, for the third year in a row, Richard is co-teaching the Summer at Cornish Musical Theater Program.
TRIGGER WARNING: Some graphic violence and adult themes. Recommended ages 16+
For inquiries regarding ADA Patron Caregiver Admission, please contact our Box Office via email at tickets@cornish.edu.
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LocationAlhadeff Studio at the Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center (View)
201 Mercer St.
Seattle, WA 98109
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 16 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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