Bearing Witness by: Andy Lindberg

Nearly four years ago I was totally blissed out as cast member of the 2005 production of “One.” I filled my days and nights with the music, the imagery and the connections that formed the show. I was surrounded by friends and good feeling as we put up what was, at the time, the most current version of the show.

Tonight I was blessed to sit in as a new group of artists began their journey with what is, as of today, the NEW version of the show.

Though I knew the show, like most of the cast and crew I was hearing this new version for the first time. It gave me shivers.

The show has grown and changed greatly since 2005. An entirely new way of looking at the story brings us face to face with Hermann Hesse as he struggles to write “Siddhartha.’” The story dips and dives between the parallel journeys of the writer and his creation as they both seek to find peace in their life.

And the music has changed as well. Tonight we heard the music almost entirely in the voice of the composer, Wade. He and his Macintosh have been busy constructing symphonies and calliopes to demonstrate the new score. We heard him singing almost all the parts, often multi-tracked into a choir of singers.

And it is new. Gone is nearly every note I sang in 2005. In their place are new works that brought clarity to the story, and moved me.

It was odd, sitting on the sidelines. I was filled with excitement for the actors and the creative team as they begin to wrap themselves in the eiderdown of this new version of the show. This new version is darker, but clearer than 2005. It is more complex. It is going to take work to tease the piece apart and put it together in its new form.

But that’s the fun part.