Staged Reading, Friday, January 9, 7:00 p.m., NFHS Auditorium

By Sarah Opdahl

“Writing a full-length musical was an exciting challenge,” New Fairfield High School (NFHS) Choral Director Andrew Gadwah shared, “with around 20 full songs in the show, plus underscoring and scene changes, the challenge was how to make it all fit into a cohesive theme, while still keeping each song distinct and interesting.” And he’s more than giddy that a little over three years since beginning the writing process, Dandelions is ready for an audience, with a staged reading planned for one night only—Friday, January 9, 7:00 p.m. in the NFHS auditorium.

Dandelions is an emotionally charged piece that grapples with questions of mortality and the purpose of life and death that Gadwah was compelled by, especially during and following the pandemic. In the work, a young girl and those close to her navigate grief following the death of her father. Though grounded in the “real world” the piece enters a dream world of Night Spirits that Lily escapes to, which Gadwah describes as “wondrous, mystical, and full of spirit and life.” The mystical world gives “Lily a space to process her turmoil and face the questions at the heart of this story.” He shared, “The Night Spirit character Oachek is her first entry point into this other world, and he becomes a stand-in father figure for Lily. Oachek, his siblings Nilah and Aden—and an ensemble of Night Spirits—revel in telling stories, crafting art, and answering wishes such as those offered on blown-away dandelion seeds.”

With a full-time job that includes evenings and weekends galore, and a series of personal ongoing creative pursuits and commitments, Gadwah shared, “What kept me motivated was the joy and satisfaction of doing something on this scale!” Early on he made it a goal to complete one song per month, for which he largely hit the mark, though some songs came more quickly and others required more tinkering. “I would work on Dandelions when I could spare the time during a free period at school, or over my piano at home when I had a quiet afternoon or evening,” he said, though, “I like to think I did all my best lyric-writing in the car, where I could manipulate words and rhymes in my mind over and over again until they felt right, and then when I got to my destination I would hurriedly write a note or record a voice memo so I didn’t forget what I had just come up with!”

For those in the theater scene that surrounds NFHS, or the Musicals at Richter in Danbury, there will be familiar names and faces performing the roles in Dandelion’s staged reading and the NFHS Chamber Singers will play ensemble roles. “It’s a great honor to have these friends and students working on it. I’m so grateful for all of them for lending their time and their talents as part of this project,” Gadwah commented, going on to say giddily, “It’s been an incredible experience to hear this music and dialogue brought to life with real people for the first time. The music first only existed in my mind, and then with MIDI-synthesized sounds on my computer when I put together demos of the music, so now to hear it with real actual voices is a tremendous treat.”

“The work on the show is not done by any means,” Gadwah reflected, saying, “I hope to learn a lot from the upcoming reading, both from the actors and feedback from the audience, which will help me take the show to whatever happens next.” He enjoys the process of re-working and revision that has guided the creation of Dandelions. “I have been composing music basically my whole life, ever since I got my first cheap Casio keyboard around 5th grade, and I’ve also enjoyed writing stories and poetry all throughout school and then beyond. Writing a musical is the natural extension of all of that – music, story, and the poetry of the lyrics!”

With characters who work in school settings and nuances made stronger by Gadwah’s own experience as a teacher, “There is a little bit of myself in practically every character in this show,” he said. The dedication page of the script reads “to the students of New Fairfield High School,” and Gadwah’s care for the teens he has and continues to work with is abundantly evident to anyone in his orbit. He said, “Over the 11 years I’ve worked here, I have had the pleasure of working with so many amazing students, who have shaped and taught me just as much as I hope to have done for them. My philosophies of treating everyone with grace and respect, always seeking to understand before judgement, and recognizing the beautiful complexity of the human experience—these are all inspired and fostered by the students that I have had the honor of working with every day over these years.”

Personally, Gadwah likes “any art that I can feel an emotional connection and response to. That goes for musicals, plays, movies, books, anything! And that emotion can be anything – joy, humor, poignancy, grief, wonder, the list is endless. The way that art connects us as human beings is so powerful, and that’s why humans have been making art as long as there have been humans. I hope that the audience at this premiere staged reading on January 9 feels that kind of connection.”

The premiere public reading of Dandelions is free; however donations are welcome  to offset the costs related to the event, and in the spirit of kindness and paying it forward, a portion of the money collected will be donated to a charity chosen by the Chamber Singers students. There will also be a brief talk-back session at the conclusion of the event, for audience feedback and questions that will assist in future development of the work.

Getting to this point is certainly cathartic for Gadwah and he looks forward to an audience experiencing work that is so personal to him. After struggling with some of life’s biggest questions he is ready to share his thoughts through the show, and about the major themes he says, “in the end, the answer is simple: our purpose is to be kind to one another, and the kindness we show inspires the people in our lives to show kindness to others in turn, spreading infinitely far, like the seeds of a dandelion. That’s what it’s all about.”