Dedication
In Memoriam
To the memories of Carl Anderson and Barry Dennen, performers whose gracious and warm interactions with this young fan changed my life forever, and of Krzysztof Trusiewicz and Steve Worek, friends who explored JCS – among other niche pop culture interests – with me and made being a fan much less lonely.
Among the Living
Among many still with us (see below), I dedicate these efforts to Ellis Nassour, the last of a dying breed of journalists and ever generous with compliments, and Richard Haase, my mentor, godfather, and friend.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thanks are due to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, without whom I’d have nothing to dissect, critique, love, obsess over, passionately admire, listen with rapt attention, and otherwise blather on and on about details the average person would find trivial and uninteresting. When I micro-analyze subtle arrangement differences in cast recordings, argue into the wee hours about the relative merits of one performer vs. another, and feel chills when my favorite song hits that magic moment, I never forget who’s responsible. That said, I’ll often have frank opinions and not hold back.
Secondly, I’d like to thank those surviving original performers who changed my life and made me the fan I am, in alphabetical order by last name so I don’t play favorites: Bob Bingham, Yvonne Elliman, Larry Marshall, Ted Neeley, Kurt Yaghjian, and too many others to mention. Without your inspiration, support, and friendship, all of which I’m blessed to have, I wouldn’t be in show business. Unlike many in that world, you are the heroes who have never let me down. As Hall & Oates wrote and Paul Young sang, “Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you.” I can’t wait to see you all again. Special mention must also go to people like Chuck DiMaria, John Farnham, Paul Nolan, Drew Sarich, Szomor György, and Danny Zolli, who have brought fresh sounds to the world of JCS and, in one of Ted’s favorite phrases, “kept the circle turning.” You all rock!
Thirdly, I must name a handful of “passionate enthusiasts” and fellow historians I’ve met – and friends I’ve made – over many years of loving all things JCS who have always given me food for thought and frequently played with me in the mental sandbox of any who love to explore what makes the show tick. This book would not have been possible without the insight, prodding, queries, and support of Wendy Alderton, Jake Bedard, Justin “Muzzle” Carpenter, Mark (& Emily) Carter, Ethan Clark, Salvantonio Clemente and all at the sadly late U.R.O., Marc Cohen, John Conti, Steve Cox, Nathan Jon DeSisto, Stephen Disney, Dianne Du, Jeroen van Eden, Merynn Flynn, Rubén Pardo García, John Garofalo, Dianne (& Dyan) Gomes, Nate Goncalo, Andy Gordanier, Evan Grubbs, Keyla Hamilton, Tyler Henry (my favorite “fan editor”), Eric Henwood-Greer, Gwendolyn Howard (& Pat Falcon), Mark Jabara, Anthony Julian, Steve Kagan, Kyle Kepulis, Greg Kerestan, Kaitlyn Kmon, Adam Knowles, Megan Lerseth, Ryan Letizia, Jonathan “The Sweaty Oracle” Lewis (illegitimi non carborundum, mate!), Jeff Liebrich, Brady Love, Renee Marcowicz, Anthony Marino, Sarah M. Martin, Laura Minadeo, Frank Munoz, Tumblr user nemoverne (without whose intrepid photo research none of the book’s illustrations would have been possible), Guy Noyes, Ashton (& Alex) Paden-Uebinger, Sharman Prince, Jared Robinson, Adam Schoales, Korynn Shoffler, Andrew J. Simpson, David Tessier, Alex Tirrell, Brenda Toll, Mary (& Etta) Tramonti, Mark A. Vaughan, Cindi Verbelun, and many more people than I can remember. Thank you all for your friendship, inspiration, encouragement, and contributions!
Last but certainly not least, my mother Melissa, brother Mason, and assorted relatives and family friends have had to hear me babble on incessantly about JCS minutiae for at least two decades (at the time of writing). Let this record show that all of that ultimately had a purpose, albeit not exactly a profitable one. Love you all!