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Home , Andy Warhol, John Cale, Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music, Songs for Drella, The Factory

Academy of Music

SONGS FOR'DRELLA -A FICTION BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC Harvey Lichtenstein, President and Executive Producer

BAM Opera House November 29 - December 3, 1989

presents SONGS FOR 'DRELLA -A FICTION Music and Lyrics by and

Set Design, Photography and Scenic Projections by Lighting Design by JEROME SIRLIN ROBERT WIERZEL

Co-commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music NEXT WAVE Festival and The at St. Ann's

Joseph V. Melillo, Director, NEXT WAVE Festival SONGS FOR 'DRELLA-A FICTION

Songs for 'Drella-a fiction is a brief musical look at the life of Andy and is entirely fictitious. We start with Andy growing up in a Sinalltown-"There's no Michelangelo coming from ." He comes to and follows the customs of"Open House" both in'his apartments and . "It's a Czechoslovakian custom my mother passed onto meltheway to makefriends Andyis to invite them upfor tea." He travels around the world and is in his words "Forever Changed." He knows the importance of people and money in the world ["Style It Takes"] and follows his primary ethic, "Work-the most~portantthing is work." He can copy the classicists but feels "the trouble with classicists, they look at a tree/that's all they see/they paint a tree..." , Andy wished we all had the same "Faces and Names." He becomes involved with movies-"Starlight." He is interested in repetitive images-"I love images worth repeating••.see them with a different feeling." The mor­ tality rate at the Factory is rather high and some blame Andy-"Itwasn't me who shamed you..." The open house policy leads to him being shot ["I Believe"] and a new, locked door approach at the Factory causes him to wonder, "...if I have to live in fear/ where willI get my ideas...will I slowly Slip Away?" One night he has a dream, his relationships change..."A Nobody Like You." He dies recovering from a gall bladder operation. Chocolates were his weakness. We miss him very much. "Hello It's Me." -Lou Reed

"Songsfor 'Drella is a collaboration', the second Lou and I have completed since 1965, and I must say that although I think he did most ofthe work, he has allowed me to keep a position ofq.ignityin the process. It therefore remains, as~intended, a tribute to someone whose inspiration and gener­ osity offered over the years is now remembered with much love and admi­ ration." -John Cale

All songs © 1988 Lou Reed /John Cale Music Inc. JOHN CALE & WU REED, photo coflYright © Laura Levine lOU REED Composer, lyricist, singer and guitarist Lou cepts were a major force behind 1000 Airplanes Reed is above all a most literary songwriter. on the Roof, a sci-fi music drama he co­ Born in Brooklyn, he studied poetryat Syracuse authored with Philip Glass and David Hwang, University with Delmore· Schwartz. Mr. Reed as well as 's Who's That Girl? 1987 has made over twenty solo and much of World Tour, and The Traveler, a play by J.C. his material has been recorded by other contem­ Van Italie that premiered at the Mark Taper porary artists. He also produces and writes for Forum in in 1987. films. His latest , New York, was voted From 1986 to 1988, he created a revolution­ the CMJ album of the year for 1989. ary vision of Wagner's Ring Cycle for Chris­ topher Keene, Director of JOHNCALE Opera, that was performed over three consecu­ Welsh-born John Cale is a classically trained tive summers at the ArtPark Festival Theater in composer, musician, performer and producer. Lewiston, New York. Born in 1942, he was performing pieces Mr. Sirlin has collaborated on numerous pro­ on the BBC at the age of eight. In 1963, under jects in video, theater,opera, and dance, includ­ the auspices of composer , he ing SeeHear and RareArea, two was awarded a Leonard Bernstein scholarship performance works, and The Mother ofUs All, and the opportunity to study composition with by Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson, for the composer lannis Xenakis at Tanglewood. Dur­ Juilliard School of Music. ing his trips from Tanglewood to New York Currently, he is co-authoring a socio-political City, Mr. Cale met Lou Reed. Together they music drama entitled The Hy~rogen Jukebox formed , arguably the with Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass. This pro­ most influential rock band ofall time. The Vel­ duction willpremiere at the 1990 Spoleto Festi­ vet Underground became the house band for val in Charleston, South Carolina. 's multi-media extravaganzas., By Mr. Sirlin's photographs are featured in the the and 1980s, long after the group had recently published book of 1000 Airplanes, as disbanded, the Velvet Underground had well as in several leading design publications. become one ofthe most-cited influences ofrock He is the winner ofthe 1989 Design Award from and'roll, influencing artists ranging from David the·American Theater Wing and his work has Bowie to REM. Beyond his work on the first been funded by The National Endowment for two Velvet Underground records, Mr. Cale has the Arts, The Ford Foundation, and the Gra­ built up an extensive catalog of respected solo ham Foundation. 1 albums and has produced recordings for many well known artists. Hehas workedwith influen­ ROB:ERr WIERZEL (lighting designer) has tial experimental composers including John . workea with artists from diverse discIplines and Cage, , and . In backgrounds, most recently in Los Angeles with addition to his performance and studio work, Robert Longo on a performance work entitled Mr. Cale has composed soundtracks for major Dream Jumbo/Working the Absolutes. Mr. release motion pictures. Opal/Warner Brothers Wierzel has also worked with Glimmerglass has recently released a recording of his Words Opera (La Traviata), The Opera Theatre ofSt. for the Dying. Louis (Spring Season '89), Philip Glass (1000 Airplanes on the Roof), and artist James Welty JEROME SIRLIN (scenic designer) has been with choreographer Joann Jansen (D.T.W.). described by the press as a creator of "dazzling Mr. Wierzel also designs for the dance compa­ three-dimensional effects." His innovative con- nies ofBill T. Jones/Arnie Zane, Hartford Bal- let, Hubbard Street Dance, Martita Goshen's Earthworks and J. Fregalette-Jansen Dance. His theater work includes, among others, pro­ ductions at Hartford Stage, Center Stage, Yale Rep, L.A. Theatre Center, Berkeley Rep, Players Theatre Columbus, New Mexico Repertory Theatre and with Tim Robbins' company, The Actor's Gang. This December, Mr. Wierzel will be designing a new play entitled Kingfish by Marlane Meyer_ at the New York Shakespeare Festival. -

DANNY KAPILIAN (stage manager) has worked as a producer, production manager, sound engineer, and talent coordinator in New York (the Apollo, the Ritz), on tours (Roberta Flack, Steve Forbert), and for music festivals and events (the Hall of Fame Awards, the New Music Seminar, the Philadel­ phia Mellon Festival). He has also taught music history and technology at in New York for . His next pro­ ject is with Harry Connick,Jr.

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STAFF FOR SONGS FOR 'DRELLA Associate Producers Susan Feldman Sylvia Reed Stage Manager Danny Kapilian House Mix Engineer Jeremy D1\rby Ca/~ Assistant to Mr. 0 • Andy Green Assistant to Mr. Reed Michael Rathke Assistant to Mr. Sirlin Craig Clipper

CREDITS Sound by See Factor; Factory Fotos by ; Midi Grand Piano provided by Yamaha Corporation of America, Inc.; Additional sound equipment provided by Masque Sound. THANKS Alan Stein; Chris Whent; The Arts at St. Ann's; Alex Aguilar Electronics; Larry DiMarzio and Steve Blucher of DiMarzio Pick-ups; Jay Black andJon Paige ofthe Fender Custom Shop; Shure Microphones; Roger Sadowsky, Ken Fallon and Norio Imai ofSadowsky Guitars; Mike Soldan'o Custom Amplifica­ tion; ; Blaize Dupuy and Rory Johnston'of Euphorbia Studios; John Jones of Midiology; Dan Silver of Value Added Talent.