Over the Rainbow, the Eva Cassidy Musical

To learn more about Eva’s life, I decide to attend the musical ‘Over the Rainbow’, which is currently playing in the Scottish town of Motherwell. At first glance, it seems like an impossible destination. Motherwell is located about fifteen kilometres south of Glasgow and can be reached via Edinburgh Airport. The taxi driver holds the back door open for me. He types in the address I gave him, but the satellite does not recognise it, so he limits himself to the postcode.

You can listen to this third part of the prologue of the Eva Cassidy Biography and watch fragments of the musical on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/9BWf4zr8h80

Three-quarters of the way there, the driver asks what brings me to Scotland. I reply that I want to see the musical Over the Rainbow. He knows Eva Cassidy: ‘She died, didn’t she? Terry Wogan played her song and then she became famous’. Exactly. We arrive in Motherwell earlier than expected. Even the driver is surprised by the illogical route we have taken, so I am glad I took a taxi, as I would never have found this place. Even now, we are driving around in circles through the town and keep ending up in the same place. Mill Street turns out to be called Mill Road. We descend into the depths; the hotel is located near an old watermill.

Scotland map

A hurried receptionist – I am his only guest – gives me the key to room number one. Outside, I can hear the noise of a waterfall. The sound is soothing, although it wakes me up early the next morning. After a Scottish breakfast I find myself in beautiful surroundings. A forest path, littered with autumn leaves, leads along the river. Motherwell is a rather sad place, illogically constructed with disorienting roads, a curiously running railway track and eerie underpasses. In the city centre, there is little evidence of culture and nothing at all to remind me of Eva Cassidy. I ask some schoolgirls about the theatre. They look at me as if I have made them an indecent proposal. The girls here all have their hair bleached blonde and styled in an identical manner. They wear school uniforms with skirts that are too short for the time of year, but they try to make something of their clothes with the help of frivolous ties, stockings and other frills. ‘Theatre? There’s no theatre here,’ one of them asserts firmly.

Waterfall Motherwell

I see a police officer and wonder whether they are called Bobbies outside London as well. The man is wearing a striking yellow vest. He asks if I mean the Civic Theatre. If that’s the theatre, I guess that must be it. He directs me out of the city centre. The sky is clouding over, but it remains dry. I pass a medieval church with an old stone erected in front of it and then, sure enough, a theatre. The Civic Theatre, with a real poster of ‘Over the Rainbow’ on the entrance.

Poster

At the end of the afternoon, I walk into the theatre and go straight to the auditorium where two technicians are talking to each other. At the back of the stage are a few instruments, and a little further forward is a tree stump. That’s all.

‘Is this where the Eva Cassidy story takes place?’ The boys have a Scottish accent that is difficult to understand. They make it clear to me that all three evenings are sold out; a miracle for a show for which no posters have been put up in the rest of the town, while the residents themselves seem to have no cultural awareness whatsoever. According to the technicians, the actors play their own instruments. The play suggests that it takes place in locations that are projected with film and slide images. ‘The music is particularly good,’ say the two Scots.

There are leaflets with information about the performance in the foyer. I take a few from the pile and sit down on a bench opposite a sweet and drink machine. At that moment the doors open and Zoe Tyler, dressed in black, appears, completely focused on the machine. She is a familiar face as a judge on a TV talent show and has also made a name for herself as a singer. I greet her and tell her that I saw her on BBC Breakfast. ‘That was a terrible experience,’ she says, ‘singing so early in the morning.’ I tell her that it didn’t show. What does she herself think of Eva Cassidy? ‘Oh, I love her songs and I enjoy listening to her voice. After so many years of judging, I like to show the audience what I can do myself. Nice to meet you,’ she concludes the conversation, and disappears into the dressing room armed with a chocolate bar and coffee.

Zoe Tyler

The foyer is slowly filling up. The audience is mixed, with lots of mothers and daughters in particular. A little further on is a table with Eva Cassidy CDs, the programme booklet and an album by Zoe Tyler. Behind the table is a young woman who introduces herself as: Katie Stokes. When she hears that I am a journalist from the Netherlands, she wonders why on earth I chose Motherwell. ‘At least you’re not far from Glasgow,’ she concludes, looking at me as if she has saved me from suffocation.

In the hall, which is now full, I take my seat in the front row. The curtain rises and the band strikes up ‘How Can I Keep From Singin’?’ An impressive and, above all, fitting start; those gospel roots were important to Eva. Zoe Tyler sings well and her make-up is such that she doesn’t look exactly like Eva, but after a few songs you start to believe she is. Film footage suggests a walk in the woods. There, the Cassidy family is gathered around the tree stump. The actors regularly perform shortened versions of songs in harmony. The play starts off a bit tame, but in scene three, which takes place in a Wild West Show, it gets funny. Suzanne Caley plays the ringmaster in an delightfully over-the-top manner and interacts nicely with the audience. Katie Stokes plays the role of Margret, the violin-playing sister. In real life, it was brother Dan who played the violin, but no one seems to have noticed. When Katie recognises me, she gives me a wink.

After seeing the show, I speak on the phone with the musical’s author, Brian Langtry. This is his story:

‘Producer Stephen Leatherland and I spent two weeks in Washington D.C. in June 2005, where we met several people who knew Eva Cassidy. In America, virtually no one had any idea of the status she had achieved as an artist in Europe. We visited the most important places in Eva’s life to shoot film and photo material to be shown on the back screen of the stage. Incidentally, we did not speak to Eva’s parents because of the impossible demands they made. Chris Biondo came to see our show at The Hayes Theatre in London. Since its inception, the musical has been touring the country twice a year.

Author Brian Langtry

Brian Langtry calls it sadly ironic that the spiritually minded Eva, who had no interest in fame and money, has posthumously become entangled in the web of greed. ‘Her family has become embroiled in a never-ending series of lawsuits, all of which are the result of their late daughter’s fame. It may be a blessing in disguise that Eva doesn’t have to go through all this.’

Johan Bakker, author Behind the Rainbow, the story of Eva Cassidy (Omnibus Press, London, New York)