Darius de Haas as Billy Strayhorn - photo by Michael Henninger

This fall in Pittsburgh - the legacy of jazz is very present - and pointing to a bright future. Downtown Penn Avenue might be appropriately named “Jazz Avenue” with the newly renovated Lounge at the Greer Cabaret welcoming Jazz each Tuesday in the greatly expanded, renovated space - Con Alma continuing with local and touring jazz artists on stage 7 days a week - and the world premier of Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For at the O’Rielly Theater. Even the Benedum is in on it - as its legacy as the Stanley Theater has a notable place in the new Strayhorn musical play.

The world premiere of Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For has opened at the O’Reilly Theater - produced and presented by the Pittsburgh Public Theater on Penn Avenue, downtown. The time and place of this event is fitting for where Pittsburgh, culture in general and jazz in particular find the present and future.

In a decade-long process of creation, this musical play, which Director Kent Gash calls an “Impressionistic musical portrait" of Billy Strayhorn’s life, pulls together more than 30 years of joy, tumult and creativity from the life of the Pittsburgh native and Westinghouse High School legend. The book for the show, written by another Pittsburgh creative icon, Rob Zellers along with Kent Gash, has magic threaded into the historic narrative. The music is almost entirely from the Strayhorn catalog – but much of it is music many haven never heard before.

Matthew Whitaker - photo by Michael Henninger 2023

This is far from the first time that Billy Strayhorn has been examined and championed - but there have been veils covering the public perception of Strayhorn’s art and life that were constrained by time, place, media and marketing. In creating a show entirely from the music written or co-authored by Billy Strayhorn, the producers and the cast have created something that is not just an artifact of American musical and cultural history, but the play also has a contemporary feel that could and should succeed far beyond the comforting embrace of Pittsburgh natives.

I’m reminded of a nationally distributed radio program on Billy Strayhorn that we produced for WDUQ in Pittsburgh years ago, heard on many NPR stations back in the 1990’s. Just lifting awareness of his Pittsburgh-rooted story of his music and importance was a major goal. To promote that radio show, we had to airbrush photos to take the ever-present cigarettes from his hands - and take out the glasses filled with presumably alcoholic beverages, keeping the focus on his music and creativity.

Fast forward about 25 years - the musical play “Something to Live For” is not shy about sharing the drink and smoke, and personal life of the star of the show.

Billy Strayhorn’s music is front and center. Lesser-known compositions with sensitive lyrics and unusual harmonies thread through with the popular hits like “Daydream,” “Satin Doll.” “Lush Life” and “Take the A Train.”

There are even tunes from Billy’s full-length musical he wrote as a teen at Westinghouse High School called “Fantastic Rhythm."

Musical director Matthew Whitaker has done a masterful job in maintaining forward momentum with what is a rich book of potential material - and what they undoubtedly left out could fill another show. Whitaker is onstage for the whole production, stage right, flanked by bassist Mark Eric Peterson, stage left. Otherwise, all of the very solid live music performers are hidden from view, behind walls and in other places - but very clearly, live and hooked in.

The cast is small and talented - just 9 on-stage performers sharing multiple roles to frame the decades from Billy as a youth in Homewood to his death in 1967.

Billy Strayhorn is portrayed by the Broadway star Darius de Haas - who in 2002 recorded a remarkable foreshadowing of this very production in a CD release Daydream (Variations on Strayhorn). de Haas has a phenomenal voice and range as an actor and a singer and a long list of credits to share. He is also the son of vocalist Geraldine (Bey) de Haas - one the two Bey Sisters - who worked along with their brother - pianist and vocalist Andy Bey. His father, the late bassist Eddie de Haas, who worked with many jazz legends over his long career.

Another standout of the very strong cast is Keziah John-Paul, who portrays Billy’s mother, Lillian and also Ellington Orchestra star vocalist Ivie Anderson.

Charl Brown plays Billy’s love interest Aaron Bridgers, who sings in a duet with Billy of the lovely and fairly recently discovered Strayhorn tune, “So This is Love,” and a solo on the under-performed song “Love Came.”

Watching a Broadway-bound show taking shape is not something everyone gets to see or experience. This is not a historic documentation, but a creative exploration of the live and music of Billy Strayhorn. At the O’Reilly theater, through October 11th, Pittsburghers have that opportunity in Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, and also ponder the music that was Strayhorn’s life that is now abundantly around, here, from whence he came.

We hope there’s a cast album to share, someday!

Scott Hanley, WZUM, September 28, 2023

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