John Dietrich
I, ME, A BEAUTIFUL MAN, ALONE
THE NUREYEV PROJECT
Book & Lyrics by John Dietrich
Music by Will Buck
June 16th, 1961, Russian ballet star Rudolf Nureyev sits on the cold tiled floor of Le Bourget Airport in Paris. Moments earlier he was told that the premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev “wants to see you dance,” so you must return to Moscow, instead of continuing on to London with the Kirov company. So, he sits, shocked by the news and its obvious implications. His behavior has been rebellious; he has made his opinions about the oppressive soviet system known and his intrigue with the West apparent. He has never held back from speaking his mind, from speaking the truth, his truth. So would this be his punishment? If he went back, would he ever be allowed out again?
The world had become a landscape of suspicion, bristling in the anxiety of the Cold War and his act would be considered unthinkable, the first Russian artist to defect. A stunning blow to Soviet propaganda and doubtless persecution for those he was associated with and had left behind. Was this betrayal? Would anyone ever understand? Understand the power of passion?Some friends he had made while in Paris have alerted Airport security of the situation, and six steps away stand two undercover airport immigration police. Just six steps, followed by the words “I want to stay and be free.” Six, five, four, three, two, one – and the world went crazy for Rudolf.
I, ME, A BEAUTIFUL MAN, ALONE – THE NUREYEV PROJECT is a fresh, new artistic work that celebrates the ambition of one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time: his rise from a childhood of severe poverty in Siberia to becoming a pop culture sensation and sex symbol when instantaneously thrust onto the world stage during the turbulent 1960’s.
It was Nureyev’s magnetic allure (to both sexes) that made him omnipotent. He didn’t walk onto the stage. He strutted with the air of a prince and a prowler, the pride in his own beauty offset by a knowing humor. He owned his audience before he even started dancing. Energy made flesh, he brought sex to ballet like no one had before — or has since. In doing so he brought the classical art form, to which he indentured himself, an audience of millions who might otherwise not have been interested. And he had been warned, the West is decadent, it will corrupt you.
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
I, ME, A BEAUTIFUL MAN, ALONE – THE NUREYEV PROJECT is in the midst of its early developmental process. Several closed readings have been conducted in New York for strictly artistic exploration and a set of initial demo recordings have been completed.
FEATURED PERFORMERS
Travis Kent, Patty Nieman, Amy Justman, Casey Erin Clark, Jason Pintar, Maxwell Carmel, Greg Maheu, Sean Doherty, Gabe Taylor, Allen MacLeod, Carly Kincannon, Sam Stoll, Jane Bernhard
