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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This album of songs from the new musical "The Fourth Messenger" stars Vienna Teng as Mama Sid, a world-renowned spiritual teacher with a hidden past. Loosely inspired by the Buddha legend, this contemporary re-imagining poses the question of whether and how it's possible to be both enlightened and flawed.

    This pre-order package includes a physical CD and a digital download, to be released November 7, 2015.

    Music by Vienna Teng, lyrics by Tanya Shaffer and Vienna Teng, directed by Matt August, orchestrated/music directed by Ryan O'Connell.

    "An absolute delight." - SF Chronicle • "Profound and profane, combative and compassionate… Teng’s complex harmonies and inspired melodies stick with you long after the curtain goes down." - Art Animal • "Hugely ambitious and refreshingly original…Teng is a fresh and exciting new theatrical talent with a distinctive voice of her own…" - Huffington Post • "Masterful and compelling…both timeless and contemporary." - Stage and Cinema

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Fourth Messenger, featuring Vienna Teng via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 7 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • What if the Buddha were a woman, living in our times? In this captivating new musical, Mama Sid is a modern-day “awakened one” with a worldwide following. But a determined young woman seeks to unearth Mama Sid’s mysterious past, exposing long-held secrets that could change everything. Epic and intimate, comic and profound, The Fourth Messenger investigates what it means to be both enlightened and human. Book and lyrics by Tanya Shaffer, music and additional lyrics by Vienna Teng. Script includes all lyrics and text, not musical score.

    This is a digital pre-order. The PDF will be released on November 7, in conjunction with The Fourth Messenger album featuring Viena Teng.

    “An exciting and ambitious project, driven by Teng's eclectic score, Shaffer's inspired rewrites of the Buddha story, and their punchy, provocative lyrics… An absolute delight.” - San Francisco Chronicle • “Intelligent and skillfully crafted…hugely ambitious and refreshingly original... Shaffer's musical has the audience emotionally involved and on the edge of their seats.” - The Huffington Post • “A satisfying and remarkably entertaining new musical that takes on spiritual life with wit and emotional resonance…” - KQED/NPR • “Beautiful...A triumph… Shaffer’s book brims with intelligence and wit… ” - Theater Dogs • “Masterful and compelling...both timeless and contemporary…” - Stage and Cinema
    ... more

      $5 USD or more 

     

about

Spiritual teacher Mama Sid and her followers sing about actions and their consequences. Journalist Raina sings of her personal desire to discredit Mama Sid.

lyrics

SID
Every choice that we make
is a pebble in a lake,
spreading ripples beyond our sight.
Every choice that we make
impresses its shape
on a galaxy of lives.

ENSEMBLE (OFFSTAGE)
Every choice that we make
is a pebble in a lake,
spreading ripples beyond our sight.
With every step that we take
let the choices we make
bring us closer to the light.

(Spot focuses sharply on RAINA.)

RAINA
Every false move she’s made,
every trust that she’s betrayed,
left a wound that will never heal.
Though she may think she’s safe,
got away without a trace,
one day all will be revealed.

The past isn't gone,
its ghosts gather round,
they live and they breathe,
they hunger for answers.
The moment has come
to call you to account.

And I will make my name;
my breakout story will be your shame.
For the truth will, the truth must come out

credits

from The Fourth Messenger, featuring Vienna Teng, released November 10, 2015
Music by Vienna Teng
Lyrics by Tanya Shaffer and Vienna Teng
Directed by Matt August
Music Directed and Orchestrated by Ryan O'Connell

SID: Vienna Teng
RAINA: Cailan Rose
ENSEMBLE: Chris Aceves, Barnaby James, Maria Mikheyenko, Annemaria Rajala, Leandra Ramm, Ashley Simms

Piano and keyboards: Ryan O'Connell
Violin: Anthony Blea
Cello: Freya Seeburger
Drums: Ken Bergmann

Produced by Brad Dollar

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about

The Fourth Messenger Berkeley, California

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