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.
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$15USDor 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
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about
Young journalist Raina attempts to persuade her editor, Sam, that she is the one who should research and write the exposé of spiritual teacher Mama Sid.
lyrics
RAINA
This story
It's got my name on it
There's no one else can do it right
I brought this
I’ve got a claim on it
I’m getting on that arctic flight
Good yogi I'll be
She'll gain trust in me
Then I'll strike
SAM
You know something about this lady?
RAINA
I know something
About hypocrisy
I know a lot about denial
I know something
About committing crimes
And never standing trial
One glance in her eyes
Unveils her disguise, and I know
This story is mine
I am all over it
There's no one else can do it justice
This story is mine
Sometimes you feel it so deep
You just have to trust it
So give up, give in, give me the green light
This is the story I was born to write.
(SAM looks at her for a long moment. Something in her passion persuades him. He sighs.)
SAM
Okay.
RAINA
Yes! (Kisses him passionately.)
SAM
Just land it, okay? We wouldn’t want anyone to think I was playing favorites.
(SAM exits.)
RAINA
Just like that
In a single breath
Your entire life can change
A heartbeat stopped
A tether dropped
The whole world rearranged
There’s truth to be told
And nothing to hold
Me back now
'Cause I know something
About duplicity
And something about loss
I know something
About blind ambition
And a lot about its cost
And oh, do I know anger
It’s my old and trusty friend
Now it's time for me to learn
Something about revenge
This story
This story
This story is mine
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
SAM: Noel Anthony Escobar
RAINA: Cailan Rose
Piano and keyboards: Ryan O'Connell
Violin: Anthony Blea
Cello: Freya Seeburger
Drums: Ken Bergmann
supported by 37 fans who also own “This Story is Mine”
Ich werde nie den Moment vergessen, wie ich in Schwerin in einem Media-Markt das Album Warm Strangers bei den Reinhör-Stationen gesehen habe. Scheinbar hatte jamnd anders sich die CD zuvor reingezogen und dort liegen lassen. Das Cover hat mich angesprochen und ich hab die CD sofort in einen der CD-Spieler getan. Ich war hin und weg und knapp bei Kasse, und hab trotzdem die CD sofort gekauft. Vielen Dank, Vienna, für diese wunderschöne Erinnerung. mpfau
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