A FEW WORDS FROM GARY

THE TICKET was conceived while I was working as an administrative aide during a gubernatorial campaign. I traveled with the candidate for sixty-five days doing everything from driving the candidate to editing speeches. While on the campaign trail, I was surprised by the frenetic pace. However, I thought that the entire process would be more entertaining if the candidates would sing and the different political ideologies were represented by different styles of music. In the years since then, as the lines have blurred between politics and entertainment, THE TICKET has evolved to explore this dichotomy.

OVERVIEW

THE TICKET is the story of a four-way race for governor, in which candidates are distinguished not only by party ideology, but also by their personal integrity, campaign strategy, and the musical idiom in which they communicate.  Republican Diane Johnson is a political purebred from a respected family; Democrat Blake Sullivan is a sacrificial lamb, since everyone knows that Diane is going to win.  Independent Spider Brown is a baseball hero with an ax to grind; and Green Party candidate Justin Nelson is a stoner with a trust fund, passionate about his environmental causes, and deeply annoying to his family and the other candidates.  Humor, passion, betrayal, fear, compromise, and triumph mark the candidates debates, interaction with voters, the media and the back-room power brokers, and the final outcome of the election.

With a distinct musical style for each candidate, The Ticket’s musical sophistication amplifies the dramatic tension and emotional range of the script. Diane is a Broadway diva; Blake’s style is jazz; Spider’s is old-school funk: Justin’s is reggae. By layering and interweaving these styles, The Ticket’s music grows progressively richer and more complex as the story unfolds, pulling the audience into the emotional tension of the race. The Ticket transcends the sound bite and gets to the heart of the campaign from the perspective of those who live it.