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Laying Down Tracks and Moving the Dream Forward: Compassion & Choices Helps Produce "Goodbye New York" Album
The touching musical "Goodbye New York," about a terminally ill woman pursuing medical aid in dying, is now being recorded as an original cast album to bring the project to new audiences.
Aug 18, 2021
Ten years ago, Andrew Beall and Evan McCormack met by chance in a New York City wine shop, and suddenly a new composer and lyricist collaboration was born. Both had dreams of making it big on Broadway, and together they began work on a new musical called Goodbye New York. The story follows two young people, Olivia and Will, who knew each other long ago and meet by chance for a single magical day of romance, a beautiful moment in the city that the composer and lyricist had come to love. With the help of playwright David Don Miller, they had outlined much of the musical in October 2014, when they read about Brittany Maynard in the Washington Post, a month before her death. Evan and Andrew were profoundly moved by Brittany’s story. “I don’t know if I would have supported medical aid in dying earlier in my life,” Evan offered. “But now that I understand what it is all about, I can’t imagine not supporting this option. It is such a personal decision.” The two men were inspired enough to revise Goodbye New York to include an ending related to medical aid in dying. They also signed up for more information on our website and began receiving our monthly e-newsletter. Last year, Andrew and Evan wrote the song This Is Your Show for Compassion & Choices, which was performed by Carmen Ruby Floyd and the Harlem Gospel Choir. This year, Evan and Andrew launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the recording of an original cast album of Goodbye New York. Compassion & Choices became one of the album’s executive producers, sharing in the responsibility to nurture this project and providing expert technical advice on script details. Once completed, the album will be released in early 2022 and “shopped around” to producers on Broadway and London’s West End, as the culmination of their dream of bringing the show to the stage. On Monday, August 2, Compassion & Choices President and CEO Kim Callinan sat in on one of the album’s recording sessions and talked about why Compassion & Choices became involved with this remarkable project. “Through art, we can reach and connect with people in powerful ways. We can help people understand and interpret the human experience, shine a light on an injustice that needs to be addressed, and ultimately inspire reform.” A video camera was on hand to capture the behind-the-scenes action, which will be shared in a special exclusive “sneak peek” video screening at our signature event on October 6. Stay tuned for more details ahead as Evan, Andrew and Compassion & Choices move the dream forward.