“Left Behind:” the Living Legacy of Duncan Sheik

By Paloma Francisco Magaña

Since Spring Awakening debuted on Broadway and released its cast album in 2006, singer-songwriter turned musical theatre composer Duncan Sheik has continued to win hearts with his folk-rock score. Sheik passed away earlier this month at the age of 56, just months ahead of Spring Awakening’s 20th anniversary. During our first Sunday talkback of the Theatre Three run, a patron asked if the show felt different to perform the weekend immediately following Sheik’s passing, to which I responded — absolutely.

Although Spring Awakening has been a popular record in the musical theatre world for most of life, my first intimate encounter with Sheik’s music began this summer, as I learned and memorized seven selections on piano. My character, Georg, canonically plays a few pieces in the show (as he tries to woo his piano teacher), but I jumped at the opportunity to learn even more piano material for our production thanks to music director, Vicky Nooe.

I started learning piano in Vicky’s musical theatre musicianship class during my freshman year of college at UT Arlington. Just as my fingers had become accustomed to the shapes of all twelve major chords, though, I ventured off into exploring the work of singer-songwriters. Learning piano piece-by-piece, pop/rock composers became secondary music teachers, and before the next semester began, I had opened a production of Beautiful as Carole King. In the process, I not only learned King’s music on the piano, but also studied her life’s journey and was invited to consider (and embody) what it must have felt like to write her most iconic songs. This imagining would become a habit for me.

It was not long after this production of Beautiful that I began to explore songwriting on piano myself. Though I will likely never encounter the songwriters whose work have inspired much of my development as a musician and writer, I feel deeply connected to them. I cherish the sensory experience of pressing my fingers to piano keys in the same shapes and patterns that they once did. Their artistic voices continue to inform and inspire mine. Duncan Sheik’s heartfelt melodies explore themes of longing, grief, curiosity, love, and hope. His translation of these universal human experiences to music is unique to him, yet his score is intensely tender, powerful, and easy to connect with.

For many, what we leave behind after death are memories in the hearts of others, physical and digital effects, and the impact we’ve made on the world. Those who create art, though, leave behind pieces of their soul. In my view, the greatest honor we can bestow upon them posthumously is continuing to perform, watch, listen to, and cherish their work. Sheik’s legacy lives on in the artists and audiences who are touched by his work and choose to bring it to life. I am grateful to be one of them.