Ruling Passion – A Musical Comedy About Richard III
Book & Lyrics by Deborah Osment Ryan
Music by Dennis Chandler
Deborah and Dennis met back in the early ’80s after Dennis expressed, to his long-time mentor, dear friend and second father, B.B., that he wanted to compose music for the stage. The blues legend said he knew the perfect person to introduce him to: Detroit entertainment critic and reporter Deborah Osment Ryan. “Timing seems right for you two creative-types to finally meet”, was the way B.B. put it. So they did. It happened when Dennis and his wife Liz were “running on the road” with him, (as B.B. calls the way family and friends have to catch up with him while he’s working on tour). This was when B.B. was becoming more and more popular,and thus one of his Motor City gigs was for two weeks in one place. There the foursome got to spend some quality time together (and in a quality place, too, for it was the then-new Dearborn Town Center Hyatt Regency). B.B., who admittedly loves to oftentimes play “Mother Hen” with such close friends, managed to steer the two creative-types to many a late-night coffee klatch (held in B.B.’s suite after his performances). In addition, Deborah-the-music-reporter managed to get other blues legends to come ’round for conversations of the musical kind. (Read: jam sessions) It was during those two wonderful weeks at the Hyatt that Deborah and Dennis spoke of collaborating on a couple of future projects. One such project discussed was her idea of A Musical Comedy about Richard III. That idea appealed to the Composer-in-Chandler. She said she would get back to Dennis after she wrote the book and lyrics so that he could write the music.
A few years later, Deborah did send Dennis the book and lyrics for him to begin the music. Then in 1987 Dennis was struck down by cancer. After his incredible battle (and his near-death experience “Go back, my son, it is not yet your time. Your calling is on Earth!”), he completed the score. For Dennis, this play’s music is particularly meaningful and seemed fittingly titled “Ruling Passion”, for he began the music before he began the treatments for leukemia. Rounds of ravaging chemotherapy left him listless physically but not mentally. Desire to write the-music-in-his-mind gave Dennis a much-needed positive focus.
For Deborah, the play took on a less favorable focus. To explain, after she moved from Detroit to L.A. (reasoning that more opportunity might come her way to do creative writing), she set what should have been for her, easily attainable goals: Become a screenwriter, make movies that make money so plays could be mounted. (Not just her own plays but those of other writers, too.) Her dream lost its luster when one of her sons, David Ryan was killed tragically in an accident caused by a drunken driver (on a Hollywood freeway).
Thus, bittersweet were the rewards of a successful first reading of the play. It was held in 1990 before an audience of Shakespearean actors at The American Center for Music Theatre. Deborah called Dennis from L.A. to inform her then-convalescing collaborator that “the music was overwhelmingly received!” “Incredible music, who is this composer?, to quote the lamented, late Norm Maybaum, (then considered the premiere theatre figure and power behind the famed Westwood Theatre). They were told the next move in mounting the play would be a matter of money. That is, a budget big enough to buy lots of stage armour and horses, too.
Needless to say, for Dennis it was good news while at the same time frustrating news. It’s been a long, long “coming out of the woods”, so to speak. Maybe the time is right to find the right angels and this ”Ruling Passion” will live on.