Artist Close Up: Laura Nyro – One of the Most Influential Songwriters You have Never Heard
Laura Nyro is an odd legend to singers and song-writers. To some she is like a celestial being having written Barbra Streisand’s “Stoney End” and The 5th Dimension’s “Wedding Bell Blues.” To others, she is a complete unknown. A singer, herself, Nyro’s albums Eli and The Thirteenth Confession, New York Tendaberry, and Gonna Take A Miracle, are classic albums that have been successfully remastered for her “cult-like” following. To those that have heard her voice, it is one of sweet sadness. She is vocally vulnerable and writes lyrics that could easily be placed in the best poetry books. Hence, National Sawdust+ honored her with a rousing tribute.
National Sawdust+ is rising in its Brooklyn presence by bringing cultural icons to discuss the meaning of their art. What was special about this discussion was that it was about the meaning of someone else’s art upon us all. Nyro was a woman and artist that lived with her heart open to every beautiful and ugly emotion. It was that openness that attracted some of Broadway’s finest to sing her songs and tell their relationships with her music. The night was hosted by acclaimed director Michael Mayer, whom began the event by sharing his love for Nyro and the power her music has over him. Lena Hall performed an epic rendition of Nyro’s Eli’s Comin‘ that left everyone in awe of her voice. Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) and Stephen Trask (Hedwig and The Angry Inch) played their favorite Nyro songs that inspired their own musical writings. Novelist Michael Cunningham (The Hours) shared a heartwarming tale of how Nyro’s music influenced the course of his life. While singer/ poet Carl Hancock Rux plucked every heart string with his rendition of Nyro’s Poverty Train.
The night was a bittersweet one. It showed that the music one makes with their life can outlast their own. Nyro died almost 20 years ago, but seeing people be so moved by her songs, that they have decided to make their own music, exemplifies that her life was more meaningful than what she could have imagined. She cannot be missed because her spirit lives on in her songs.
