‘Alamo’ musical at Jacobs

After 25 years and constant encouragement from his wife and kids, Tim Noble, distinguished professor of voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, finally completed the music, lyrics and his overall vision for the musical “Alamo.” 

With a book and script written by Eric Holmes, son of one of Noble’s friends since childhood, and musical arrangements by conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, the musical received its first public reading Saturday evening in Auer Hall. The time and place of when the musical will debut is unknown.

A combination of Noble’s love for country western music, history, the West and Texas led to the idea. He said he began thinking about the Alamo and noticed a lack of music about it.

“I’ve been to the Alamo several times,” Noble said. “It’s one of those places where if you don’t feel anything, there’s something wrong with you.”

He compared it to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

The action takes place in and around San Antonio in 1836 and 1881.

As one of the two Anglo-Texan survivors of the 13-day siege, Susannah Dickinson recounts her experiences leading up to, during and following the battle to a reporter who seeks the truth behind the events.

“It’s definitely one of the best scores I’ve heard in a long time, and with the right producer and director it could be on Broadway,” Holmes said. “It has a lot to say, and it’s relevant to where we are in society.”

Universal themes, such as undying love, truth versus myth, racism, heroism and the American Dream resonate through the mix of toe-tapping tunes and soft ballads.

“This is the first time I’ve heard some of my songs, and it’s exciting,” Noble said. “It’s incredible. I walked by a practice room the other day and heard someone playing some of my music. How can you be objective? I don’t know if it’s good, but I’ve enjoyed watching everything evolve.”

He said it has certainly been a different experience sitting back and conducting rather than performing on stage, which is what he is accustomed to.

“You’re going to walk out humming one of the melodies, and that’s the essence of a really great show,” he added.

Noble said he chose Holmes for the project because he has seen Holmes’ hard work and dedication throughout the years.

“I could have gone to New York for someone but I would have never gotten the commitment and love I get from him,” Noble said. “He’s written one hell of a book. I would be very happy for him if it was a huge success. He has been like a son to me, and he works his rear end off.”

Holmes graduated from IU in 2005 with a theater and drama degree.

When Noble asked him to be the writer for the project, he almost refused.

“I thought I could only write comedies, but I did the research, fell in love with the story and just had to write it,” Holmes said.

He admitted he owns about 20 hours of documentaries and has watched every History Channel special on the Alamo to prepare himself.

“You tend to forget history and write as if they are actual characters,” Holmes said. “It’s almost like you’re basing them off family members or friends. That was the key because as historic figures, the play was boring. But once they became as screwed up as the rest of us it became exciting to watch.”

It was a challenge to get in the same mindset as Noble, he said.

Using a film technique in which the sequences are mostly Susannah’s flashbacks was a difficult concept for Holmes to grasp, especially because it is rarely done in musical theater.

“It took me years to figure out how that works,” Holmes said. “Things began to connect, and the show became about what is truth and the American need to rewrite its history. We always paint ourselves better than we actually are.”

Working with Noble has been the best part of the experience, he said.

“He is the best collaborative writer I’ve ever had,” Holmes continued. “It’s been really fun to write something I thought was out of my element.”

After Noble asked some of his students to be a part of the musical, he held public
auditions.

With the project near completion, Noble proposed the idea to Dean Gwyn Richards, who agreed to fund the musical and its production at the Jacobs School of Music.

“There is no place in this country that makes things so easy to create and has the quality facilities,” Noble said. “I don’t know where else I could go to find this kind of talent for this show. It’s really wonderful. I’m a lucky man.”

Ayron Hyatt, who plays Almeron Dickinson, studied with Noble during his time at Jacobs.

“His passion is the reason this came together so quickly and tightly,” Hyatt said. “It’s incredible how fast it went from the point where we hadn’t seen the script or learned the music to where lines were memorized and we had actual characters.”

He said the music is unlike that of other shows and recreates the older, classic style of Broadway.

Rachel Milligan, who plays Sue Dickinson of 1836, said Noble began casting roles in the late fall to early winter and asked her to participate.

“We didn’t know a lot about it or what we were getting ourselves into, but it turned out to be something pretty amazing,” she said. “I think it’s something that can touch a lot of peoples’ hearts. It’s about truth, love, finding our own self and coming to terms with things in our lives. It’s relatable and can definitely turn into a more colorful piece of work.”