The album begins by inviting the listener to “try to catch our eye, show something that we haven’t seen.” A somewhat meta and daring opening line for a concept album by young composer Matt Dahan. Dahan’s rise comes from the LA based theater group StarKid Productions, mostly famous for parody/meme musicals. This albums deviates from StarKid’s formula and introduces some original and enticing melodies surrounding the story of Theo and Vincent van Gogh and their “journey together to find the power of expression.”

After a Dahan takes us into flight with A New Horizon. Continuing with the piano driven pop/rock melodies, A New Horizon speaks of hopefulness and creative agency. By now, just by listening to a couple tracks from the album, I assume Dahan was, in a good way, inspired by the likes of Pasek and Paul, Larson, Schwartz, and Miranda…

Not all songs are strict duets/solos or ensemble numbers. Dahan and lyricist D’Angelo occasionally takes a conversational approach to the verses, much like Rent’s melodic phrasing during sung dialogue. The Sower incorporate various melodies and phrases overlapping themselves through a series of somewhat unexpected chords. Much like Jekyll and Hyde’s Your Work Nothing More or Rent’s Christmas Bells, you can listen to this song over and over again and hear something new each time. It’s wonderful and the last line “and everyone knows you reap what you sow” comes across more emotionally poignant than cliché. This track is my personal favorite from this concept album.

The album allows the listener plenty of time for emotional introspection. Dahan and D’Angelo’s score speaks wildly in favor of creating our own present, and supporting creative freedoms. Amidst the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a cultural war in the USA, we are faced with universal uncertainty and fear. The power of creative expression is of upmost importance right now, and we owe it to ourselves to give the gift of creative expression and storytelling to generations to come.

But of course, as most theatres are currently dark, most production of new shows is currently halted. But I definitely have hope that Starry will be picked up by producers and treated to, at very least, an Pre-Broadway trial run.

The show ends tragically and tells us:
“The answer’s in the sky,
“the sight of the starry night makes me free”