hello everyone,
BK, I only knew of Toby and his stellar reputation, but never met him. I'm sorry to hear he is gone.
It's such an odd time right now with so many people going. I lost a friend this week as well, Kevin Traxler, who was a fan of my work, and hence was responsible for putting me in the center of a remarkably memorable experience some years back. It was during an earlier attempt to put INTO THE WOODS on film, and at the end of their development time, the producers and director wanted to have a second meeting with Billy Crystal about playing the Baker and he was interested. It took place at Craig Zadan's house.
At the meeting, two of us were to present a brand new duet between the Baker and his wife written specifically for the film called "Rainbows" (yes, I still have the music and the rehearsal tape). I will be interested to see if that song finds its way into the new film. Anyway, it was a fascinating experience since, once we presented the song twice and I answered Billy's questions about the top notes, the producers did not ask us to leave the meeting. We stayed happily, and it was a story in itself being there through those exchanges.
But yes, the man who entrusted me with that moment, left us this week at age 49. Completely unexpected.
It's a reminder for us all to tell those you cherish that you love them.
