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In fact, the score was written by David Shire, who has written the song that I’m singing for Loving the Silent Tears. So I’m thrilled to be doing something of his, because I adore him, and he’s an incredible composer.” For five years she starred as Grizabella in Cats, and was featured in the original casts of Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers, and The Look of Love. She was awarded an Emmy Award for hosting Ready to Go, a live daily children’s program on CBS in Boston. Ms. Callaway has established a stellar career as a concert and recording artist, and worked with acclaimed artists Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder. Having released four solo albums, Ms. Callaway is also a singing voice for many animated movies, such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, The Return of Jafar, Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, and Anastasia, which received an Academy Award nomination for the song she sang, “Journey to the Past.”
In 2010, at Supreme Master Television’s 4th anniversary concert, Gifting Peace, Liz Callaway mesmerized the audience with her rendition of “Dream in the Night,” based on Supreme Master Ching Hai’s poem and with music by 2-time Oscar winner Al Kasha. After Al Kasha was inspired to create a musical based on the poetry collection Silent Tears by Supreme Master Ching Hai, the opportunity arose for Ms. Callaway to be a part of it. She said, “The reason I’m doing this is I had a really nice time doing the TV special. I’m impressed about a lot of things. It’s a huge production. The pedigree of talent. Everyone coming together in the spirit of community and this message. In addition to people’s great talent, I think that everyone seems like a very special soul. People aren’t here just because they can sing. I think there is something more. I think it’s their spirit.” Speaking of the new musical’s through line, she explained, “It’s about the inner search for peace. And I read the script, it’s about an older woman and this young man who are on this train, and both of them are lost souls. And I don’t even know if they know that they’re searching for something, but I guess that’s what we’re all doing, trying to be the best that we can be and find inner peace and understanding.” With her having an upcoming tour that will take her Down Under, it seems most serendipitous for Ms. Callaway to have represented Australia in her role in Loving the Silent Tears. “I love Australia, and I’m actually going there in January, so it’s meant to be that I’m doing this,” she recounted. “I was there three years ago and I sent a message to a girl friend of mine in Melbourne. I sent her the lyrics and I said, ‘Can you do me a favor, can you speak it for me with your accent?’” The name of Ms. Callaway’s solo song was “Monkey Mind.” Through the use of the set, costume, and dancers, the audience was transported to another continent while Ms. Callaway conveyed her interpretation of it. She shared prior to the show, “It is someone trying to come to peace, and wants to be at peace. It’s beautiful poetry and great music, it’s very fun. They tell me that the dancers are going to be doing free-form things behind me. There’s the didg’ [didgeridoo] in the song. The scene will be of me on the Outback and [the costume] is very Australian but with a little bling (flashy jewelry), just because we are going to be at the Shrine Auditorium.” The show gave Ms. Callaway the opportunity to musically reunite with Academy and 2-time Grammy Award-winning composer David Shire. She enthused, “He has really captured the essence, I think, of Australia. The music is very joyful, and it’s very uplifting and exciting.” Regarding Supreme Master Ching Hai’s poetry, Ms. Callaway expressed, “As someone who has never written, I admire people who write. The poetry is beautiful. Everything is very inspiring, and in particular, I think, it’s someone coming to terms and being inspired to be a better person and to be a better human being in the world. I travel a lot internationally but just to have everyone in one room from different cultures and different experiences, but all sharing a love of music, and the message of this piece, it was very nice. It was very special.” It was indeed a very special and memorable event with
the vocal contribution of Ms. Callaway and the all-star cast conveying
the yearning of humanity for a Higher Power as expressed in Supreme
Master Ching Hai’s profound poetry.
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