The Bard's Goodbye

Jeff Buckley is one of the most iconic rock figures of the past quarter-century. Following his drowning in 1997, the singer has amassed a huge cult following and become a subject of unending fascination. His album Grace is now regarded as one of the best documents of his, or anyone else’s, era.

The son of ’70s folkie Tim Buckley (likewise struck down in his prime), Buckley’s music has lived on in countless ways. It was Buckley who resurrected Leonard Cohen’s secular hymnal ‘Hallelujah’, and was arguably instrumental in revitalising Cohen’s career itself. A movie version of his life has been in the works for several years; countless autobiographies have tracked his remarkable career and tragic passing at the age of 30.
Now his music has been paired with, of all people, William Shakespeare, in an acclaimed musical retelling of Romeo And Juliet. Described by the Los Angeles Times as a ‘bittersweet pairing of two artists’, The Last Goodbye has been widely praised by American critics. Conceived and adapted by Michael Kimmel and directed by Alex Timbers (whose credits include the David Byrne/Fatboy Slim Imelda Marcos musical Here Lies Love), The Last Goodbye is showing at San Diego’s Globe Theatre, widely regarded as a proving ground for new works before they transition to Broadway. We spoke to Michael Kimmel about the challenges of bringing together Buckley’s songs and Shakespeare’s writing.

Where did the idea for The Last Goodbye come from?
I’ve been a Jeff fan forever. The notion really formed when I was directing a reading of Othello, which never actually happened, funnily enough. I remember being on my way to rehearsal. Jeff’s ‘Forget Her’ came on my iPod. It is a very personal song, which wasn’t originally on Grace. It struck me how his lyrics actually sounded like a conversation. I got home after rehearsals and opened a copy of Romeo and Juliet. It just worked so well. It sort of became a dare: could I make Jeff Buckley’s music fit Romeo and Juliet? In fact, it fit so well it was scary.
At the beginning of the process you sat down with Mary Guibert, Jeff’s mother...
She was sceptical to say the least. She was like, “emmmm okkkk’.. (laughs). As custodian of Jeff’s estate, she is very protective. She was the one who raised Jeff. He didn’t grow up out of a vacuum. Mary had a big hand in who Jeff was as a person. You read things about her being a really strong presence. Well, she is. I have seen her turn down the use of his music in commercials that would bring the estate a lot of money. And yet she freely gives away his music to a project that she thinks Jeff would have loved.
Despite her initial misgivings, you eventually won her around.
In downtown New York we put on a special performance of what is now The Last Goodbye. Mary was in the audience. I had my friend manning an iPod in the sound booth. We proceeded to take her through a reading of Romeo and Juliet with Jeff’s music. She was blown away. We went to dinner to discuss it further and a few months later were presenting a concept version of what we thought the show should be. She signed off on it and has been a collaborator ever since.
What do you think Jeff would have made of the play? 
I don’t want to speak for Mary. However, she told me Jeff would have loved the idea of his music being used in something like Romeo and Juliet. It would have appealed to his artistic sensibilities. We got to talking about the moment where Juliet is deciding to take the poison. Originally we were using a song called ‘Lilac Wine’, which Jeff covered on Grace. Mary said we really needed to look at a song called ‘What Will You Say’, from the Mystery White Boy album. She added that, whenever she hears it, she is reminded of losing him. That had a profound impact on me – the way it touches so many complicated feelings that I couldn’t fathom. She was right by the way – it was one hundred times better in that moment.
How does Buckley’s music enrich and enhance Shakespeare? 
What’s interesting is that, while many people have not heard of Jeff Buckley, his fans love him like nothing else. They care about the story of how they came to his music. You hear things like, ‘I was in the middle of a break up and I heard Grace’. Or, ‘I heard ‘Last Goodbye’ and it gave a voice to what I was feeling at the time’. All that being said, I think it is hard to just ‘plug’ any music into a play. With any musical, the score has to further the character and the story. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, Jeff gives a voice to the ‘abyss’, to that feeling of being young and hurt – and not knowing the end of the pain. When you put that music in the character’s mouth, you see an intensity you may not have experienced previously.
An unauthorised Jeff Buckley movie is in production, which will not feature any of his music. Are you looking forward to it? 
As a fan I want to see a film about Jeff. However, I want to see it in the proper context. If you tell a story without referencing his body of work, something gets lost. I personally don’t understand how you can tell Jeff’s story without his music and without the approval of those closest to him. His mom has done such a wonderful job not only of protecting and growing his legacy but also of keeping in touch and sharing a bond with fans. Without the blessing of Jeff’s mom. I don’t want to see the movie.
Buckley is often portrayed as a doomed figure. Is this an accurate representation of the singer?
The media has a tendency to paint him as a very tragic. I met many people who knew him. What they all say is that he had a tremendous sense of humour. He was a really funny guy. Mary is very funny also. The fact that he died in terrible circumstances has tended to overshadow that. You can draw parallels with Romeo and Juliet. While there’s a tragic conclusion, there’s lot of humour in there. If you listen to [seminal Buckley concert record] Live At Sin-é and hear Jeff ramble off the cuff, it is clear that he is terribly funny.  
What do you think Jeff’s legacy is?
His music has touched so many people. I still listen to him constantly. If you are angry, sad or elated – he connects with you. He voices emotions you may not be able to articulate. Take his cover of ‘Hallelujah’. It is both the saddest version of that song and the most uplifting. As we know, emotional states are rarely a primary colour. You’re always experiencing a mix of feelings. You’re never just angry or just happy or just sad. His songs speak to those conflicting feelings within all of us.
Will The Last Goodbye make it to Broadway?
I don’t know. To have the show reach that big an audience would be a dream obviously. Our philosophy from the start has always been to not let ourselves look past the steps immediately in front of us. If people like it and we are lucky to get to the next step, well it would be fantastic. 
What about putting it on outside of the United States? Jeff Buckley was adored in Dublin. By all accounts he reciprocated the sentiment. I would jump through a lot of hoops to bring the show to Dublin. It’s easily my favourite city in Europe. To answer your question, when myself and Jeff’s mother started talking about the musical, one of the goals, alongside bringing Jeff to Shakespeare, was to take his music to as many people as possible. We have no concrete plans. However, we want it to be seen by the biggest conceivable audience.
On the subject of musicals, what was your opinion of Spiderman, the Broadway blockbuster with songs by Bono and The Edge?
U2 are one of the most successful bands in the world. Spiderman is obviously a popular cultural figure. Anytime you have two huge things like that coming together and it gets people to come and see live theatre... well, I think it’s wonderful.
If the opportunity presented itself would you collaborate with U2?
The U2 album that I think would lend itself best to theatre, and which personally means a lot to me, is Acthung Baby. I don’t have a [U2-related] show that I’m working on by the way. However, it’s a record I cherish.
 
The Last Goodbye runs at the Globe Theatre, San Diego until November 3 and will hopefully hit Europe in 2014