Summary Of The Musical 'My Idea Of Life'

Far Away From This and I Can Love You are songs performed by our musicals protagonist, Harper Atkins, in our original musical My Idea of Life. We meet her at eighteen as she is preparing to leave foster care. She has lived an unsatisfying, isolated life and has long dreamt of escaping to a faraway place; we watch as Harper navigates the challenges (and joys) of adulthood. Throughout the musical Harper realises that her idea of life is a romanticised, inaccurate version of reality yet finds inner strength to persevere through heartbreak and financial struggles. By the time the final number occurs Harper has found happiness in her career as an Art teacher and in her relationship with museum curator, Cassie. For both FAFT and ICLY she sings alone, directing her thoughts and feelings simply outwards rather than aiming it towards anyone. This allows our audience to discover more about our character and shows that these songs are about self-discovery and acknowledging that confusion

2008:250) FAFT (an I want song) straightaway achieves a powerful reaction from the audience as we become saddened by Harper's current state of life and their deep desire to escape. Their longing for simple things, such as dancing in the rain, shows the characters romanticised view on life. ICLY (an I am song) quickly establishes many character traits and their clarity in who they now are but also transitions into what could be seen as a romantic gesture. The slow realisation that love is not something to be feared, as she has been taught, but instead something to be celebrated and cherished grips the sentimental nature within us all and we wish for this relationship to work out almost as much as she realises she