Musical Journey Comes Full Circle

By Patty Kruszewski, Henrico Citizen Managing Editor 21.AUG.08
Down through the ages, the muses of ancient Greek mythology have been summoned by poets, musicians, and lyric writers in need of creative inspiration, and have long been known to work their magic in odd and mysterious ways.

In 1980, one such muse apparently wandered, unsolicited, into a London, England establishment and visited Roger Penycate.

Then a resident of the Borough of Richmond in London, Penycate had just discovered a new country rock band called MealTicket. “Their style [was] not at all in vogue in England at the time,” recalls Penycate.

Inspired by a teenage encounter with a young Native American girl, composer-lyricist Rick Jones based many of the band’s songs on folk tales and stories of both the old and modern West. Frequently, lyrics were woven around a theme of the passing of traditional ways, or the clash between old and new, Native and European cultures.

Penycate liked the band’s songs so much that, before long, he was toying with the idea of making them into a musical.

For the next two decades, as Penycate developed the mobile casino business in Europe, then traveled the globe with an Irish dance company, the musical slowly took shape in his head. “I was forever scribbling ideas and scenarios on bits of paper,” he says.

If They Can Do It. . .
Still “nurturing the notion” of a musical, Penycate married an American woman in 2001 and moved to the States. While working at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, Md., he produced the highly successful musical “Pump Boys and Dinettes” for a local theater.

“With all due respect [for Pump Boys],” says Penycate, “I felt the songs of Rick Jones and [fellow songwriter] Dave Pierce were far stronger and had a more powerful story to tell.”

Pulling out his 20 years of notes, he began searching for Rick Jones. “I Googled about and found him living in San Francisco and still active in the music world,” Penycate says. “He warmed to the idea of re-kindling the MealTicket stuff.”

After four years of collaboration, Penycate and Jones have a finished (if not fine-tuned) product entitled “Laughing Daughter,” and plan to hold readings as early as next month in Richmond.

That’s Richmond, Va.

‘“We Did it Backwards’
Last year, after settling in the Dumbarton area of Henrico, Penycate began shopping his proposal for a musical around to local producers. In Vickie Scallion, founder and director of the HATTheatre, he found a supporter.

“Vickie listened to the music and liked it. Then she said, ‘Okay, where’s the script?’” recalls Penycate with a chuckle.

“We had a concert but no script; we did it backwards,” he says of his earlier effort with Jones. “We had to write the story around the songs, [but] Vickie helped us tweak it.”

Since then, Penycate and Scallion have been exploring the potential of various local theaters as venues, and tying up loose ends. The script has generated interest in states as far away as Connecticut, and Penycate hopes that by videotaping the eventual production – which may take place as part of a charity gala – he will have a product to shop around to promoters.

“It’s all about creating a buzz, word of mouth, and opening doors,” he says.

Meant to Be
Because a central character in “Laughing Daughter” is a Native American girl, and the opening scene takes place on a reservation, Penycate has consulted with the Virginia Council on Indians. He hopes not only for approval, but for input and even participation from authentic Indian dancers.

“We’re not trying to make a political statement here,” he says, “but it’s very sympathetic to Indians.”

In the meantime, as he waits for the last pieces of his 30-year dream to fall into place, Penycate likes to muse on the twists in the road that brought him from England to Virginia to launch a musical.

He is fond of saying that he began his career in the entertainment industry at age 18 as a “redcoat” or resort host “despite being talentless as an entertainer-performer.”

His resume since has included stints at casinos in Spain and a job as croupier at the London Playboy Club.

Years later, as producer and tour manager for an Irish dance troupe, he enjoyed the opportunity of seeing his dancers perform in Denmark, Belgium, India, and – the ultimate – for Her Majesty the Queen’s household at Windsor Castle.

Through it all, the music and threads of the “Laughing Daughter” idea have persisted. The many coincidences that have driven him on (the two Richmonds; tracking down Jones; the Indian connection) all point, Penycate believes, to a project that was meant to be.

Now the operations manager for a special events company, Penycate notes that Alfred Hitchcock once said the novel “Les Miserables” would make a great musical.

“And look what happened to that!” Penycate exclaims, eyes alight.

“All of a sudden I’ve got stars in my eyes; I can see the potential,” says Penycate of his long-slumbering idea for a musical.

“And it only took 30 years!”

To join an email list or receive updates on the status of “Laughing Daughter,” contact Roger Penycate at rogerpenycate@hotmail.com.

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