16 Lighthouse

8. Nov.

Teddynews 2023-16

My love is a lighthouse:
the most beautiful song, actually or ever…

“Only Murders in the Building,” Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) tries to resurrect a failed theatrical production by attempting the near-impossible: re-imagining a stage play as a hit musical. Never mind that the source material is a murder mystery in which the prime suspects are infants, or that the initial show shuttered when its leading man died opening night.

The plan to put on “Death Rattle Dazzle!” may be as absurd as the original play’s premise, but the episode offers spellbinding evidence that it just might work. After all, the ending of the aptly titled “Grab Your Hankies” — featuring powerful performances by Meryl Streep and Ashley Park — is liable to make you cry.

The stirring sequence sees Oliver gathered with his actors and producers in his living room. “In our experience, those presentations can be real make-or-break moments,” said musical theater veteran Benj Pasek, who co-wrote the in-show musical’s songs with Justin Paul and others. “The fate of your show rests upon whether people with resources want to invest time and money into your dream, and if you don’t pull it off, then years of work might all be for naught. The stakes are incredibly high; it really does feel like you’re singing for your supper.”

At the last minute, Oliver changes his mind about which song to present at the meeting. “I do have something for you, and I think it might hold the heart of the show,” he prefaces with sincerity. “Let me set the scene: It’s late at the Pickwick lighthouse. The triplets cry out in the night, their mother has died, but they’re not alone. For their nanny is there, looking after them.”

Streep’s sheepish journeywoman, Loretta Durkin, then performs “Look for the Light,” which starts off as a comforting lullaby and grows into a vow of steadfast guardianship. “I will wait at the shore for you / I will weather each storm / Standing by ‘til safe you return from the night,” she sings. “My love is a lighthouse / So darling, my darling, look for the light.”