songs-out

LOUIS STEVEN SANTORA COMPOSER/LYRICIST/WRITER

SONG: I’LL NEVER GO BACK TO NOT LOVING YOU

The vocals are performed by DONNA GROOM who is a member of the SKYLINERS group. Guitar overdubs are provided by BUDDY HALL.

SONG: SUN AND WIND

In SUN AND WIND the singers discover a deep connection like that of the sun and wind. At the same time they hope the future will bring them together again. The duet is performed by musical theater talent Nathan Salstone and Kristiann Menotiades.

SONG: THE WORDS YOU SAY

THE WORDS YOU SAY is performed by CAROLINE NICOLIAN. The singer wants to believe that the words she is hearing from another are true. The guitar solo is performed by STEVE DUDAS.

SONG: THE LOVE INSIDE

The singers in this duet find a deep connection in a faraway land. They discover that they are the same inside even though they are a world apart. Vocal performances were recorded in Pittsburgh and New York City by CAROLINE NICOLIAN and ANDERSON DAVIS.

SONG: YOU’RE A PART OF ME

I was fortunate to have several extraordinary vocalists perform many of the songs from Guilin, A China Story. One of the original songs written for the show, “You’re A Part of Me,” is performed by Broadway star, KARA LINDSAY.

KARA performed the role Glinda in the Broadway company and national tour of Wicked. “She appeared in the original Broadway company of Newsies as Katherine; a performance which was captured for Disney & Fathom Events on the stage of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. She also appeared in the Broadway company of Beautiful as Cynthia Weil and in the national tour and Guthrie Theatre productions of Little House on the Prairie as Laura.” reference: Broadway World

ABOUT THE MUSICAL GUILIN, A CHINA STORY, AND LOUIS STEVEN SANTORA

Guilin is the name of a city in China known by the Chinese as “the most beautiful place under heaven.” The city is the setting for a story about Mei Li Goodson, a Chinese American teenager born in China, adopted, and raised in the United States. It is a story about Mei Li’s discovery of self through a dream that takes her back to her birth city and her biological father. Throughout her journey Mei Li finds that she is torn between two cultures and two fathers. The composer, lyricist and book writer for the musical Guilin, A China Story is Louis Steven Santora, a lifelong musician, writer, composer and music arranger. Guilin is an inspired story with beginnings that originated with Santora’s trip to China in 2004.

PERFORMANCES

The musical was invited to participate in the New York Musical Theatre Festival as a staged reading in 2014. The festival cast list and pictures are available at the musical’s Facebook page Go to Facebook

PLAY GUILIN MOVIE

This short movie begins with aerial footage of moving clouds blanketing the karst mountains of Guilin at sunrise. As the sun rises above the clouds the image of the character ZHUANG GUO fades in. ZHUANG GUO is holding a bundle wrapped in cloth. Concealed in the cloth is his infant daughter, MEI LI. He is taking her to the GUILIN SOCIAL WELFARE INSTITUTE. This is where MEI LI’S story begins – on a cold night in January.