One Year On Broadway Finding Ourselves Between the Sand and the Sea

by Kathryn McKendry

Have you ever been so touched by a story that it changed your life?

One Year on Broadway is the unlikely true story of two musical theater fans whose lives were forever changed by seeing a touring production of Once on This Island in 1992. What they saw that night was a version of their own story played out on the stage and it gave them the courage to fight for their own forbidden love.

Twenty-five years later, by some strange twist of fate, they were led back to the Island where they ignored conventional wisdom, took a leap of faith, and became co-producers of the Tony Award winning Broadway Revival of Once on This Island.
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How do you know when it’s time to close one chapter of your life and begin a new one? To let go of the past, open your heart, and trust in a new beginning?

At first we said, “no.” We knew it was ridiculous.

And yet something in our hearts led us back to the Island.

Having no idea where it would lead us, my husband and I took a leap of faith and became co-producers of the Broadway Revival of Once On This Island, the musical that had given us so much.

Even if it failed, we would have a great story to tell.

Genres: Nonfiction, Collections

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2021

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure here: “One Year On Broadway: Finding Ourselves Between the Sand and the Sea” by Kathryn McKendry was written by my Daughter-In-Law, Kathryn. Having said that, and already knowing the basic true story of this memoir, it was still a one-day read. It is a story of Kathy meeting our son, Jesse, at college and falling in love with each other, and their developing common interest in musical theater, prompted by a campus run of “Once on This Island.” In that musical, they saw themselves and their forbidden-love situation. Fast forward to marriage, kids, jobs, etc., they found an opportunity to have a more intimate involvement with their favorite musical by becoming co-producers for the Tony Award winning Broadway Revival of “Once on This Island.” It was like a crash course in what it takes to plan and put on a Broadway Musical. They met the people who are experienced in doing this, as well as the cast and crew as the whole production came together and headed to opening night. It was a world few people ever experience or have knowledge of, all while hoping the launch would be a success. An even bigger surprise was in store when they learned “Once on This Island” was nominated for a Tony Award in the category of a Musical Revival. The ride wasn't over yet! Well written and very entertaining, it really brings you into the action as it develops. But, hey, maybe it's just me!

[Cherisa B · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorites musicals of all time is Once on This Island. I saw the original on Broadway back in the early 90s, and the revival in 2018, and both stagings and casts were absolutely fabulous.

This book is a joint memoir by a couple who loved the touring production back in the 90s so much that they decided they wanted to support the revival. If you know and like me love the story and the songs, I highly recommend this little book by the McKendrys. It’s a sweet love letter to the music, the story, the cast and crew, New York City.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a work of art, a masterpiece. It’s a beautiful memoir. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. The author drew me in and the imagery was outstanding. I was sad when it ended but all good things must come to an end.

[Kristy Sokol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because I love the musical, but this was pretty cringey. Two very privileged people who lost money on a Broadway show and seem to be trying to recoup some of that through a book. A lot of “we saw the musical again and again and again” stories, woven with name-dropping anecdotes of their surprise that the cast members were nice people who recognized them and said hi, and a lot of angsty backstory where they tried to make their own lives fit the narrative of the musical. Just not at all what I was hoping for when I picked this up.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 1 out of 5]

I knew nothing about Kathryn McKendry’s One Year on Broadway, Finding Ourselves Between the Sand and the Sea, until I stumbled upon the book. Since I’m a musical theater nut, I immediately purchased it, and I eagerly prepared to read it. What a giant disappointment! So much so, that after slugging through about 70 pages, I started skimming, just to see what the outcome would be or the lessons, if any, learned. McKendry is the sole author listed here, and the book is an autobiography of sorts. And yet, much of the book is told, first person, by her husband Jesse. That was disconcerting. To know I was reading a real story from an author who’d lived it and then be thrust into the hands of a different person/storyteller was jarring. I simply could not buy that Kathryn was suddenly Jesse. As for the story, it bounces around, telling of their lives before they decided to invest in a revival of the musical Once on This Island, and frankly, I saw no relation to the revival and didn’t care about their past life. I suppose a parallel was being drawn between the message of the show and the trajectory of their life, but I didn’t see it. At last, the book mostly focuses on Once on This Island. It was early on established that the couple were moved by the first time they’d seen the show, twenty or so years before the revival. But then, the revival’s performances are hashed out endlessly. The climax of the story is the Tony Award the show won, but since McKendry started her book with the Tony Award scene, it then held no suspense when it was repeated in context. And, of course, if one knew the revival, one would already know the show had won the Tony without reading it in this book. Finally, there is the telling of the show’s closing and the loss they felt in their lives. Strangely enough, the first part of the book is the agonizing this couple went through in deciding if they could afford to invest in the show—after all, we are led to believe they are a middle-class couple from Cleveland. We know that Kathy coaches figure skating part-time, but Jesse’s profession is never told. So—they agonize and agonize and agonize, letting us believe that the minimum investment in the show will jeopardize their very existence. Specific money amounts are never discussed, but apparently the minimum is enormous, at least for a middle-class family. Then, Jesse decides they must become co-producers (a much larger investment, though again the amount is not discussed) and, later, he decides they will invest in the recording of the show’s Original Cast Album. And, despite the idea that we were to get that all this money spent was back-breaking for them, they make countless trips to New York City to check on the show, see performances, attend very expensive parties, and the Tony Awards themselves, again, a very expensive venture. And then, when the show closes, presumably at a financial loss, not a word is said about how devastating that must have been to the family’s budget. I only mention all this because the money was a giant issue in the book, and yet we learn nothing about how much the initial expense was nor about what the outcome was after the show closed. I suppose we, as readers, are simply to blithely believe that the experience itself outweighed everything. Sorry, McHenrys, I didn’t get invested in your story enough to reap the benefits you did, I guess. And a final programming note, the formatting of the book is horrendous, with chapter headings (sometimes split in half if they were more than one line) appearing at the bottom of the page instead of the top of the next page where they belonged. This book, sadly, is just a vanity project that I doubt even the most diehard musical theater fan (what am I talking about? That’s me!) would enjoy.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Once on This Island and consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have experienced the production described in this book. By far, my favorite part of this book was reliving the show through different eyes. It brought back a lot of memories.

That being said, the book itself is not the best. The writing is just okay. I appreciate their enthusiasm for the show and their openness to new experiences, but there's a lot of being hit over the head with messages of love and destiny. Also, I really wish there were more details about the process of becoming a producer, such as a price point. We don't even know what Jesse does to have an idea, though Kathy's work is discussed constantly. It makes it hard to buy into the idea they struggled to take on the investment when they then spend so much time detailing their trips to New York, taking care to note they bought their first-row tickets each time.

[Jesse Mckendry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!!!