David Cale's We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time Opens at the Public Theater

The Public Theater opened David Cale's We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time on June 27. Robert Falls's production runs through July 14.

Written and performed by Cale, and featuring music cowritten with Matthew Dean Marsh, the musical memoir is presented as a coproduction with Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

The autobiographical show is described as follows: "Growing up, writer/performer David Cale escaped his parents' fraught marriage by singing in his bedroom and tending to birds in his backyard animal hospital. Lush songs, featuring a six-piece orchestra, and an intimate portrait of his mother unite in Cale's vivid musical memoir of hope, family, and transcendence."

We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time features scenic design by Kevin Depinet, costume design by Paul Marlow, lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, sound design by Mikhail Fiksel, and arrangements and music direction by Marsh.