Chris Van Cleave Singer-Songwriter-Actor Feature Page

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Years later, my brother also tradically committed suicide. I have written two songs on this.
"Afterglow", and "Here in the Afterglow", both on the Selected Eclectic demo selection in my Store.

I saw Sharon only once or twice after that, as life moved me out of New York and into Virginia into another chapter with my new wife. Our marriage lasted only a couple of years but long enough to have two beautiful daughters who are now grown with children of their own. Those ending days in New York were very sad outcomes to what had been a magical time for us all. I also lost contact with Laura, which also saddened me as we were always very close and I had enjoyed several visits with her at her family’s home in Armonk.

SECOND TOUR OF "JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR"
AFTER LEAVING NEW YORK

When my first marriage fell apart, I went back out on the road, again in the role of Jesus, with an eight- month tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, which played in 125 cities throughout the USA and Canada. I remember seeing Sharon one more time after my marriage broke up. By then I had come to better understand the pain that Walker must have felt when his marriage ended. Sharon told me that she had spoken with Laura and that Laura had reconnected with Sid Bernstein, who was managing her career. She also said that Laura’s husband had told her to break off all connections with her past. This was difficult to understand and I was very sad to hear it.

WHY THE MYSTERY?

Stories can be told in many different ways––things left in, left out, added to–– and the same thing can be said for “truth”. One of my most recent songs, “Isle of You,” has within the chorus, “There are more than two sides to every story,” which, now that I recall her beautiful vocals, could have been a good song for Laura to have sung. I will always love her rendering of my song “Artist” from our short-lived life together in the recording group Meadow. As someone who was once closely associated with Laura as a friend, artist and band mate, I will always love and respect her. I regret that we never got to work with each other again. She had invested much heart and soul in the development of her work, skills and career, when we were with Meadow.

NEW LOVE, MOVE TO ENGLAND, PERFORM IN IRELAND

A few years after my divorce, I had a chance meeting with a lady who had travelled to the USA for a conference. After a two year trans-Atlantic courtship, I married my present wife of thirty-two years. As she is British, I lived in England for over seven years, where both of our children were born.

I re-energized my acting career by joining British Actors Equity performing in several shows (Jeanne, Bernadette, Les Miserables, Chess) , including a six- month tour of Jesus Christ Superstar throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales—this time as Pilate (though Jesus got sick in Belfast so I went on there in that role, an interesting dramatic twist–– Pilate covers for Jesus!) There was a bombing the week before we were there just a block away from our theatre and tanks could sometimes be seen on the streets. But the people on both sides of the border between Northern and Southern Ireland were beautiful and very friendly to us. I thought back to the argument with Walker and how the Christmas present book Seed had brought peace to that war between us with the words still echoing, “There are as many ways to God as there are souls of men, and there is only one Way.” I wrote a song a few years back called “Any Way,” which addresses conflict and has the chorus:

“Now we find we're face to face
In this too familiar place
And we're battling to win this endless war
That's never done
Always the same one

It’s just different points of view
Still coming down to me and you
To stop the fight and let Love’s light shine through
‘Cause we cannot run away
Love is bound to win someday
Any way…any way...Any Way.”

As George Harrison would say (which is a whole other anecdote), “Life goes on within you and without you.” I have continued on my spiritual path, with stumbles along the way, but still growing. After seven years in England, our family moved back to the States. I have continued performing, writing, recording, teaching, and furthering my education, including a return to university and earning my MFA in acting—followed by more teaching, more writing, more performing.

CURRENT TIMES, LOOKING BACK

Now my three daughters are grown women, the first two from my first marriage with children of their own (making me a grandfather of four!) My only son has left college and is successfully making his way in the world, as are my daughters: all four of whom have been graced with unique talents of their own for which I feel truly blessed. The updates of where my career has been developing over the years can be seen on my Bio page.

As mentioned, “Artist,” my song that Laura sang with Meadow all those years ago, has come to light again, receiving internet plays on YouTube and being combined beautifully with some of Laura’s video footage by a devout fan. It seems strange to look at my oldest grandaughter now and realize I was only a few years older at 22 when we formed Meadow, and to also realize that Laura, who was younger than I, when she sang “Artist”.
I had tried while living in England in the 1980’s to reconnect with her, having heard that Laura’s brother Billy was in London through friends who performed with me in the West End musical Chess. (I was fortunate to have performed in two other London West End shows, Les Miserables and Bernadette, while my UK debut was at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London in Jeanne, a musical based on Joan of Arc and written by longtime friend Shirlie Roden.) My friends suggested that I call Billy and gave me a phone number for him. I did call and left a message, but never connected at that time, but have thankfully reconnected now.

SONG FOR LAURA

As with millions of others, it was very sad to hear the news that Laura had passed away, and again so many memories and feelings came up within me. I grieved and wrote one more song as a reflection of the magical times shared with Laura and our journey with Meadow. That Laura and I were never able to reconnect and work together again is sad and something I have still not quite come to peace with, as I feel we always worked together well.

When I knew Laura, she was a free-spirited child of nature, a bit wild and cheeky perhaps, but always filled with the joy of creative possibility. She was ambitious–– we all were then–– but with her sights set on becoming a star, and that dream, as we know, was well-realized. I will always hold her in my heart, in light and love and gratitude for the time we were able to share together.

To both my dear Meadow colleagues who are no longer on this plane: Our “Friend Ship” continues to fly, they are “Home Free,” and the true “Artist” within them will continue to shine!

Chris Van Cleave

	Back to previous page Years later, my brother also tradically committed suicide. I have written two songs on this. "Afterglow", and "Here in the Afterglow", both on the Selected Eclectic demo selection in my Store. I saw Sharon only once or twice after that, as life moved me out of New York and into Virginia into another chapter with my new wife. Our marriage lasted only a couple of years but long enough to have two beautiful daughters who are now grown with children of their own. Those ending days in New York were very sad outcomes to what had been a magical time for us all. I also lost contact with Laura, which also saddened me as we were always very close and I had enjoyed several visits with her at her family’s home in Armonk. SECOND TOUR OF "JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR" AFTER LEAVING NEW YORK When my first marriage fell apart, I went back out on the road, again in the role of Jesus, with an eight- month tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, which played in 125 cities throughout the USA and Canada. I remember seeing Sharon one more time after my marriage broke up. By then I had come to better understand the pain that Walker must have felt when his marriage ended. Sharon told me that she had spoken with Laura and that Laura had reconnected with Sid Bernstein, who was managing her career. She also said that Laura’s husband had told her to break off all connections with her past. This was difficult to understand and I was very sad to hear it. WHY THE MYSTERY? Stories can be told in many different ways––things left in, left out, added to–– and the same thing can be said for “truth”. One of my most recent songs, “Isle of You,” has within the chorus, “There are more than two sides to every story,” which, now that I recall her beautiful vocals, could have been a good song for Laura to have sung. I will always love her rendering of my song “Artist” from our short-lived life together in the recording group Meadow. As someone who was once closely associated with Laura as a friend, artist and band mate, I will always love and respect her. I regret that we never got to work with each other again. She had invested much heart and soul in the development of her work, skills and career, when we were with Meadow. NEW LOVE, MOVE TO ENGLAND, PERFORM IN IRELAND A few years after my divorce, I had a chance meeting with a lady who had travelled to the USA for a conference. After a two year trans-Atlantic courtship, I married my present wife of thirty-two years. As she is British, I lived in England for over seven years, where both of our children were born. I re-energized my acting career by joining British Actors Equity performing in several shows (Jeanne, Bernadette, Les Miserables, Chess) , including a six- month tour of Jesus Christ Superstar throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales—this time as Pilate (though Jesus got sick in Belfast so I went on there in that role, an interesting dramatic twist–– Pilate covers for Jesus!) There was a bombing the week before we were there just a block away from our theatre and tanks could sometimes be seen on the streets. But the people on both sides of the border between Northern and Southern Ireland were beautiful and very friendly to us. I thought back to the argument with Walker and how the Christmas present book Seed had brought peace to that war between us with the words still echoing, “There are as many ways to God as there are souls of men, and there is only one Way.” I wrote a song a few years back called “Any Way,” which addresses conflict and has the chorus: “Now we find we're face to face In this too familiar place And we're battling to win this endless war That's never done Always the same one It’s just different points of view Still coming down to me and you To stop the fight and let Love’s light shine through ‘Cause we cannot run away Love is bound to win someday Any way…any way...Any Way.” As George Harrison would say (which is a whole other anecdote), “Life goes on within you and without you.” I have continued on my spiritual path, with stumbles along the way, but still growing. After seven years in England, our family moved back to the States. I have continued performing, writing, recording, teaching, and furthering my education, including a return to university and earning my MFA in acting—followed by more teaching, more writing, more performing. CURRENT TIMES, LOOKING BACK Now my three daughters are grown women, the first two from my first marriage with children of their own (making me a grandfather of four!) My only son has left college and is successfully making his way in the world, as are my daughters: all four of whom have been graced with unique talents of their own for which I feel truly blessed. The updates of where my career has been developing over the years can be seen on my Bio page. As mentioned, “Artist,” my song that Laura sang with Meadow all those years ago, has come to light again, receiving internet plays on YouTube and being combined beautifully with some of Laura’s video footage by a devout fan. It seems strange to look at my oldest grandaughter now and realize I was only a few years older at 22 when we formed Meadow, and to also realize that Laura, who was younger than I, when she sang “Artist”. I had tried while living in England in the 1980’s to reconnect with her, having heard that Laura’s brother Billy was in London through friends who performed with me in the West End musical Chess. (I was fortunate to have performed in two other London West End shows, Les Miserables and Bernadette, while my UK debut was at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London in Jeanne, a musical based on Joan of Arc and written by longtime friend Shirlie Roden.) My friends suggested that I call Billy and gave me a phone number for him. I did call and left a message, but never connected at that time, but have thankfully reconnected now. SONG FOR LAURA As with millions of others, it was very sad to hear the news that Laura had passed away, and again so many memories and feelings came up within me. I grieved and wrote one more song as a reflection of the magical times shared with Laura and our journey with Meadow. That Laura and I were never able to reconnect and work together again is sad and something I have still not quite come to peace with, as I feel we always worked together well. When I knew Laura, she was a free-spirited child of nature, a bit wild and cheeky perhaps, but always filled with the joy of creative possibility. She was ambitious–– we all were then–– but with her sights set on becoming a star, and that dream, as we know, was well-realized. I will always hold her in my heart, in light and love and gratitude for the time we were able to share together. To both my dear Meadow colleagues who are no longer on this plane: Our “Friend Ship” continues to fly, they are “Home Free,” and the true “Artist” within them will continue to shine! Chris Van Cleave