"We are born astride a grave - WaynesWorldStage.com

"rape" was meant in a classic sense, meaning“abduction”, and had no sexual implications. Thepriest suggested changing the word rape toabduction. The director explained that the word“abduction” would not fit into the musicalrhythm of the number. The song is done in thestyle of an Arabian chant; with the word rapebeing stretched over several bars of music whilethe pitch fluctuates up and down. "Abduction"just would not cut it. The story ends with thedirector and priest agreeing to replace the word"rape" with the word "snatch," apparentlyoblivious to the fact that "snatch" is a slang wordfor the vagina. The audience of college studentsloved it.It was in Louisville, Kentucky that I metToshiko. She was a jazz pianist playing a smallclub. All the cast hung out there. For me,musically, she added a new dimension. She gaveme her New York phone number. She said,"Let's get together in New York." When Ireturned to New York for a week off, I gave her acall and invited her to see a play. After the play,we went to a cast party. When I introduced her toone of the cast members, he said, "You're not theToshiko, the jazz pianist?" She said she was. Hesaid, "I've got all your records." I never knew shemade a record. As it turned out, she was a jazzstar with a rather large following. She was a156