Woman returns to Richland with mother’s legacy, and shoes, in musical showcase debut

When Eileen Voiland was 6, she won the Tri-City Herald Christmas Poetry contest. She grew up in Richland with her parents and 11 older siblings. Over time, the siblings all moved across the United States, while Voiland continued to write.

Voiland is the playwright and producer of Up First Hill, an original musical about a woman from Seattle raising her family in Richland.

“If I could crystallize the soul of this play, it’s about the richness of memory,” Voiland said.

Voiland returned to Richland this week, with three of her siblings, for a musical showcase at Wine Social on The Parkway.

They shared three miniature sets of songs from the show, with narratives for context from Voiland. With the exception of the musical’s overture, “The Blue and Green Waltz,” all the songs performed were debuted at the event.

Musical showcase

Up First Hill is a work of fiction based on real people and events. The main character, Catherine, is based on Voiland’s mother. The “real” Catherine is still alive and turns 101 in July 2023.

Voiland was introduced by Wine Social’s owner, Marc Newman, who called the playwright an angel.

Much of the plot is on the campus of Seattle College, before it became Seattle University, where the characters were enrolled in the 1940s. But as it is centered around memory, the musical features both a Present Day Catherine and a Young Catherine, including many references to Richland.

The showcase was the only event planned for Up First Hill at the time of the performance. Everyone involved is hoping the full musical will get picked up for the stage.

A Seattle childhood

Catherine grew up in the time of swing music and neighborhood parties. Kids walked to each other’s houses and went on adventures without parental supervision.

But she was also 7 when the Stock Market crashed and the Great Depression hit American families. So, Catherine didn’t grow up with a lot of money, even using a wood stove in childhood, but saved up to pay her own way through college.

The first two songs performed gave homage to these aspects of Catherine’s formative years. Her part is performed by Nancy Erickson Lamont, who was also the showcase’s musical director.

Erickson Lamont is a premier jazz singer in the Seattle area and performed “The Blue and Green Waltz” in its debut. She was also a composer for some of the musical works, along with Colin Rhoads and Shawn Schlogel, who has over a decade of experience in Seattle jazz.

This overture was the first song of the showcase. It begins with the sounds of foghorns before the accompaniment grows in volume and Erickson Lamont’s silky smooth voice takes over. The overture’s lyrics give hint to the importance of memory while offering vivid depictions of Seattle.

Growing up, Catherine was the type of girl to take care of the neighborhood kids. They may have been hoping summer would never end, but not Catherine. The second song, “Wide Open Swing,” was a swing number about Catherine’s excitement to return to school.

“There is no genre better to evoke a decade than swing,” Voiland said at the showcase.

College life

While Catherine saved up to afford $30 per quarter at Seattle College, she also saved for the perfect outfit. Voiland described the trendiest outfit for co-eds at the time as an A-line trenchcoat with big buttons and shoes made of wood and leather. All the schoolgirls at the time wore the heavy, loud shoes, and Catherine had to own a pair as well.

While speaking at the showcase, Voiland revealed she was wearing the same pair of shoes her mother saved up to buy and wear on her first day at Seattle College in September 1940.

Voiland took off her shoe to show the crowd during this reveal. She joked with the Herald that the shoes weighed about six pounds. But the 83-year-old shoes hold even more weight when it comes to Voiland and her family.

She added that if you can say anything about Up First Hill, it’s that “it has sole,” and “it’s a shoe-in.”

The first song of the second set was also performed by Erickson Lamont. “That’s Him” narrates the moment Catherine set eyes on her future husband.

It was followed by “Darn It,” a number about a campus’ unmet desire for juicy gossip, performed by local Aaron-Michael Sintoy. He’s from Richland, studied performance at Brigham Young University, Idaho, and is involved in local theatre.

Aging & memory

After another narrative from Voiland, Erickson Lamont closed the showcase with the final two songs. “Laundry” is a melancholic song about aging that left numerous audience members emotional. The invite-only event was attended by Tri-Cities-area music and theatre aficionados and enthusiasts, some of whom couldn’t help from becoming teary-eyed.

The final song of the evening was a reprise of “The Blue and Green Waltz.”

Voiland was generous enough to share some of the Up First Hill script with the Herald. One of the final songs comes from one of Catherine’s daughters, Ella. Just as Catherine spends the musical with lyrical reflections of significant memories, Ella offers a similar recollection based in Richland. It includes a shoutout to Badger Mountain in the closing lyrics of one scene.

Voiland hopes Up First Hill will make it to the stage in time for the “real” Catherine to watch a performance. Those interested in more information or future events regarding Up First Hill should contact ev.sunnyhours@gmail.com.