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Meeting Jeffrey
This morning, I received an email from Dana, who was lucky enough to get a chance to meet Jeffrey. In this completely different perspective, I'm sure that you can learn a lot more about Jeffrey as a person, and his outgoing personality. My thanks goes out to Dana for kindly offering to share his memory with me, and I've posted it below. Thanks, Dana!!
Dear Annette,
I had once spent an afternoon with one of the original cast members of Godspell. That cast member was Jeff Mylett. I did a bit of Googling on "We Beseech Thee", and, in about five minutes, I had arrived at your site. I am very deeply touched. I never knew what had happened to Jeff. Here's the larger story.
I was quite close to folks at Butterworth Farm in Royalston, MA -- a rural gay commune, which had been co-founded by Allen Young. Allen, a journalist and author of several books, was the co-founder of Liberation News Service in the 1960s. In any case, on one of my almost-weekly visits to Butterworth, to spend time with a couple of very dear friends -- the dearest of whom was an adorable young sprite named John Burton -- I discovered that Allen was entertaining a guest in his cottage for the weekend. That guest was Jeff! (This would have been in the late 1970s, or very early 1980s.)
Allen introduced Jeff to me as one of the original cast members of Godspell. Needless to say, I was intrigued! We exchanged some casual banter for a while, but I eventually drifted up to the main house, to spend some time with John. Late in the day, I drifted back down to Allen's cabin to say goodbye. He and Jeff were lounging outdoors, and apparently engaged in a private conversation, so I didn't plan to stick around and bust up whatever they had going. Suffice to say, that wonderful intimate playful gesture bonded Jeff to my heart, instantly and eternally. He was clearly such an angelic sprite, and such an absolute sweetheart.
I remember his expressing disappointment that "We Beseech Thee"--his solo showpiece in the off-Broadway and Broadway live performances -- was cut from the movie soundtrack! However, he was glad at least to have been selected to "play himself" in the movie version. It was a real career coup for him. I remember he said that he had received a number of "nibbles" for potential film appearances, and he was going to start seriously pursuing those opportunities, regarding movies as "the way to go" to have a lasting impact. I'm not sure when "The Magic Show" happened in the time line -- but I do know that he in fact got a couple of film roles prior to his illness and death.
I had no idea Jeff had died of AIDS until tonight. John Burton and his partner Artie also died of AIDS. So did about two-thirds of the dear friends I had at Butterworth Farm. Allen has survived, and we still cross paths about once every year or two. Bless you for keeping Jeff's memory alive.
My total time with Jeff amounted to about twenty minutes, between my arrival and my departure from Butterworth Farm, on the weekend that Jeff spent with Allen Young. Most of my time spent there was with Johnny Burton. Obviously, if I had known that Jeff would be "called home" so soon, I would have gone out of my way to spend a lot more time with him.
I did indeed talk to Jeff a bit about his career, and what it felt like to be a "star"--with Broadway and major label recording credits. He was very bright and "high-presence" in our brief conversation. He obviously enjoyed the limelight and recognition...but neither did he come across as egotistical or pretentious. Our meeting, of course, took place before his final 1980s film appearances.
I'm a person of very robust (if eclectic) religious faith -- which amalgamates essential Buddhist and Christian tenets -- and I've also experienced many "out of body" adventures since my college years. Having been duly informed that Jeff is "out there" in the celestial domains, I'm going to see what I can do to reconnect with him, and rekindle our brief (but memorable) acquaintance. I'll let you know if anything amazing results from the quest! With great affection and appreciation to you,
Dana
Thanks, Dana!
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