When Two Artists Collide

By chance, Erik Satie and Suzanne Valadon moved in across from each other in Montmartre, Paris. Erik, a cabaret pianist at Le Chat Noir and an avant-garde composer, drinks his way through life alongside his composing buddies, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Suzanne, a Symbolist and post-Impressionist painter, chooses to model more than she paints. After several forward gestures by Erik, Suzanne becomes smitten. But, life as artists—struggling to find their creative voice and cater it to the public in their own respective mediums—proves a larger obstacle than imagined.

In the fall of 2020, Abby Morgigno, Levi Thompson, and I decided to write a musical. Tossing ideas around (ask me about Hot Moms: The Musical), Satie emerged: an eccentric composer known for walking his lobster through the streets of Paris makes the perfect musical. Upon further research, we developed a (somewhat factual) story that illustrates a painful journey of love and art between Erik Satie and Suzanne Valadon. Currently, we are editing a full draft of the musical after having several large portions of the show performed.