Scientists in Love — The Musical!
Book, lyrics, and melodies by Sophia Vitkovitsky
Scientists In Love — The Musical!, an original, old-fangled, not-anywhere-near Broadway musical comedy, is the gripping tale of a group of sort of dedicated researchers at the Science Institute of Science who follow the scientific method in the most lackadaisical manner possible to test their invariably dubious and blinkered hypotheses about the nature of love. Ultimately, they arrive at various unverifiable and barely coherent conclusions.
In other words, Scientists in Love is a faithful reflection of how scientific research is conducted in real life — minus the songs!
"What is all this, anyway?" you ask. (As well you should!)
Look! Here's one now!
Little Prime Number
Arrangement by Jim Blight and Sophia Vitkovitsky
About the Song and the Singers
In this song, Connor, a professional singer/actor/dancer/wag residing in Toronto (so far!) interprets, most ingeniously, affectively and trippingly on the tongue, the role of charmingly besotted Dr. Cal Summers, whose love interest is the institute’s geneticist, Dr. Allie Lyell (not present here). Some of his math (that’s mAth) lab colleagues aren’t quite sure about his transformation from logical to emotional being. Here, we are exploring Carl Jung’s typology of psychological functions, and their inherent dichotomies, specifically the thinking-feeling axis.
Kidding, it’s just a love song using mathy terms, is all.
The chorus is expertly played by consummate harmonizers Rob, Jaime and Jackson, all accomplished members of Onoscatopoeia, the Hart House Jazz Choir at the University of Toronto, who not only learned their parts on the fly, and most speedily, but upgraded them mightily, as well.
And finally, the goofy graphics are for fun — and for all the math geeks tuning in!
CONNOR FERRIS
Smitten Dr. Cal Summers (lead)
JAIME REDFORD
Tender-hearted colleague (soprano)
ROBERT SNIDERMAN
Testy colleague (bass)
JACKSON SMYLIE
Ambivalent colleague (baritone)
Sophie Vitkovitsky
Piano Accompaniment
DANIEL LISTER
Videographer, video editing, tech advisor,
math graphics advisor & creator
Engineered at Kensington Sound
by VEZI TAYYEB
Here's the cheerfully punchy version
Scientists in Love — Origin Story
Random FAQs
Scientists in Love — The Musical! was created by dilettante, aesthete and person with thesaurus Sophia Vitkovitsky, who decided one day, as a mature student in statistics class, that there must be something better to do in class than to pay attention to the lecture on statistics (b/c rill mat-chur).
Combining her love of science (except of statistics, which is bogus) with her alleged musical ability, purported verbal skills, supposed sense of humour, natural cynicism, and all her fancy book learnin’,
she came up with an interminably long musical, chock full of wordy songs, and a narrative with the political pH of 7.
Does it disrupt? Is it innovative, challenging, compelling, radical? Does it ignite? Push the boundaries? Nope, nope, etc., and nope! It is, in fact, refreshingly unencumbered by Big Issues — so perhaps it stands a chance of being simply entertaining.
Scientists etc. ... doesn’t exist yet as a full-blown production, but that’s hardly an excuse not to introduce audiences to some of its toe-tapping tunes. After all, who doesn’t want to hear a science-based love song?
… [crickets] …
That's right! We all do! So here's the first!
Perhaps one day, Scient etc. … will be performed on stage — orchestra, costumes, sets, dancing microscopes and all! Or perhaps it will take shape, piece by melodic and scientific piece, in a charmingly haphazard fashion, coming into being like a shimmering, languidly materializing mirage, over the magical interwebs.
Or not. Who can say? Stay tuned!
If there's any money from YouTube, it will all go to the singers in the videos.
Maybe there will be a Patreon page one day, as studio time and arrangements cost.
The next song is likely Favorite Possibility, the quantum physics love song, so perhaps those not in the field might want to bone up, perhaps with Brian Greene’s Elegant Universe, to catch the drift. (Well, I had to, anyway.)
Or maybe it’ll be Make the Numbers Fit, about statistics, which, as has been elsewhere pointed out, is bogus.
There are no tap-dancing microscopes.
It’s a thing!
Write to scientists.in.love@gmail.com to contact me, but please keep it abusive and irrational. All comments will be taken to heart. And subscribe to my YouTube channel (if you like)!
Non-Random Acknowledgements. Thank you, merci, grazie, mahalo, danke, takk, obrigado . . .
In other words, bring on the snappy tunes and the tap-dancing microscopes, is the motto here.
I am most gratefully indebted to all the enormously talented and generous people who took time out of their jam-packed skeds to create something so much better than I could ever have imagined. Huge ‘n’ humongous thanks to the most accommodating, gracious and mellifluous cast, who sang umpteen takes with patience and good cheer. Brimming buckets of appreciation to Daniel, for his tireless work behind the camera and in front of the computer, and plenty more, and to David Mason for his abiding forbearance regarding my never-ending tech questions. Humble bows of gratitude to Arianna Rath for her sharp and insightful comments, to musical and tech wiz Vezi, to Jordan and Julian of Peterson’s Fancy ‘Puters for the mighty swell fancy ‘puter with musics on it, and to Jess’s Fancy Camera Rentals, for, well, obvs. It would be impossible to acknowledge all — including those who didn’t know me from Eve — who guided and encouraged me along the way. Thank you, friends and friendly strangers. And finally, a most ‘fekshonat and heartfelt thanks goes to all my dear chums, who don’t think all of this is entirely ridiculous.