Song (ballet)
Martha Graham Dance Company
New York State Theatre, NYC, April 1985
Role: King Solomon (offstage narrator)

While waiting to begin Aren't We All? on Broadway, Jeremy signed up for another role -- as behind-the-scenes narrator for a new ballet by venerable dancer/choreographer Martha Graham, who at the time was 91 years old.

Song was inspired by the Bible's The Song of Songs, and Jeremy narrated selected lines from the love poems. Some nights he narrated live, but on the evenings when he was appearing in previews of Aren't We All?, a recording of his voice was played.

In a New York Times article dated May 26, 1985, Jeremy said that if one day he were asked to name the four most important things he has done as an actor, he would certainly mention Song. "It was one of the greatest joys of my life," he said. "I kneel at the altar of Martha Graham. I think she is as important to the United States as the Chrysler Building."

Indeed, it was an important production, as noted in an April 3, 1985, New York Times review, which further likens Jeremy's voice to a "caress":

[Song] could be called a danced poem, rather than a dance set to poetry. ... Miss Graham's achievement has been to see that the rhythm of the spoken words fits the music as much as the dancing fits the music -- and more importantly, that the words fit the dancing. ... She has managed to make the theme of Song one long caress.

And perhaps this is felt most uncannily in the way Mr. Brett's voice seems to actually caress the words. Most television viewers of the moment know Mr. Brett as Sherlock Holmes ... He is, of course, also a Shakespearean actor and it is a coup, in fact, to have this Shakespearean resonance waft out from the wings. Mr. Brett is offstage, but he does not go unheard.

Nor can one call his narration a voice-over. Again the success of Song lies in the way all its elements fit together. One in particular does not dominate.

Upon the close of the ballet, the New York Times wrote in an April 23, 1985 article about the joy the performers took in their curtain calls, noting in particular:

The narrator, Jeremy Brett, took a call, carrying the script -- an implication that he had just read it live. Since his voice is heard on a recording, he too deserves some cheers -- for good acting.

Wikipedia page about Martha Graham // The Martha Graham Dance Company