Between May and September 2022, The Long Goodbye went from an idea to a fully-realized production complete with an 18-person cast and a 6-piece live band. The show was independently-produced with the help of $15,000 raised via crowdfunding, and represented a truly collaborative process where all hands were on deck — cast members also helped with makeup design, costume design, set design, teaching dance and vocal parts, contributing staging ideas, and helping to fully realize the characters. The Long Goodbye is deeply personal and autobiographical, but in its operatic and experimental telling, the material becomes universally accessible in its exploration of grief, healing, death and inner peace. Between the two runs of The Long Goodbye, over $11,000 in stipends were paid out to the cast and crew of The Long Goodbye. Over 600 Memphians bought tickets to the show.