From 4-year-old Texas prodigy to international stardom, Left Alone Rhapsody captures the dramatic life of Leonard Bernstein protégé John Bayless. At age 25, John made his Carnegie Hall debut, performing “Rhapsody in Blue” with a full orchestra. His jaw-dropping technical prowess at the piano initiated a 30-year-long concert and recording career as a solo pianist, composer, and improviser, with John performing his chart-topping hits at major venues around the world. John’s albums Bach Meets the Beatles and Bach on Abbey Road would become major crossover successes of the 1980s. Then, at age 54, at the height of his career, a paralyzing left-brain stroke took away the use of his right side. Soon after, his husband Bruce, died of cancer. The music stopped and in an instant, John’s identity was stripped away, plunging him into darkness. 

Left Alone Rhapsody chronicles an extraordinary life of reinvention, reconnection and resilience. John’s journey shifts from a battle against physical limitations into a profound spiritual transformation—embracing everything from his deep Southern Baptist roots to his conversion to Judaism.

Award-winning independent filmmaker Stewart M. Schulman followed his old friend John Bayless for years as he learned to command the piano once more, forcing a single left hand to express a lifetime of passion, purpose, love, loss, grief, and creativity. This is a portrait of an artist refusing to be silenced, transforming his brokenness into a bold new one-man show, and finding the courage to forge a triumphant third act as he reinvents himself as a one-handed pianist and storyteller. 

A compelling and inspiring story, Left Alone Rhapsody: The Musical Memoir of Pianist John Bayless is Stewart M. Schulman’s feature directorial debut. ‍ ‍