Diksha Sundriyal
In the second season of Netflix’s ‘A Man on the Inside,’ Charles Nieuwendyk goes undercover as a visiting professor at Wheeler College, where his task is to find a stolen laptop worth $400 million. Everyone must be considered a suspect, and initially, Charles sticks to this approach. But then, he meets Mona Margadoff, the music professor, and is so smitten by her that he convinces himself that she has nothing to do with the theft. As he gets to know more about her, he discovers that she used to be a part of a band called ‘Lavender Highway,’ and sang a song called “Goodbye, Baby,” which was quite a rage at the time. Later, this song plays an important role in cracking the case. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Mona’s Fictional Band and Song Reflect the Real Musical Prowess of Mary Steenburgen
Lavender Highway is a fictional band in ‘A Man on the Inside,’ created as a background detail for Mona. The song, “Goodbye, Baby,” is also made up, though the song that Mary Steenburgen performs in the penultimate episode is most likely written by her for the show. Apart from being an accomplished actress, Steenburgen is also a master songwriter. Interestingly, her love for making music did not emerge until much later. In 2009, she had a minor arm surgery. When the effect of the anaesthesia wore off and she woke up, there was “only music” in her head. In an interview with IndieWire, Steenburgen revealed, “Everything anybody said to me became musical. All of my thoughts became musical. Every street sign became musical. I couldn’t get my mind into any other mode.”
This sudden change at the age of 54 seemed a little annoying and scary at first, especially because she didn’t even know how to play an instrument and had never been musically inclined. She revealed that it messed with her focus so much that she couldn’t learn her lines and couldn’t act. In a few months, she decided to stop trying to find ways to get rid of it or worrying about it. Instead, she focused on tuning into her newfound passion and creating songs. She called a friend on Martha’s Vineyard and asked if they could help her put the music in her paper.
She put all her heart and soul into it, and having written twelve songs, she sent them out into the world and eventually got a songwriting contract with Universal Music. Since then, Steenburgen has been continually working to hone her skills and has written several songs, including ‘Glasgow’ for Jessie Buckley’s ‘Wild Rose.’ Speaking of this surprising turn of events, the actress remarked that music is “in her genes.” This experience made her realise that “there’s so much more capability in our brains than we probably realize,” and she is glad she was able to tap into it. She brings this musical sensibility to the role of Mona, whose wild and quirky nature already makes her an incredibly likable character.
Read More: A Man on the Inside Season 2 Ending Explained: Who is the Real Culprit?
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