This afternoon was the last performance of “Honky Tonk Angels” at the Racine Theater Guild, and although I would never characterize myself as a fan of country western music
nor as a fan of corny humor, I must confess that I pretty much succumbed to the down home charms of this musical. The heart of its story concerns three women who are each caught in desperately unhappy lives – and each of them finds the courage to step away from all they know and into utterly new adventures. And the story is also of how music plays such a key role in these women escaping their unhappiness. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it was only during yesterday’s performance of the show that I really noticed for the first time the wonderful words of a song called “Paradise Road.” This is basically the first song in the show that the three characters sing together (as they ride a bus bound for Nashville) . . . and frankly I was always a little too busy worrying about the shift between 2/4 and 4/4 meter and other musical matters to pay much attention to these haunting lyrics:
I grew up dirty and I grew up poor.
The wolf didn’t even hang around our door-
not a crumb to spare and the cupboard bare.
I had the gift of imagination.
I could change my situation
any time I chose –
I could always go
down Paradise Road.
I found a kingdom deep within
a place to dream and to pretend
and to prepare for the world out there.
A dream can dress you when you’re ragged
and fill you up when hunger’s snaggin’
I warmed my soul
when life was cold
on Paradise Road.
Paradise is a state of mind.
The sun shines warm all the time
and the rain don’t flow
and the wind don’t blow on Paradise Road.
A place no one can take from me.
A place of everlasting peace
where dreamers go.
It’s never closed on Paradise Road.
I think I am likely to remember for a long, long time the haunting beauty of the performance given by Dana, Robbyn and Kate . . . the loveliness of their individual voices and the remarkable blend of their voices together. . . as well as the deeply-rooted sincerity and authenticity with which they sang this and every song in this show. And at the very end of the show, as Robbyn was delivering the words of farewell from her character to the audience, I could not take my eyes off of Dana and Kate, holding each other close, one’s head resting on the shoulder of the other. And then Dana stepped front and center and sang “I was riding through the country on a cold and cloudy day, when I heard two ladies saying, ‘come and join us on our way.’ Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by. There’s a better home awaiting in the sky Lord, in the sky.” And I could not keep the tears from welling up in my eyes. This has been such a joy and it was only as it was coming to an end that I felt just how deep and rich and satisfying a joy it has been.
And now, tomorrow, I shift from “9 to 5” and “Delta Dawn” and “Ode to Billy Joe” and “Stand by Your Man” to one of the great operatic masterpieces of all time, Mozart’s The Magic Flute. I anticipate a bit of artistic whiplash as I shift gears, but I hope that directing this opera will yield similar joys and satisfaction. And I’m especially hoping that the young singers in this cast will find great pleasure and even comfort as they wrap themselves up in this wonderful masterpiece, in the same way that Dana, Kate and Robbyn did with Honky Tonk Angels. The musical styles may be dramatically different – but it’s all music . . . and with a little help from our guardian angels, it’s all magic.
pictured above: the three extraordinarily gifted women who were the RTG’s Honky Tonk Angels: Dana Roders, Robbyn Wilks, and Kate Barrow. I took this picture of them down in the green room after today’s final performance.