As I am sitting down to write this, it is the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. I’ve been able to record interviews with four different people who attended Woodstock, and one theme which came up repeatedly in those conversations was how profoundly important music was to people in those unsettling and even frightening times. Whether you were a young person drawn to Janis Joplin or Bob Dylan – or an older person devotedly watching The Lawrence Welk Show – music was a means to center yourself in an often chaotic world …. a means to say to yourself and to the world “this is who I am – and this is what is important to me.” 50 years later, we are once again living in unsettling and even frightening times. The specifics may differ rather dramatically, but many of us have the scary sensation of our nation being torn in two and cannot imagine it being sewn together again. And many of us are turning to music for reassurance, for a sense that there is still good in the world and that there is reason for hope. Here are some of the songs of my summer in 2019 .
We headed off to New York City during the last weekend in June – our first trip to NYC in several years – and although there were pleasures and joys of all kinds, we were especially grateful for the three Broadway shows that we got to see. We came to NYC with tickets already in hand for the Saturday and Sunday shows, but with nothing chosen for Friday night. We waffled back and forth between several different options (including, believe it or not, King Kong – which we had heard was an amazing show to see but nothing special to hear) but finally settled on Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate, a great work from Broadway’s golden age. It’s not exactly a show brimming with social relevance, but when you’re seeing a spectacular production headlined by a Broadway legend like Kelli O’Hara, social relevance matters almost not at all. (And by the way, the cast included Corbin Bleu from High School Musical, and actors Richard Kind and John Pankow from Mad About You – who were all wonderful!) And Porter’s tuneful score includes “So in Love,” which I have loved since singing it as a duet back in high school …. and which Kathy sang so memorably for the final moments of the Racine Theater Guild’s Glorious, which told the story of Florence Foster Jenkins. (Director Norm McPhee wanted to make sure that everybody in the audience knew that Kathy was a wonderful singer- unlike tin-eared Florence.) For as much as we waffled over what to see as our first show of the weekend, we ended up being absolutely delighted at having chosen Kiss me Kate – and with the show about to close (we saw the second-to-the-last performance) there was a special – if also slightly sad – electricity in the air.
But that electricity was nothing compared to what we experienced the next night, when we saw a very new musical called The Prom, which tells the story of a small Indiana community that’s turned on its ear when a high school student who is a lesbian wants to bring her girlfriend to the prom. Beneath all of the fun and glitz is a very serious message about bigotry and inclusiveness that the world needs to hear right now.
By happy coincidence, we just happened to be in New York City the same weekend that it was hosting World Pride- and we had the definite sense that the audience that gathered to see The Prom that night was even more excited and energized by this show than a more typical audience might have been. We felt tremendously fortunate to be there – and when the show’s final anthem reached its triumphant conclusion, it felt like the love and energy of the audience was going to lift the roof right off of the theater. It was truly incredible. We certainly hope that we will get to see this show again (it’s slated to be released as a film in 2020) but no subsequent performance we see of it, no matter how well done it is, will compare to what it was like to experience this show at this particular time and place.
Sunday was our third show of the weekend … and words cannot begin to convey how deeply moved we were – and profoundly impressed – by Dear Evan Hansen. It reminded me of Hamilton and Come From Away in the way that its central premise would seem very unpromising material for a musical. (I can scarcely imagine what it would feel like to go to a would-be producer and pitch the story: “The musical would be about an odd young high school student who gains unexpected notoriety when people begin to mistakenly believe that he was friends with another student who killed himself.”) Yet somehow from such an unlikely premise, the composer of this show were able to spin pure and unforgettable gold. And it’s not just that the show itself is brilliant- but the production as well. We are friends with Justin Smith, the concertmaster of the show’s orchestra, and he told us beforehand how the producers of the show spared no expense when it came to matters like microphones and speakers- and it showed. The sound of what we heard was beyond reproach. And visually, the production may be sparse, but it’s ultimately one of the most stunning productions we have ever seen, transporting us into the world of the characters as thoroughly as anything we have ever experienced in live theater.
As for the performance itself, it was mesmerizing in the way that only superb live theater can be. The cast was brilliant top to bottom, but a special word of praise must be given to the young man we saw as Evan Hansen. Andrew Barth Feldman was just 17 years old when he was given the role, and he became Evan Hansen in a way that was almost frighteningly authentic. He is a short, slight young man with rather nondescript facial features and big ears that give him a rather gawky look- exactly the kind of nerdy-looking kid so likely find himself on the outside looking in, the way Evan Hansen does. But beyond simple appearance, Andrew inhabited Evan’s quirkiness and nervousness with absolute sincerity and not a trace of artifice. (I have seen excerpts of Ben Platt’s Evan in videos- and while he sings wonderfully and acts with conviction, his telegenic handsomeness makes him … at least for me … a less believable, less vulnerable, less endearing Evan.) In the pantheon of finest performances I have seen in my life, Andrew Barth Feldman’s Evan ranks right up there with Audra McDonald’s Bess, Bernadette Peters’s Mama Rose, and Kelli O’Hara’s Clara as individual performances that will stay with me for as long as I live. And what was almost more remarkable was that he was just one of eight superb actors who brought this show so thrillingly to life.
And by the way, when the performance was all done, Justin took us on a quick backstage tour which included a visit to the upper perch where he and his colleagues played the performance, which was amazing! But just walking on that bare stage …. where this magical performance had just unfolded …. was in and of itself a remainder that all great performances begin with an empty space.
One might assume that seeing the best that Broadway has to offer would lead you to be rather sour and hard-to-please once you return to the ‘real world’ of amateur productions – but somehow it is just the opposite, at least for Kathy and me. It’s as though the experience of encountering the Ultimate Excellence leaves you with a heightened appreciation for other kinds of excellence in other arenas. We certainly experienced that a few weeks later when we got to see a performance by KYPAC (Kenosha Youth Performing Arts Company) of The Lion King, with our niece Lorelai shining in one of the starring roles. The cast of this production was comprised entirely of elementary and middle school youths (the kids who just finished the eighth grade were the oldest performers) and yet they managed to deliver a performance that was exciting, convincing, and completely engrossing- and in a production that was visually dazzling.
We also enjoyed very much the Racine Theater Guild’s production of Grease – which was amazing, considering how much we dislike the show itself. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I hate the show, both musically and theatrically; in particular, I found the story itself to be thoroughly offensive, and more than once I found myself shaking my head in sad disbelief that talented musicians took the time to set such an obnoxious story to music. And yet, this production of Grease was irresistible because of the energy and exuberance of a very talented cast that delivered the goods so convincingly – and so joyously. And although I must admit to being a bit dismayed that this production was completely sold out before its first performance had even taken place (dismayed that the public would flock to this and have much less interest in or enthusiasm for much better musicals and plays) I was thrilled that this hard-working cast and crew would be rewarded with full and enthusiastic audiences for an extended run of completely sold out performances. And truth be told, anything that gets more people excited about Live Theater is a good thing. And by that standard, the RTG’s Grease was a very good thing indeed.
<Grease photo by Michael Steinbach – Bach Photography>
Also very good indeed was the production we saw of Mamma Mia at Greendale Community Theater. Kathy and I were there not only to support several talented friends of ours who were in the cast (Brian Shalk, Laura McDonald, and Eric Welch) but also to scope out the show since I am going to be music director for it when the RTG mounts the show next spring. War and Peace it’s not – just a lighthearted night of fun, and that’s something that most of us need these days. So we’re really glad we came.
I have to mention one other musical that I saw this summer …. and this was by far the smallest and simplest production of all, but something I was absolutely thrilled to see. It was a production of Xanadu presented by the New Minowa Players in Decorah, where my sister Randi and her family live. I made a point of seeing this show because my nephew Kaj was part of the cast, and this was also going to be my first opportunity to see something in the building which the company opened a few years back. (Their bigger productions are done in the high school auditorium.) This was a cast of high school and college students and they delivered a wonderful and entertaining performance- and in a very talented cast, my nephew turned out to be one of the very best dancers. It was a delightful show to see.
And after the performance, the members of the cast stood in two lines to greet everyone in the audience and thank them for coming. It was a really lovely sight to see, and it really underscored what makes community theater so special. It may not be Broadway, but it doesn’t need to be – nor does it aspire to be. It’s about putting on a show on whatever stage you happen to have- with whatever performers you happen to have- and giving it all you have to give. And that’s what it’s all about …. whether you’re in New York City, Racine, WI, or Decorah, IA. And it reminds us of the good in the world- and the hope it gives us that maybe we’ll be all right someday.
