On With the Show!

May 4, 2009

Spiritually Speaking


I spent Sunday afternoon watching SUNY Oswego's
production of Steven Sondheim's musical
"Into the Woods." Characters from several
fairy tales make journeys 'into the woods' for
various reasons. All learn valuable, though
sometimes painful, lessons. The first act,
however, finds everyone with a happy ending.
Their wishes are fulfilled. And viewers are tempted
to think the play is over. It isn't.

In the second act, all the happy endings go
awry with the arrival of one very angry giantess.
Her husband had been accidentally killed in the
first act. She wanted vengeance. Only four
characters are left standing at the end. All are
determined to have more realistic expectations
for life and to be content with what they have
instead wasting time and energy on wishes
and fantasies of what might be. It was a delightful
show starring Gregory Reynolds, a former tenor
in the choir at the Pennellville church - now a
sophomore at SUNY Oswego. Thanks to his
proud mother, Karen many of us were privileged
to see the show this past weekend. I love a good
musical. Sitting there watching Little Red Riding
Hood, Cinderella, a baker (Gregory) and his wife,
the Big Bad Wolf, Jack and many, many others
romp through the woods, singing and dancing up
a storm, reminded me of how much I enjoyed
being part of a theater group in my younger days.
Maybe when I retire, I'll be able to incorporate
this time-consuming pasttime back into my
life.

I usually worked behind the scenes. I got involved
in a local summer theater group the first two years
of college because the young man I was dating at
the time was involved. He was a star.

Our troupe had little money but lots of talent and time.
Trent, my boyfriend of the moment, played
Matt, the lead in Harvey Schmidt's and Tom
Jones' musical "The Fantastiks" the first summer.
He had a gorgeous tenor voice. That musical
has beautiful tenor solos. My favorite one was
"Soon It's Gonna Rain" a plaintive love song sung
by Matt and Luisa, the main characters who love
each other. I admit that I was extremely jealous
of his leading lady back then. I can't even remember
her name now. I worked on props, costumes and
publicity.

I also held a cast party at my house that first
summer. My parents were on vacation in Florida
with my two youngest sisters. No, I didn't have
permission to have a party. But I was 19 years
old, my parents were away and hey, it's what
you do at that age. I had chaperones. A married
couple from England were in the area for a brief visit
so I invited them to the show and the party.
Prof. Jones, the male half of this couple,
had been a visiting geography professor
the previous year at SUNY Potsdam. He and his wife,
Barbara had only been in Potsdam for one year. I took
his class, and then kept in touch when they returned
to England.

I didn't see anything wrong with inviting a few friends
over to meet them, celebrating the closing of the play
and stocking the fridge with a few six packs.
Well, I did know that it was wrong. But I was 19
and sure that I wouldn't be caught. Did I mention
that alcohol was never allowed in our home? Imagine
the drama, and my personal ethical dilemma,
when my parents returned home two days
early during this party. I don't think there has ever
been a more dramatically complex moment in my life.
I have blocked out most of the details - except for how
I sent those six packs home with the guests and
thanked them for bringing them in the first place.
They looked at me like I was crazy and I insisted
that they take home what they had brought. No
way was I going to get busted for buying beer as
well as having an unauthorized party. Need I
remind you readers, I was 19. The drinking age
was 18 back then - so at least I hadn't broken any
laws - just my parents' rules.

Mom and Dad discouraged my theater
work after that. I insisted that others had
brought the beer and little had been consumed.
I pleaded for mercy because Barbara and Arthur
were both adult chaperones and nothing bad
happened. I cleaned the house. I tried to make
amends. And I was back in the troupe by the
next summer.

Trent played the lead in George Kaufman's and
Moss Hart's "You Can't Take It With You." No
music in this one. This time we had little money and
lots of laughs. I worked on props and costumes
again. No cast party. I learned my lesson.
And my parents stayed home the whole summer
anyway..

My theater career ended temporarily when Trent
and I broke up and I went to live in France. When
I returned to this country, I spent a quiet summer
working before returning to Potsdam for my senior
year. I had an evening French class. It was a
small and intimate class. We often went to a
place called "Station for Steak" - a local eatery -
to socialize after class. There was also an English
literature class which let out at the same time. The
professor knew two of the people in my class and
he often joined us for our social hour. Before the end of the
semester, we were all invited to the wedding of the
man who owned the restaurant. The reception was
at the "Station for Steak" with live music. The English
Professor asked me to dance. He was a very good dancer.

Turns out, he was also involved in the local theater
group, The Potsdam Community Theater. He was
starring in their production of "The Melodrama."
I can't remember who wrote this one. Bill, the
English Professor overplayed the villain's role as
was befitting this predictable tale of woe where the
innocent young maiden is rescued from the wiles
of the villain by a handsome young hero. I didn't
actually work on this play. I did attend all of its
performances.

Bill and I ended up getting married. We worked
on productions of "Come Back, Little Sheba"
and "Damn Yankees." I actually made the chorus
line in Damn Yankess - as well as working on props,
publicity and costumes. Those are good memories.

Stephanie, another member of the Potsdam
troupe, and I made annual pilgrimages to NYC
to see at least one Broadway show each year.
I got to see Harvey Korman in Plaza Suite, the
first run of Chorus Line and The Wiz, an unforgettable
tour of the Metropolitan Opera House and a
lecture by Bob Fosse. It's been a long time since
those NYC trips. Today's performance brought
them all back.

My daughter, Fran ended up being a theater major.
I was amazed at her talent in a high school play
where she played a character similar to Anne Frank.
I can't remember the name of the play. She had been
memorizing lyrics since she was three. One of her
favorites is "A Charlie Brown Christmas." I think she
knows the entire show by heart. I enjoyed travelling to
Niagara University to see her in college productions.
One of the best was "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever."
I also traveled to Prestonsburg, Kentucky to see
"Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." She had arranged for
me to be the volunteer they called up on stage in the
last act to play "Heart and Soul" on the piano. She
was also in a few shows with the Grasse River Players
in Canton. And now we are both too busy to get
involved in any theater productions.

It takes hours and hours of hard work to learn a part,
to get all the scenes blocked out, get sponsors,
print posters and programs and do the publicity.
But there is no thrill like opening night, when the
overture plays, the house lights come up and the
performance is on. For many of us, this feeds our
souls in ways that nothing else does. I get to do
many mini-dramas as part of Vacation Bible School,
occasionally even a Sunday sermon. But I do dream
of retirement - and the luxury of having time to
join a theater group again. Being part of a show
is a soul nourishing adventure from the trembling
tryouts through the applause of the crowd
as the curtain comes down on the last performance.