A Little Life, A Little Death

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 3/6/09 at 3:57am

So I took a seventeen-day trip to New York that ended this past week (sidenote [the first of many]: oddly enough, I arrived on Friday the 13th and next week is Friday the 13th. Is it just me or is it weird to have two in a row??). Since I don't go that often, I saw a multitude of shows, ranging from the old (Chicago) to the new (Happiness), the good (West Side Story), the bad (Pal Joey), and the ugly (Shrek); the shock from NOT being disappointed by something you’d previously written off (I'm still embarrassed to say it, but TLM), the shock from being so very, very disappointed by something you actually thought would be good (I’m looking at you, Guys & Dolls), and even the shock from an I never thought I'd see that moment (somehow actors I never thought I'd get to see on stage like Lansbury, Nixon, Parker, Gandolfini, Macy, etc. all get trumped for this award by Gleason’s happy ending in Happiness. NEVER thought I’d see that!).

Although I was able to witness two pieces of life somehow surrounded by death in the forms of the quiet, beautiful, and (to me at least) totally relatable The Story of My Life, and in the still-fresh tummy-ache hilarity of the 30-year-old Forbidden Broadway. I saw it the day before it closed and it was my first time. Maybe it was because I had seen all the parodied shows except for A Tale Of Two Cities, maybe I was just in the mood to laugh, but whatever it was I found the show to be a total hoot and despite its gargantuan run find it shameful that it had to close. I want to say they even recently added some things, though can't really be sure since it WAS my first/only time. During the In the Heights parody, they had the tiny powerhouse (who also played Ariel and Velma) come onstage in a replica of the costume worn by Josefina in West Side Story and she said the "How many bullets are left Chino?" line which just fit so perfectly. Since both these shows closed right around/after I saw them, it had a definite sense of things ending, but I also felt so privileged in both respects. With Forbidden Broadway, I was simply glad they decided to extend so that I got to see it at least once in my life. And with The Story of My Life, it closed so quickly that the odds of me being able to see it were not really in my favor. As it is, I already had the ticket since it had been suggested by people on this board, so I even got to sit front-row and really just absorb that heartachingly true Story.

Either way, I have seen a lot of shows that went on to close. I last came out in August and since that time the only shows I’ve seen that remain: Avenue Q and In The Heights. So I am used to shows closing and realize the whole phoenix-like nature of Broadway. However, until this past trip I had never experienced the strangest form of this: the Lincoln Center Archives. On my first visit I saw the Original Touring Cast of Company, which despite it’s 30+ years holds up surprisingly well. You could rarely see the actor’s faces and it was all in poorly shot black and white, but Company being one of my favorite shows, it was quite the viewing. However, the best experience of all – the best show I saw during my ENTIRE trip was on a Thursday, the morning before I was to see Blithe Spirit. The video I saw was of a show I was somewhat familiar with, as I had listened to the cast recording countless times. On that wonderful day I saw Side Show and it has been with me ever since.

Since Side Show opened in 1997 and lasted less than 100 performances, the only thing I had ever had to reference it was the OBC and the version I had constructed in my mind’s eye. Needless to say it took me by complete surprise. Not only was the acting just phenomenal, but I found myself so enamored with every detail on the screen in front of me: the staging, the costumes, and most of all I found myself loving the simplest aspect. I really loved the story itself and how it explores love, prejudices, sacrifice, and what it means to be family. Things were explained to me that I previously thought I understood. For instance Buddy’s character is fleshed out more with the book, something quite obvious as that is what a book is usually for, but most people don’t have access to the script or the production video and know a show mainly by its recording (one of the reason I think pop operas live on so much). These small things like little inflections in certain songs suddenly pop out at me whenever I listen to them. An example: the way Emily Skinner shouts at Buddy, “I am loved” near the end of “You Should Be Loved” made so much more sense now that I knew the events leading up to it, particularly Jake’s overhearing of the men’s own ‘private conversation’ and Violet’s craving for companionship. All in all a beautiful show that I am so glad I got to see. But ah there’s the rub. And the reason this fits with title of my post.

We already established that this was the first time I was able to see Side Show, as it was before I was fully immersed in theater. But also keep in mind the fact that Lincoln Center has that rule where you can only see a production one time. Once. Ever. forEVER. Which means as great as it was seeing that video, it was like its own Glory Days. As mind-blowingly fantastic it was to see this perfectly-shot time capsule of my favorite show, it was strange knowing it was the first and last time I would ever see it. So it got me thinking and the thinking turned to writing and the writing is being posted here. As a reminder to go see stuff at Lincoln Center (to any people like myself who don’t live in NY, but visit sometimes to see shows, this is such a treasure and easy as can be to do). As a suggestion to see Side Show if you never have since it’s such a sad case of a show being before, and dying before, its time. And really just as a collection (FYI random incoherent ramblings now means “collection” in case you missed that memo) of thoughts on the ever-changing, ever-dying, ever-evolving Bitc* that is Broadway.
Updated On: 3/6/09 at 03:57 AM

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 3/6/09 at 4:31am

...I have no words, my friend.

BEE.YOO.TEE.FULL.

RE: SIDE SHOW - From one fella to the next, I can attest to it being one of My Top 5 Faves of All Time (and) beyond that, My Fave. Musical of the 1990's. Truly, truly, truly. Having had the distinct pleasure of PERFORMING in a production of it at a celebrated regional house a few years back - It's one of those instances where the legacy lives on within the hearts, minds, and spirits of anyone and everyone who's willing enough, strong enough, and smart enough to embrace it.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 3/6/09 at 7:52pm

Why thank you Mike. Sorry for the length of the post, there were just a lot of thoughts that I had (obviously). And you are quite lucky to have been able to actually perform any production of that wonderful show. It's still hard to believe it lasted for such a short amount of time, but it is true that it lives on in those who perform it, listen to it, or (even nowadays) get to see it.

Thanks. :)

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 12:05am

I couldn't agree with you more about Side Show. I managed to see it before it closed on Broadway, and then a couple years later worked on one of the early regional productions, which was a phenomenal experience as well.

[Juliet LaFleur]

Posted: 3/20/09 at 2:13am

Not to nitpick, but wasn't it actually Alice (who played Violet) who shouts "I am loved!" at Jake during the song?