Confused about "I Am The One (Reprise)"

[JazzSquare55]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 4:40pm

** Spoiler ? **



Can someone please explain the Reprise of "I Am The One" ?

From what I can tell, it seems Bobby J. Spencer is the crazy one... His son (Aaron) was inside HIS head the entire time?

Is there supposed to be some silly metaphorical message with the realization & physicalization of 'Gabe' (Aaron), now that Alice Ripley's character has left him?

Thank you!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 4:44pm

The idea, well, my assumption after the Broadway production, was that by the end of the play Dan comes to grips with the fact that he lost his child and now must deal with the hauntings that go along with it, after years of blocking it out.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 5:18pm

Yankeefan007, I think you've got it. It's even hinted at in the lyrics of "I'm Alive" ~ "If you don't grieve me, you won't leave me behind."

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 5:29pm

My question is has Dan been seeing Gabe the entire time, and just pretending not to? The line that leads me to believe that is "why didn't you go with her?". I guess it's really a question of a literal or metaphorical interpretation of the lyrics.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 5:36pm

It's not that he SEES Gabe as Diana does, it's that he constantly almost tries to forget Gabe and pretend his death never happened. The reprise is his awakening to Gabe's existence and death not the hallucination of him or whatever it may be that Diana experienced.

The "why didn't you go with her?" line is more about the memories of Gabe leaving with Diana. Dan thought once Diana left he wouldn't have to try anymore to forget Gabe because he wouldn't be reminded of him through Diana's illness.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:07pm

he definitely sees gabe. I forget which song it is, but he physically avoids going near gabe at one point. He starts to go one direction, gabe is standing there, he stops and goes the other way. it happens on the second level of the stage, somewhere in the middle of the first act i think, maybe Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling,

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:09pm

AND he hears Gabe's voice in the beginning when Gabe comes home late- doesn't he say, "Who were you talking to? I heard voices!" (Is this still in the show? I just heard this on a youtube clip from the 2ST production.)

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:11pm

yeah, it's still there.

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:12pm

^It is still in the show, but he could just as easily be hearing Diana talking to herself. Even though he does say voiceS plural, it's unnatural to just say "I heard a voice".

I do think that Dan sees him, throughout the show, though.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:13pm

Also during I'm Alive (reprise) there are lyrics that say, "If you don't name me, you can't tame me," or something like that.

I always interpreted the I Am the One reprise scene as Dan finally acknowledging Gabe as his son after denying him for all these years, he doesn't have to actually see him.

Having Dan be the one that was crazy the whole time is an interesting theory though.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:15pm

During the NYMF Days when it was Feeling Electric it was made CLEAR at the end that Dan could see him the whole time and was in fact mentally ill as well.

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:21pm

I'm so disappointed they reworked "Light" and no longer have the "Dan Goodman, recently separated, first time seeking help". I'm not a fan of the "Hey Dan, why dontcha stay a while" or whatever interchange between Dan and Dr. Madden has replaced it.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:32pm

I got that he also was seeing Gabe as an 17/18 year old the hole show but was just ignoring him.

Because in the beginning of the show Dan says "I heard voices."
How would he hear "voices" if Gabe is dead?

[JazzSquare55]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:38pm

"During the NYMF Days when it was Feeling Electric it was made CLEAR at the end that Dan could see him the whole time and was in fact mentally ill as well."

That would be a great twist... Would have loved it.

Diana is the sane one, and Dan is truly the crazy one. Good to know it was in there at one point!

Oh well.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:39pm

Oh no, Diana was still crazy, but dan wasn't well either.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:40pm

He could have just been hearing Diana. I really don't think he sees him. I think it's more of him acknowledging his son's life and death not that he still exists in his mind. In previous incarnations, it was made clear that he SAW Gabe and was mentally ill. It's not as clear now and I think that's because the writers changed the whole feel of the last few minutes and just have Dan going to get help via a psychologist because of all the sh*t he's gone through with Diana not because he sees ghosts too.

What about the "Diana there's nothing there" line? He says it VERY believably, not like he ses Gabe and is denying it.

I really don't think he sees him.

[Tevye the Dairyman]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:40pm

I agree heo, the way they approached that moment in "light" at 2nd Stage was beautiful, with Dan walking by as Doctor Madden read that off the clipboard...the new exchange seems to be a bit of a cop-out. They've almost turned it into a throw-away comic bit, sorta diminishing the importance of Dan needing psychiatric help now too.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:41pm

I def like that twist. It keeps the show interesting and shows that grieving is a tough thing and can't be dealt with so quickly and lightly.

[JazzSquare55]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:41pm

I also must say that Gabe's final line (is it "hi dad" or "bye dad" ??) is completely lost and thrown away.

Where is the dramatic pause? Why does the music continue to play over that powerful 'goodbye' from Gabe? It personally killed THAT specific moment for me...

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:44pm

What about the "Diana there's nothing there" line? He says it VERY believably, not like he ses Gabe and is denying it.

BECAUSE HE WANTS NOTHING TO BE THERE. THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COURSE OF THE SHOW DAN WANTS EVERYTHING TO BE FINE, GOOD, NORMAL, IF GABE IS THERE, AND ANYONE ACKNOWLEDGES HIM, THEN THERE GOES DAN'S HAPPY PLAN.

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:44pm

He says "Hi Dad". I think Gabe should just say "Dad", like Dan just says "Gabriel".

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:45pm

I totally disagree about the end with Madden and Dan. It gets a laugh because the audience has seen all the crap Dan went through throughout the play and knows he needs help. It's not played for laughs but it's kind of just funny to the audience that after watching Diana go through hell, Dan wouldn't need help.

It would be less funny if it was made clear that Dan in fact SAW Gabe and was mentally unstable as well. But in this current version, I really don't think that's the case.

And PS: very early versions of the show had a huge (somewhat hokey) twist at the end wherein the entire show took place inside Dan's mind and the "D. Goodman" refferred to by the doctor(s) throughout the play wasn't Diana, but was in fact Dan. Diana was fine, Dan was the one who was sick.

But in the NYMF version, it was made clear both had mental issues.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:48pm

Zoneace, you need to calm the f*ck down. It's just my thoughts. Relax. They're as valid as yours.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:48pm

What is it that you aren't getting, DAN CAN SEE GABE THE ENTIRE TIME. They show you that he can see him. it is staged.


no, they aren't as valid as mine, because they're wrong. it is part of the facts of the show that dan can see gabe.


It is as much a fact of the show as diana having a breakdown at the end of Just Another Day. would you dispute that. Or that during It's Gonna Be Good she's having a manic episode after throwing out her meds?

Updated On: 4/29/09 at 06:48 PM

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/29/09 at 6:52pm

I think the new ending of Light isn't necessarily played for laughs, but it certainly has a much lighter approach and tone than the 2nd Stage. I know it's not written as joke and the audience is sort of laughing nervously, but it seems like the therapy isn't taken as seriously.


And I think the Dan/Gabe's relationship is intended to be ambiguous and spark discussions like this, so there is no "right" or "wrong" view. It's just each individual interpretation. Updated On: 4/29/09 at 06:52 PM