‘From Here’ resonates
With strong demands for justice ringing, play more relevant than ever
The coronavirus shutdown cut short the run of “From Here,” the Orlando-set musical by Donald Rupe, but now the show will be able to reach a worldwide audience.
Beginning Friday, “From Here” will be available to watch online by Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ-advocacy organization, as part of a remembrance of the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. The performance was recorded during its Central Florida Community Arts production this spring.
Although “From Here” is not about the Pulse massacre, the tragedy creates a pivotal moment in the lives of the show’s Central Florida friends. “From Here” centers on Daniel, a young gay Orlando resident who is looking for Mr. Right while trying to reconnect with his mother, who has cut off ties with him.
“The reason I think ‘From Here’ has a chance of breaking through to people is because in its specificity, it’s universal,” said Rupe, the Orlando playwright who wrote the show’s book, music and lyrics. The show focuses on issues of friendship, family, healing and love. “We can all recognize parts of ourselves in these characters,” he said.
The backdrop of the Pulse shooting adds an extra layer of resonance to the show now
— when people’s lives are upended by terrible events around the nation, from the killing of a black man detained by a white police officer to social restrictions and economic chaos from an ongoing pandemic.
“I’ve thought a lot about whether or not it’s appropriate to do anything artistically that doesn’t directly focus on what is most important right now, and that is the Black Lives Matter movement,” Rupe said. “Our hope, though, has always been to do something good in remembrance of the Pulse tragedy on June 12, 2016, and I think it remains important to honor that date.”
Although gay people’s challenges aren’t equivalent to what people of color face, Rupe pointed out there are commonalities.