Theater even more magical after COVID intermission
A few weeks ago my wife took our son to see the Bethel Parks and Recreation production of “Bright Star” at Bethel High School. The musical was written by Steve Martin, who is an extremely accomplished bluegrass banjo player in addition to his comedic talent, and Edie Brickell, of the late 1980s alt-rock band Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. I didn’t know much about the production, so I didn’t go along. If I had known who the writers were, I certainly would have made an effort to make it: I memorized Steve Martin’s “A Wild and Crazy Guy” album when I was a kid, and I was a big fan of Edie Brickell back in college.
Because I didn’t go, I was puttering about the kitchen preparing to make dinner when the two arrived home after the show. I could hear my son’s voice chattering away excitedly the instant they stepped out of the car, and by the time they made it inside, the pitch of his voice served as an excellent advertisement for the show.
They were in the early stages of dissecting their experience. “Who sang that song?” And then: “Wait, I forget, was that in the beginning or later on?” My son kept asking for plot clarification to make sure he understood what had happened. One of the characters turns into an alcoholic and dies from that, and that required a little bit of explanation.
The action in the play, which is set in North Carolina, shifts back and forth between the 1940s and the 1920s, with two separate story lines that eventually come together. In the 1940s, a young man just back from the war begins submitting newspaper stories, while in the 1920s, a young couple have a baby that is taken away from them and put up for adoption. In the play’s big finale, we learn that the young man is the baby who had been adopted, and the editor to whom he was submitting his stories was actually his mother. My son is a sucker for flashbacks and complicated plots that resolve neatly, so he loved the story.
He loved the music even more. He had been home for less than 10 minutes before I had to download the original Broadway recording of the soundtrack. The songs all have a strong bluegrass flavor, with some epic banjo pieces incorporated. He has listened to the entire soundtrack several times, trying to recreate the play in his imagination as he bobs his head and sings along.
In an interesting coincidence, I had been teaching the drama unit in my freshman lit class the same week my son became enraptured by the musical. All of the elements I discussed in class — the staging, the blocking, the spectacle, and everything else that makes drama so enthralling — had cast their spell on my son. There really is something magical about live drama.
My wife and I quickly decided to pour a little more of that magic into our little boy’s mind. In December we are going to see Bethel High School’s production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Back when I taught high school, I helped the drama teacher produce the same play, so I’m probably as excited about this as my son.
I also booked tickets to see “The Lion King” on Broadway for his birthday. When it comes to spectacle and flash, this legendary (and Tony Award-winning) production will be hard to beat. After two years of COVID restrictions and closed theaters, seeing a major Broadway musical in a real live theater will be doubly magical.