2021-01-29
The show must go on
Last spring, some of you might remember, I had the privilege of music directing the winter musical at our local high school. Since my wife and children have all worked and studied in another town in our area, I had never had a chance to connect with the teachers and kids at our own high school here in Maynard.
What an enjoyable time that was! One always expects challenges when working with adolescents... they are learning who they are, and they often screw up how to relate to others, especially strangers. But I cannot remember a single negative moment during that entire winter and spring. The students were consistently welcoming and grateful for my participation, and we prepared a really good production. We approached production week with a lot of excitement about how impressive the show would be.
Then, COVID-19 shut down the world. We were 48 hours from opening the show. The spectacular set was done, the pit band was gathered and rehearsed, the typical snafus of production week were getting cleaned up, and we were positioned to have a show they would all remember the rest of their lives. Instead, we gathered in the theater and explained that health concerns required that everything be postponed. Indefinitely. No one had any idea whether the show stood a chance of ever being seen. There were tears and shock. We adults were upset that the kids were so upset. There was nothing to do but head home.
Now, ten, long isolated months and what seems like a century of events later, we are gathered again. Our director put the word out before Christmas that we would attempt some sort of virtual production this winter. He suggested "Working", a show from the late 1970's that is more of a musical review than a show, because it is a string of songs and anecdotes based on Studs Terkel's Pulitzer prize winning book about the lives of working Americans. The format is about as workable as a piece of music theater can get for a virtual production. Almost 20 kids showed up, a number of them freshmen. A solid core of the cast from last March was back, and how good it was to greet them again and see their happiness at connecting with their directors again.
We honestly don't know how this project will turn out; art over Zoom is so limited and frustrating. We may have some software and hardware that will allow us to sing and play in real time in a modest way, but it is nothing like gathering in the music room or the main stage and working through a score. And those friendships you make by problem-solving your way together through a musical theater project? This time, it would appear a lot of those bonds will have to form through a computer screen.
But the part of this story that buoys me up during this horrible pandemic winter is the interest I see in the Zoom squares when we get together. These kids really, really want something to happen this winter and spring, something about acting out a story and embellishing the plot with lots of songs. Somehow, we will find a way to make some of that magic happen. Maybe by this time a year from now rolls around, the world will be a different place; and we can return to gathering around the piano to learn the tunes and complain about how it doesn't fit one's range or how it really is a silly song or how beautifully written a duet is...
I certainly hope so! I'll keep you posted on our progress.
If you have more questions about this topic, don't hesitate to contact me and we can chat.
K
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