3 posts tagged “broadway”
“I can remember stories, those things my mother said
She told me fairy tales, before I went to bed
She spoke of happy endings, then tucked me in real tight
She turned my night light on, and kissed my face good night
My mind would fill with visions, of perfect paradise
She told me everything, she said he'd be so nice
He'd ride up on his horse and, take me away one night
I'd be so happy with him, we'd ride clean out of sight
She never said that we would, curse, cry and scream and lie
She never said that maybe, someday he'd say goodbye
The story ends, as stories do
Reality steps into view
No longer living life in paradise-or fairy tales”
- Anita Baker “Fairy Tales”
I don’t want my kids to ever look back on their childhood and feel like I’ve lied to them about the ways of the world. Sometimes that means being overly honest about Real Life situations (ie no money certain extra curricular activities, toys, candy because of the rent or light bills being due)…other times it just means Reading original Brother’s Grimm adaptations in lieu of the more Disneyfied versions of fairy tales.
I learned some of life’s greatest lessons from Aesop’s fables…early bird gets the worm, slow and steady wins the race, do not loose what you have to get what you think you want… Fairy tales have all these magnificent truths wrapped up in beautiful big bows of hope and love and happily ever afters.
My favorite Musical of all time (and I have a lot of them…lol) is Into the Woods. For the unfamiliar, it is a musical culmination of fairy tales, interlacing the stories of Cinderella, Jack and the Bean Stalk, The Baker and his Wife, and Little Red Riding Hood (interspersed with Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel) . No One is Alone (the former AIDS crusade theme) is taken from this musical. Written by the Fantabulous Stephen Sondheim…of whom I am also a HUGE HUGE fan! (how can you NOT Love Sunday in the Park with George??? “He needs me…I mean he kneads me…like Dough…..George…) Ah yes, and a Gloriously horrible Witch played by the Insanely talented (and somewhat Vain but who cares) Bernadette Peters.
One exceptional song, Moments in the Woods, is performed by the Baker’s Wife, after she’s had a brief ..ahem…affair with Prince Charming (already married to Cinderella at this point). She’d been feeling blah about her very safe life as a Baker’s wife….needed a little excitement...and found it in the Woods. When it is over, she can’t believe what she’s done, how she felt and how it has changed her perspective on love and life:
BAKER'S WIFE
What was that?
Was that me?
Was that him?
Did a Prince really kiss me?
And kiss me?
And kiss me?
And did I kiss him back?
Was it wrong?
Am I mad?
Is that all?
Does he miss me?
Was he suddenly
Getting bored with me?
Wake up! Stop dreaming.
Stop prancing about the woods.
It's not besseming.
What is it about the woods?
Back to life, back to sense,
Back to child, back to husband,
You can't live in the woods.
There are vows, there are ties,
There are needs, there are standards,
There are shouldn'ts and shoulds.
Why not both instead?
There's the answer, if you're clever:
have a child for warmth,
And a Baker for bread,
And a Prince for whatever-
Never!
It's these woods.
Face the facts, find the boy,
Join the group, stop the Giant-
Just get out of these woods.
Was that him? yes it was.
Was that me? No it wasn't,
Just a trick of the woods.
Just a moment,
One peculiar passing moment...
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always "or"?
Is it never "and"?
That's what woods are for:
For those moments in the woods...
Oh. if life were made of moments,
Even now and then a bad one-!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.
First a Witch, then a child,
Then a Prince, then a moment-
Who can live in the woods?
And to get what you wish,
Only just for a moment-
These are dangerous woods...
Let the moment go...
Don't forget it for a moment, though.
Just remembering you've had and "and",
When you're back to "or",
Makes the "or" mean more
Than it did before.
Now I understand-
And it's time to leave the woods.
And then….she is crushed by Jack’s Giant and dies….and thus is the way of the world.
“…and as for Fortune and as for Fame, I never Invited them In, though it seemed to the world they were all I desired. They are Illusions…They are Not the Solutions they promised to be…..” - Evita (Don't Cry for Me Argentina)
We have a radio station here called Max FM 96.1. If you’re in Chicago, it follows the same format of Jack FM. (Max plays Plays It All, Jack plays What They Want.) It boils down to the hits and one hit wonders of the 70’s 80’s and 90’s sprinkled ever so lightly with a few current hits and NO DJ’s. Love it!
This morning, I’m getting ready for work and what do I hear? That familiar guitar and electric keyboard intro pulsing…..”Baby look at Me and Tell me What you See..”
I start running around the house screaming “That is my theme song!” Blasting the radio, while Irene Cara is telling me to “Remember My Na-ame! FAME!! I’m gonna live Forever!! I’m gonna learn how to Fly! HIGH!!! I feel it comin’ togetha…”
Of course by “Remember Remember Remember” I’m spinning around like Wonder Woman! LOL
That song Really Was my theme song…and some of my close friends would probably say that it still is. I remember watching Fame – the Movie at least 200 times…and was an Avid Fan tuning in weekly for the TV Show to watch Leroy’s fine self do his thang and secretly wishing I was Co-Co.
That song and that movie inspired me to Dream Big and that there was nothing you couldn’t do if you just worked hard enough…even if I did have to Pay...in Sweat.
I eventually went to a Fame-like school: The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York’s Ansonia building on the upper west side. I studied musical theatre for a year there…and Yes we did burst into Broadway showtunes on the streets numerous times (I still do).
As I’ve gotten older, and had various brushes with Fame and stardom, I realize now what a mirage Fame really is. To sacrifice your anonymity for notoriety is not all that it is cracked up to be. I imagine now, there are times I don’t want to answer my phone, I just want to be a recluse. When I go to the malls in , I hope I don’t run into folks, because I don’t like being disturbed when I’m with my family. I can’t imagine what I would do or what I would become if I was harassed by paparazzi daily.
Most folks want Fame because they want to be remembered long after they are gone. They want to live forever in the minds and hearts of everyone in the world.
But I think for me, my fame will lie in the help I gave to people to just make it through another day and another step on their journey either through this blog, or conversations, or just prayers and good energy sent in someone’s direction.
I hope to be the constant Traveling Companion…and it’s okay if you don’t remember my name (but I have a feeling you will) J
I didn't even know there was a musical production in the works for this!!! The website says more than I ever could.
Check it out: http://www.colorpurple.com/
Note to Chicagoans: The Color Purple begins it's limited engagement at the Cadillac Palace Theater on April 17th 2007. Tickets go on sale to the General Public on October 13th. However, VISA Cardholders can get access to tickets before they go on sale to the General Public now through Oct 13th. Call 312.902.1400 or you can of course order online at Ticketmaster.
