That's Entertainment
I don’t have to tell you that there are thousands of
Christmas movies on TV this time of year, but my two all-time favorites are
still “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “White Christmas”. I’ve seen several live productions of the
latter over the years, and they didn’t disappoint. So I’m looking forward to seeing yet another
performance this week, this time at the Goodspeed Opera House. I’ll be going with my nephew and his wife,
who are treating me to what’s becoming an annual tradition. Last year, it was Hartford’s TheaterWorks to
see the hilarious “Christmas on the Rocks” (LINK to last year's review)
I’m
not all that frequent a theater-goer, but have had more opportunities in the last
couple of months than usual – three very different presentations at three very
different venues. No matter the setting, there’s something special about the
shared experience of live theater.
The
most spectacular experience for me in terms of both production and venue was seeing
the North Americn Tour of “Hamilton” at the Bushnell in early November.
Let
me start by saying that the Bushnell theater has been part of my life since
childhood. I’ve seen countless shows and
plays there, way back to a children’s Christmas party when my father worked at
Royal Typewriter. Because of its seating
capacity of almost 3,000, it’s where we had our high school graduation (Conard
1970) - one of the few places that could accommodate the families and guests of
the 600+ in our class. The auditorium’s
art deco design and ceiling mural have always been a source of fascination for
me, and are emblematic of the building’s construction during the late
1920’s.
“Hamilton”
itself was every bit as fabulous as advertised.
I don’t have the vocabulary of a theater critic, so let me just
encourage you to see it if you ever get the chance. I learned some things about
our country’s beginnings (reinforced by watching the Ken Burns “American
Revolution” on PBS last week). Aside
from the storyline, music, and amazing talent and energy of the cast members, what
captivated me was the split-second coordination of the choreography, lighting,
and stage set changes. It made me wish I
could see it again, this time watching the careful queues and timing from backstage.
The
movie version of the original Broadway production of Hamilton is apparently
available to subscribers to the Disney Channel. There are also clips of some of
the numbers to be found online, such as this one of King George
III, like a jilted lover telling the Colonies "You'll Be Back" : LINK
(A
side note: speaking of shared experiences: about an hour into the first act,
the house lights suddenly came on, along with an announcement that a fire had
been identified somewhere in the building, that and we needed to evacuate. The actors exited the stage, and the ushers
directed the 3,000 or so of us audience members to the emergency exits and out across
the street to the lawn of the state capitol.
The whole process was very orderly and calm, and we were allowed back
into the theater within about 20 minutes to see the rest of the performance).
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| Fire Alarm: waiting to go back in |
Closer
to home and in a much smaller venue was a performance back in October of “Come
From Away” at Northern Stage in White River Junction Vermont. The theater’s stage is three-sided, allowing
good views from anywhere in the 240-seat audience. Although a local theater, the performers are
professionals from all across the country, many of whom have appeared on TV and
off-Broadway.
“Come
From Away” is based on the book “The Day the World Came to Town”. (I’m not sure
if I’ve written about it in years past or not). The setting: Gander, Newfoundland; the date:
September 12, 2001. The story unfolds as
the small town of 9,000 suddenly finds itself the host of 38 international
flights carrying roughly 7,000 humans – and animals – from across the
globe. The planes, in mid-air when the
September 11 attacks occurred, were rerouted to Gander airport because of its
size and location: it had been an important refueling stop for transatlantic
flights during WWII and in the days prior to the development of long-range jets
 |
| "Come From Away" |
It
may seem to some an odd topic for a musical, but the 12-person cast and simple
stage setting brought me alternately to tears and laughter, and reminded me of
how our neighbor to the North and the rest of the world rallied to our
country’s support at a very dark time.
For
a different topic about our neighbor to the North:
The
Haskell Library and Opera House in the town of Derby Line, Vermont literally
straddles the U.S.- Canadian border. A thick
black line on the library floor separates Derby Line from the Quebec town of
Stanstead. A similar line runs right
through the audience of the 400-seat opera house on the third floor. The 1901 building was built as a
collaboration to support the communities on both sides of the border. In the
century since, the main door, though on the U.S. side, has served as the
entrance for both countries.
 |
The Haskell Library & Opera House:
The white building on the left is in Canada;
jersey barriers separate Stanstead Quebec from Derby Line Vermont.
The main (U.S.) entrance is visible in the background behind my friend Jane's left shoulder |
The
Haskell gained national attention back in March when the new head of Homeland
Security paid a visit and floated the idea of absorbing Canada as our 51st
state.
 |
| The make-shift Canadian entrance, per order of U.S. Homeland Security |
Last
month, Canadian writer Louise Penny chose the library for the official U.S.
release of her latest “Three Pines” mystery, The Black Wolf. She selected the location purposely to serve
both Canadian and U.S. fans, and because several scenes in the novel take place
in the Haskell. And although the book
went into publication months before the Homeland Security visit, one of the
subplots in the mystery involves a group wishing to absorb Canada into the
U.S.A. Life imitates art.
Louise
Penny’s first book of the Three Pines mysteries (Inspector Armand Gamache) came
out in 2005, but I didn’t discover the series until a couple of years ago. Since then, I have binge-read then all, finishing up all 19 volumes – and waited eagerly for the release of
this, the 20th. So, when
tickets became available for the Haskell library event, I immediately got
online and managed to secure two seats before they all sold out just minutes
later.
Although
the U.S. and Canadian entrances are now separated (Canadian visitors enter
through a make-shift emergency exit), we were all able to mingle once inside
the building. When we made our way up to
the opera house on the top floor, my friend Jane and I took our seats on what
turned out to be the Canadian side, seated in a mixed crowd from both
countries.
But
it didn’t matter – Canadian or U.S., we in the audience were just there for a
pleasant shared experience of conversation and interviews with one of our
favorite authors. The collaboration
between our two countries continues.
 |
| Ms. Penny, by the way, is donating some of the proceeds of the event towards the $100,000 cost of upgrading the door on the Canadian side into a proper entrance. |
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