“Another op’ning of another show,” as sung by the character of Fred Graham, is a line that always stuck with me after I saw my area high school’s production of “Kiss Me, Kate” when I was in eighth grade.
There’s something about an onstage performance— the lights, the colorful costumes, the movements, the wit of ingenious lines, the wonder of observing an actor or actress actually becoming the character while they are acting… it is all so moving. Shakespeare said it well, “All the world’s a stage.”
This quote has a double meaning in my opinion: the whole world is a stage that we are able to perform on, but the stage itself can become a whole world upon which a story is told.
I just went to see the Schuster Theater’s most recent play, “Evita,” this past weekend to support my friend Bethany Lewis, who played a role in the show. I was very impressed about everything.
I walked away with a newfound appreciation and understanding of Argentine history that I previously knew next to nothing about. Incidentally, I walked away with “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” stuck in my head too.
The thought that comes to mind now as I reflect on the show was that all of the people involved in making the production a success commit themselves to an idea; one that they have to first cultivate within themselves, then together as an ensemble, and then share with an audience for a little more than two weekends. Then after the show is over, it’s on to the next big production, so the set is struck, and is dismantled or reused for the next play or musical.
Isn’t that how life is sometimes? The characters revolve in and out with each new “scene” and the plot becomes tangled and untangled in a unique ebb and flow that never fails to create some change in the form of struggle and resolution.
At this point, I could ruin ideas for future columns by saying that you could also compare life to a movie or a novel for the same reasons, but for the sake of avoiding redundancy, I’ll just mention that now.
This is a pivotal moment in our lives now. With this week being the last week of classes and next week being finals week, it’s about time for the cast of the 2015-16 school year to take a bow. The curtain will close, the set will be struck, and other theater metaphors for the final number can be made. But don’t despair, dear reader, this end is the pathway to new beginnings.
Members of Gannon’s cast will not return, but will find their way to other stages, in front of other audiences, to share their talents with new characters in new stories that they will create on their own. I hope that they will be awesome.
And while our beloved graduates go on to greater glory in the workforce or furthering their education, there’s still another encore for all of us coming back to Gannon. As I quoted in the beginning, it will be “another op’ning of another show.”
For everyone here at Gannon, as we finish the semester, may God bless you and keep you, always, in the palm of His hand.
Know of my prayers for you, and best wishes for your summer. Keep working hard and finish strong. As they say in “show biz,” the show must go on.
NATHAN DEMAREST
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