I have some things i wish to say, so here they are.
First: I need to start off by thanking Lauren Osborn. She wasn’t just in it, folks, she directed it. She is the pillar on which it happened. She made all those things on stage occur. I couldnt have given you anything more than a dry reading under a lightbulb. She made all that into an actual show. Not only did she direct and star in it, but she did it while dealing with morning sickness and all the other fun things that come with that first trimester. AND she was the glue that held it together. She deserves a special round of applause. Ladies and gentlemen, Lauren Osborn.
I need to single out Nora Sonneborn also. Not only was she spectacular as Jill onstage (Im going to be careful with too many spoilers but there’s a of couple songs near the end, and if you were there you know what i mean) but she was also instrumental behind the scenes. It was a foolhardy bit of folly to put up a show like this in a town where i don’t live or have roots. (Or even serious connections. I mean, wtf was i thinking?) Live and learn. You have no idea how many times over the past 6 months i wrote frantically to Nora to help and BAM, 24 hours later the problem was solved. She deserves an extra round of applause. So many things were done by Lauren and Nora which saved the day, but which you will never know about.
But let’s talk about the cast. You know, the part that made it live and be alive and gave you all the actual feels.
Bradley, Hayley, Kerttu, Abby, Aly and Maggie (we’ll get to Maggie in a second)… there is no story, there are no songs without these people, these lights of wonderfulness, these fucknesses of talent. I can tell you a story in 3 sentences, plunk out a melody on piano in a few seconds… it’s nothing, it is devoid of… emotion and reality without the performers.
I could name multiple moments in which each of these people fucking rocked that little world that was created each night from 8 to 10pm. They stood on that stage and slayed everybody and everything, including me. If you weren’t there, there will a video. You will see, i promise. These motherfuckers made magic. Actual, real magic.
At one point, the crowd literally couldn’t scream any louder for Maggie (and they were screaming like meth banshees) and started stomping the floor like a thundering horde of Mongols while they continued screaming that deafening roar that i swear could destroy universes.
The performers not only did emotional magic in front of your eyes, but behind the scenes were… made life worth living. If a godlike alien came to judge whether humanity was worth saving, i would offer up my memories of being with them for this last week, and i tell you, humanity would be saved.
This includes Sean Warner, Hayley’s husband, the heart of the entire cast. He made that rehearsal week shine in a way i can never repay him for if i live to be 1,000.
Our lighting designer Mikayla Paul not only destroyed that stage with beauty (have you SEEN those photos?!?) but has been adopted by us. She belongs to us now. She is our adopted bean and under our protection. Fuck with her and you fuck with us. I will hurt you. Again. She was more then a coworker, she became our family. AND her lights fucking amazing. AND she did it in 48 hours, which is all she had, cause folks this whole thing was thrown together in a single week with not much more than love and a prayer.
Tyler Jennings ran audio and was the nicest, most professional audio engineer i’ve ever worked with. It’s a shame he doesn’t get to run around that stage in the spotlight, because one of the definitions of him doing his job right is that you won’t realize he’s even there. But the sound in that theater was flawless and he was delight to work with, and he deserves a special round of applause.
But enough about the bit players. Let’s talk about the actual stars of this past weekend.
In my wildest of wildest dreams, i would never have for a second dared to hope that last weekend could have turned out half as good. No one, not a single one of us down there have ever witnessed ANYthing like the kind of energy that was happening that theater those two nights. If you were there, you know EXACTLY what i’m talking about.
WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU PEOPLE ON?!?!
I can’t describe it to someone who wasn’t there. It was not applause. You couldn’t even HEAR the clapping over the screaming. It was a WALL of screaming. OVER and OVER again. A roar. Picture an arena sized rock concert and put it into this cute this theater. I would have laid money on the walls coming down. Performers were physically blown back by the massive roar of the crown reaction. (If you watch the video you’ll literally see me reel at a few points.)
And it never stopped. They just kept it up, 2 hours a night over two nights.
Okay, it let up a little when they all cried a bunch of times during act 2. Those sobs… i fall asleep thinking of all those sobs… ahhhhh. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
But it’s more than the massive (like, im worried im not getting this across, the M-A-S-S-I-V-E) reaction the crowd had to the show. Greatest performance weekend of my life hands down. But it’s more than that. I’m seeing the posts that talk about the experience they had with each other during those 4 days outside the theater too. Don’t pretend it’s just about some musician and a cast putting up a show. The fans were something much, much more. They were… they were a welcoming family to each other. They were beautiful and kind and fun and accepting. There wasn’t a single trouble spot that i’ve heard of in the bunch. Every type, every age, every… every everything. Everyone was welcome and everyone was made part of the group experience. And folks, i have nothing to do with that. That’s all you.
I never, ever, for a single moment predicted it would all go this well. Yeah, i lost some sleep. There might have been a tiddle of stress and a few harrowing details here and there to deal with and solve. I knew what i was getting into. All i wanted was to make something half this good, that had half this effect, for people half this beautiful.
I had No. Fucking. Idea.
Really. No idea.
To say it was a success… i mean come on. It blew away every expectation by a HARD MILE. I never expected it to go ANYWHERE near this well.
I cant thank you. I’m sorry, i cant. I dont have the words, i dont have the emotional capacity to give you what you deserve. All i can do is keep making my little albums and one day, when i’ve recovered and built up resources again and the moment is right… on that day i will give the call, and i will see you all again.
Thank you. Thank you for this last week. It was the greatest performance experience of my life. Like, by a long shot. And i loved the last cabaret, dont get me wrong.
Please be well. Please be safe. Please take care of yourselves and be kind to yourselves. I scream at myself enough to cover all of you. You are beautiful and wonderful in ways that a stupid blog post cant put into words. Thank you for what you did for me back there. I will never forget it. (To be clear, your screams. I will never forget your screams. And your sobs. Your screams and sobs. Oh god, so delicious, im getting ecstatically woozy just thinking of that sound now….)
Ok, jokes aside, you understand. I love you all in a way i cant express. And i saw you love each other too and it was fucking beautiful.
Next time then.
The honor my friends really has been mine.
Damnit Paul how dare you make me cry again with this
Thank you for building such a beautiful word for us! It is New Albion that brought this amazing community together, and I am so grateful for it. It was a joy to see everyone perform live, and to be a part of this magical event.
Beyond words with this and the weekend at large, I feel unworthy to have experienced such magic made real
I’ve been to a few plays, musicals and more concerts combined of the two. None of them left the impact close to what this show left on me.
No thanks necessary, sir, the honor was ours.