October 17, 2013

FHTE Day 6: Two Days and a Wake-up for "From Here To Eternity - The Musical" to be 'Locked'

It's crunch time as Saturday approaches, and the time for the story and presentation of From Here To Eternity - The Musical to be 'locked' is imminent. But like anyone else getting down to the wire for show time — the St. Louis Cardinals as they face the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-2 lead in the National League Playoffs, headed to to 2013 World Series — there's no panic, just hard work, dedication and confidence in the final product. Everybody goes about his/her job with a quiet efficiency and competence that promises a successful result.
Oh, there was a bit of madness yesterday afternoon before rehearsal with the press call, with a dozen or more photographers in the theatre to take photos. Producer and lyricist Sir Tim Rice and composer Stuart Brayson went off for three television interviews while director Tamara Harvey set scenes with actors and and orchestrator David White ran through musical numbers while cameras clicked and
A section of the company of From Here to Eternity - The Musical poses for photographer Johan Persson.
 photographers jockeyed for position. The actors and actresses seemed to enjoy the spotlight, sometimes having to stop and start the scene over when it didn't go quite right. And Harvey would run the scene again, always polite and accommodating with the photographers, asking them if they got enough from the scene or the songs. After a half an hour or 45 minutes, she asked if there was anything else the photographers needed. Finished, they packed up and left the theatre. All in all, it was quite orderly and necessary for publicity's sake.
Somebody said the actors enjoyed being before the cameras, but the tech people probably didn't find it as enjoyable with all the stops and starts and scene switches. Understandable.    
Be that as it may, rehearsals seemed to take on a different feeling after the press call. There were still run-throughs of songs, a difficult fight scene was discussed and worked on to make it smoother and
more realistic, actors were getting haircuts and the whole atmosphere was different for a neophyte like me who had never been behind the scenes of a major musical show preparing for a world premiere. It was both impressive and inspirational. I pinched myself to see if I were really there.
But it was the show that I was curious to see. So much had been changed and tweaked in the first three shows I'd seen that I was eager to see if there were improvements from the night before when it seemed to be all coming together. Frankly, afterward, I could see very few ways for improvement. Except for a couple of minor shoulder movements with the rifles that are being addressed, the subtle nuances for improvement weren't apparent to me. I didn't stay for the post-performance discussion, and walked back with Brayson to our respective hotels while listening to his critique and thoughts about what else might be done to make the conclusion, which was already quite powerful, even more memorable.
"I think we're there," he said as we walked. "And it'll be smoother as we reach the point where there are no more changes possible.
As I understood him, there will be more music and singing from "The Boys of '41" after the Finale and during the curtain call.
What I do know for sure is that this musical captures the essence of James Jones' novel with music in ways that should capture the attention of youth everywhere. Many in the older crowd can identify
with it through life's experiences. And many young people who have never heard of either James Jones or From Here To Eternity can identify with it through the music and learn some about what those men and women who go off to war experience for the defense of their country. In a small and random sample of students at the University of Illinois where my daughter Jessica is a freshman, she said she only found one individual who had heard of either the novel or the author. I didn't ask her, but I expect that that student had only heard of the movie.

Which brings me to my point regarding the story. 
In his work set in the military and during war, James Jones was an extraordinary spokesman for the enlisted men who serve in our military, not just for his own time but for all time. In his day, it was the poor and the disenchanted young men growing to manhood in and the Great Depression who were joining the military for "three hots and a cot" and travel to exotic places like Hawaii. They came from the hardscrabble farms of the country, from the poverty of the inner city and from families who lost their wealth and standing during the depression. Of the latter group, many were unable to attend college as their fathers had, and joined a branch of the military. Jones himself joined the Army in 1939 after his father's dental practice had suffered during the depression. I joined the Marine Corps 20 years later because I was financially unable to attend college and had few employment opportunities. 
While many of today's youth come from affluent families and are able to attend college or find jobs to support themselves, many cannot. And with no draft, they don't have to worry about military
service. But there are those who have few employment opportunities, want to travel and leave the parental nest, follow in the footsteps of their fathers who served, join for patriotic reasons or are
enamored with the idea of war — the ancient Greeks believed that men of each generation went off to war to prove their mettle. 

That may be the case, sadly, and our leaders certainly take advantage of that. But while the United States may have the best military in its history, it's still the few who serve and go to war for the many. In World War II, everybody was involved as they have been in no other war of the country since. Still, it's the same kind of people who are serving. It's just a different time.
The same division of and disdain for officers still exists — don't get me wrong, there are many good officers. But the caste system still exists, and the "Dynamite" Holmes of the military are still around.
Contending with those types of officers going off to faraway lands and fighting unpopular battles,  unnecessary wars are the destiny of many young warriors today. And that's the story I see being presented in From Here To Eternity - The Musical, and it makes the message very significant. The young men and women of the world will find a historical perspective in the musical, and the young men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world, particularly since the horrific attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will find a verisimilitude they rarely find in theatre, literature, music or life itself.
It won't be something you soon forget. 
Until next time, again, if you're a fan of good musicals, I'd run, not walk, to figure out a way to get to London to see this show. And I mean it more that ever this time. The From Here To Eternity musical is going to be a smashing success, and I'm not just "blowing smoke." I'm confident that it'll make it to Broadway, but I don't know when. It's here in London now, and do remember that I'm coming back with a tour Feb. 24-March 4. Still time to sign up for the ACIS "Showtime" tour by Nov. 1 at http://www.acis.com/tripsite/?key=RFJjUDVxSFMzOHpYQnBPYWZaTT0%3D. And in addition to the Eternity, I'm trying to decide with the ACIS and people here on the other musical we'll see here in London. Billy Eliot? War Horse? If you're going and have a suggestion, let me know.

See you later from London,
Ray

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