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Tony Adams is a Chicago based theatre artist, husband and father, and artistic director of Halcyon Theatre. He's been fortunate to make my way as an actor, designer, director and writer (in alphabetical order) He also staged managed twice. He is a horrible stage manager.
A Pleasant Evening?
Submitted by Tony on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 14:56
My grandfather was a great storyteller. He didn't always speak much, but when he did he could go on, at times making most of the story up. But he had a tell. The twinkle in his eye and his knowing smile was altered a bit when he was telling the truth. It was very easy to miss if you didn't look for it, but at times it was unmistakable.
Once, after my granny finally lost her long battle with cancer, my brother and I spent the night over at his house to keep him company. He told a story for around three hours. I think every word was true, quite a feat for one who enjoyed telling tall tales. It started with the day after Omaha Beach with him and his two buddies that made it through and ended with the three of them and their three successive bar fights on the night Paris was liberated.
The third wasn't their fault, he'd said. They had just gotten a drink and a fight broke out and well, they didn't want to look like tourists. It ended with, "And we were the good apples, I'd be scared to hear what the bad'uns got into that night." I was riveted for the whole story, maybe for the only time as a teenager.
I just finished reading another new work. (Number seven so far for '09.) It's good. Not great, but it's solid. It's not really a good fit for us, and it did not grab me the way some of the others I've read have. That, coupled with the fact that we can only produce a 2-3 of shows a year, means we probably wouldn't produce it.
This play is the kind of story my grandfather would have told. It doesn't say much new or revelatory, but it's a heartwarming tale, told well. It's not IMPORTANT. It's not cutting edge. It's not dressed up in sequins and song and dance, or costumed in academic pseudo-artistry-babble.
I think it would make for a very pleasant evening in the theatre.
It would probably be mocked by artists and ravaged by some critics, but I bet audiences would like it.
A very pleasant evening in the theatre. I've long gotten the sense that notion has become unacceptable for many. Is simply putting forth a pleasant two hours of entertainment counter to artistic pursuits? We often treat it as if it beneath us.
Why is that?
