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My Favorite Broadway Finale

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB5hafiKjtA



The 1990s gave birth to the American "true crime" musical. Strange, strange musicals that made song-and-dance occasions of appalling events from U.S. history.


"Titanic" had the venal financier Ismay trying to blame others for his own unethical decisions. (Blaming in rhythm with an orchestral accompaniment!)

"Parade" grafted syrupy ballads onto a horrifying story of a miscarriage of justice--an antisemitic lynching in the South.

"Ragtime" showed the robber baron J.P. Morgan flaunting his wealth while others suffered.

By contrast, "Floyd Collins" staged an event that may not have been technically criminal--but still registered as "spiritually" criminal. This was the Deathwatch Carnival. It actually happened in American history. A man, Floyd Collins, was trapped in a cave and slowly dying; Americans made a social event of this interlude. People came from far and wide to enjoy a picnic within a few yards of the unfolding tragedy. Why not turn this moment into a musical? (America just recently observed the anniversary of Floyd Collins's death.)

I recognize that Adam Guettel's work is flawed. "Floyd Collins" feels somewhat static--since the hero is literally trapped in a cave for the entirety of the show. "The Light in the Piazza" is intermittently tedious, and sometimes the writing seems vague and a bit too "celestial."

But I like Adam Guettel's "lost souls." I like that his heroes ask questions and struggle (and fail) to find answers.

Guettel grew up in the company of Stephen Sondheim; I'm certain he took a lesson from "Losing My Mind," which ends with a question. Notice all the questions in Guettel's work:

So when?
When was this day?
Was it in the churchyard?
Suddenly you're out of love?
Were you lying next to me,
Hiding what you couldn't say?

Additionally, "Floyd Collins" has one of the great endings in the history of musical theater, a hair-raising soliloquy in which the hero tries to envision the afterlife.

Do we live?
Is it like a little town?
Do we get to look back down at who we love?
Are we above?
Are we everywhere?
Are we anywhere at all?
Do we hear a trumpet call us--and we're by Your side?

Guettel doesn't shy away from questions about faith; his characters pray. A woman--struggling with her upcoming abortion--reminds herself of words from childhood.

Come to Jesus just now.
Just now--come to Jesus.
He will save you.
He'll receive you.
Flee to Jesus.
Call unto Him.....

I'm so excited for the upcoming "Floyd Collins" revival; whether or not it works, it will be an admirable risk. I'm delighted it's happening.


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