In the past nine years I have gradually become comfortable with the solitary life of a widower, a pleasant life consisting of regular routines interrupted occasionally by minor adventures – lunch with friends, dinner at Beth’s with her family, Historical Society programs, etc. Late last month I was blessed with a visit by my daughter Sara, her husband Jim, and their son Ian. What a difference! Suddenly my house was full of activity and all manner of interesting things were occurring. Every day was an adventure.
On Sunday we went to the Benedum Theater to see the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera presentation of “Camelot”, part of its “Summer of Musicals”. Unlike the productions of touring companies of Broadway revivals that visit Pittsburgh occasionally, this show was produced locally, using nationally known actors in the major roles and local folks as support. It was easily equivalent to shows I have seen on Broadway. “Camelot” was one of my wife’s favorite Broadway musicals; we had tickets to see it at the Nixon Theater the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. Several years later we finally saw a live version of it.
The actor playing Lancelot in this production was easily the most credible of the performers – tall, good-looking, and possessed of a powerful voice. Guenevere too had an excellent voice, but somehow didn’t quite appear to be queenly. Arthur was fine as a young king apprehensive about his upcoming marriage, but didn’t really look the part as the middle-aged ruler of the Round Table. I was particularly impressed by the quality of the ensemble, made up of folks associated with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Academy of Musical Theater.
For the next few days following the show, we spent a lot of time discussing it. Ian, now armed with a Fine Arts degree in Theater from the University of Colorado, was full of comments and questions related to its actual production. It is interesting to conjecture how different directors approach interpretation of specific scenes. I was curious about the relative roles of the script writers and the directors. And, who decides which songs are included in a specific performance? I was disappointed when Guenevere did not sing “Then You May Take Me to the Fair”, which I remembered fondly from Julie Andrews’ version on the original cast LP.
We also had major discussions about the overall King Arthur saga. In addition to being an English literature teacher, Jim is a voracious reader and had just finished T. H. White’s “The Once and Future King”, the 1958 novel on which “Camelot” was based. I had recently read Mary Stewart’s “Merlin” trilogy. Is there any historical basis for the King Arthur legend? Arthur first appears in literature in “The Historia Brittonum”, a ninth century Latin document by a Welsh cleric named Nennius, supposedly based on folklore related to the period when the Britons were at war with the invading Anglo-Saxons, following the departure of the Romans in 407 AD. Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur” published in 1485 tied together many of the Arthurian legends into one coherent tale. The body of Arthurian literature has continued to proliferate until the present. Serious historians today cannot confirm that Arthur is a specific historical figure, but do acknowledge that there were numerous minor kings in Briton fighting the Saxons at that time.
Another rewarding experience this week was a visit to the Little Lake Theater to see a fine performance of Neil Simon’s 1963 comedy “Barefoot in the Park”, the tale of a pair of mis-fit newlyweds moving into a run-down fifth floor apartment in a New York brownstone. Despite the triviality of its plot, the combination of Simon’s dialogue, Mike Nichols’ direction, and star performances by Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley added up to a blockbuster hit on Broadway. The local actors in the production we saw successfully replicated that achievement. Amanda Weber was a perfect flaky extrovert as “Corie” and Ryan Warsing equally believable as her boring stuff-shirt husband “Paul”. Their neighbor “Victor Velasco” is a show-stealing part for any actor. Played by Kurt Kasznar on Broadway, David Bailey was very impressive here.
This experience also generated a lot of discussion by Ian and his three non-theatrical fellow theatergoers. The Little Lake has a “theater-in-the-round” format which worked well for this show; we immediately queried Ian about the challenges of adapting a play produced for a conventional theater environment in this much different setting. It is interesting to imagine the difference between the way he views a production and the way we laymen do. I have been attending Little Lake plays for nearly seventy years and am greatly impressed with the contribution they continue to make to our cultural life.
We had lunch with my brother Joe twice while the McCances were here. The first time, his daughter Becky was visiting; the second time, it was his son Paul. Sara was delighted to see Paul and Becky. Joe’s four children and our three were all born in a period of six years and spent lots of time together while they were growing up. When Sara and Becky went off to college, they both majored in biology; Sara, at Michigan, and Becky at Penn State. Becky became a doctor (as did Paul) and has a successful dermatology practice in North Carolina; Sara is an equally successful wildlife ecologist.
I must confess that I had a sinking feeling when I saw the McCances get into their car and begin the trip home. And for the next few days my house did indeed feel empty. However, by now I am comfortably back into my normal routines and the realization that I am remarkably fortunate to be able to retain my independence, and to settle back in my easy chair, prop my feet up on a footstool, and doze off whenever I wish. My glass is still well above half full.