Several years ago someone who ought to know informed me that nowhere in Mississippi did anyone live more than one hour”s drive from some kind of live theater. That information surprised me somewhat. We are geographically removed from New York City, Branson, Mo., or California. But think about it a minute. We do have some professional theater available — on the Coast, Jackson, Tupelo, nearby Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., to mention a few. We have even more amateur performances, which can be outstanding in the true sense of the word amateur — one who loves.
I have seen plays on Broadway. Just because I have been privileged to see some of the best does not mean that I do not appreciate the best efforts of local thespians. Sometimes I think local performances can be more exciting, particularly when you see someone you know showing a talent you never suspected.
We have been especially fortunate in Columbus to have the facilities and programs at Mississippi University for Women and the contributions of the Rosenzweig Arts Center and the Y, and even various churches.
No matter how polished, professional or elaborate movies and television are, they hardly ever make their audiences want to jump up and participate. There is a connection between live audiences and live actors, and sometimes interaction, that cannot happen with film or pixel. As Martha Stewart says, “It”s a good thing.”
It is also a good thing to visit neighbors. Sometimes we just get so set in our ways, we forget that. Last week when Barbara Yarborough suggested I join Linda Hollowell, Myrll Bean and her to drive to Starkville to see a Starkville Community Theater production, I remembered how long it had been since I”d done something like that. I accepted immediately.
The SCT is celebrating its 35th season with an impressive array of performances and talent. We saw “Liner Notes,” a revue of music by Jewish songwriters that takes us from pre-Depression times to the present date. I expect most people would have recognized most, or all, of the music.
They began with what had been one of my grandmother”s favorites, a real oldie, “Alexander”s Rag-Time Band.” We knew all the lyrics. In fact, we knew and sang along — but not very loud — to all the songs in the first act. Yes, all the old ones that started in Tin Pan Alley and went through many Broadway shows, until by the second act, they collided with rock. Surprisingly, we knew them, too. I think the music was universal.
The program included, among many others, such numbers as “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Shine On, Harvest Moon,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” three selections from “Oklahoma,” Elvis” “Hound Dog,” “Willkomen” from “Cabaret,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “I”ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “You”ve Got a Friend,” “River of Dreams,” “Under the Sea,” and, well, you get the idea.
We were sitting on the second row, and the cast noticed us, too. In the lobby, after the show, several of them mentioned this to us and said, if we would come back, they would pull us up out of the audience onto the stage with them. I don”t know if that was a threat or a promise; but, see, that”s interaction.
I don”t think I have ever been as hyped up by a performance as I was this one, so light and carefree, after a long, dry spell. It was all I could do to sit in my seat and not jump over the footlights to join the performance. And I can”t even sing.
For information about Starkville Community Theatre, visit www.sct.online.org.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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