Word from the Cowboy

The Blue Hotel play in Harrisonburg Virginia ended its two-week run last Sunday. Scroll down or visit the February 2009 archives to read two other posts about the play. By way of wrapping-up, the man who played the Cowboy sent us along a nice summary & insights on how things went...

"My name is Paul Somers, I played the Cowboy. I have a Master's in English, but have never done any theater. So this was an especially rewarding thing for me to be a part of, as it gave me such a fresh and new perspective on literature. I studied a lot of oral literatures throughout my education so I was especially pleased when I found that Trocchia had included elements of Crane's other stories in the form of stories told by the characters. It also attracted me b/c the tone of the play seems so distinctively American and tragic. I found the play, as did many in our audience, to be very pertinent to the times we are immediately living in. There is also something mysterious in this story. The way the parts move there is no major resolution for me that sums up the meaning, it seems to me at least, that it lies much deeper than that. Something deep in me responded to this story and grew more complex in tone and feeling as we rehearsed and performed the play. It is definitely literature meant to be experienced above all, and thanks to the medium it was.

The music too, wow, the music blew me away the first time I heard it and made me feel like I had to really work hard on doing what I had to do, the best way I could do it. Everyone involved in the play did such a good job at what they did. My wife did the photography for The Shakes album cover and also took excellent photographs of the cast, which you can view. Definitely check those out. Then there's Mike, who conceived all of this somehow. I was inspired by how serious he was about spreading this play as far and wide as he could. The art show was another intriguing aspect. We got some really beautiful pieces.

Mike's motive seemed mostly to get people back into Crane. He has spoken to me several times, and I agree, about how Crane is often looked over. What incredible poetry too. I really can't say enough about all of this, but for me the most significant aspect of doing this was that feeling I got deep down in my own humanity, from where all of my human flaws are destined to infiltrate my own actions. I could feel the play down there. This mythic quality of the play satisfied something that seldom gets satisfied. I could have written essay after essay on the story, or Crane himself and would have never gotten to that feeling, and rather have possibly only gotten further from such a feeling."

Mark Lane of The Shakes also checked in during the plays run with this: "The Blue Hotel is going well. The Shakes performed to a house of 148 last Saturday evening before the start of the play."

Here's an online article about the play, with a dress rehearsal photo.

Info and samples of The Shakes Blue Hotel cd can be found on this page. And this is the ordering link where you can purchase it for $10.

From the perspective of a Stephen Crane fan, this project was a truly excellent one. It helps to keep alive one of Crane's great stories in a modern way. Most encouraging is that this project received the full efforts of a lot of talented people. And it was also supported by an arts grant, which although not essential, can expand the scope of a project and magnify its impact, while helping the artists involved.

Thanks to those who provided info and comments to fuel these three blog posts.