Preview Thoughts on Southern Comfort and some other thoughts, too

May I first say that my brain is shutting down and I still have one more show to see this week?  Yikes!  My spending spurt of January is catching up with me, but things will be slowing down moving forward.  I am really looking forward to tonight's event, though, and hope I have the brain power to report on it over the weekend...

Last night, I saw Southern Comfort, a new musical at the Public Theater.  I think they're close to opening, so I doubt there will be changes, but just in case, I'll only offer a few thoughts.  I've seen a couple of previous incarnations of this piece and I do know the authors and one of the musicians, so I suppose I was predisposed to enjoy it.  Oh well. Enjoy it, I did.

Southern Comfort is based on the 2001 documentary about a community of transgender people in the deep south.  These are people who have been rejected by their families and everyone who used to know them - therefore, they made a family of their own, their 'chosen family.'  The musical is rather a snapshot of this community rather than a linear story, though it does chronologically tell a story.  The subject of the documentary, and the heart of the musical, is Robert Eads, who has hand-selected his family and acts as a father figure to some of his younger friends.

photo credit: Matthew Murphy

Robert is played MAGNIFICENTLY by Annette O'Toole, who has been with this show for a very long time.  The work she has done is nothing short of extraordinary - she inhabits Robert and all of his joy and sorrow.  The detail and the commitment is mind-boggling. This is one of most moving and spectacular performances I've ever seen. I really mean that. She effortlessly moves from dialogue to song and back again, and just shines from within. I can't say enough about how fantastic her performance is.  I also greatly enjoyed Jeff McCarthy as Robert's love interest, Lola, who is less far along in her transition, but is still a fully-realized character/person.  And McCarthy's huge, sonorous voice in his solo numbers was quite powerful.

Everyone in the cast was good - much was made when the show was announced that the production team would be auditioning and casting from the transgender community.  Two of the actors in this production are transgender and their presence adds a level of authenticity and humanity to the musical that can't be denied.  I will admit to wishing another of the characters had been played by someone from the transgender community, but...that is probably just me.  

The music is a wonderful mix of bluegrass and musical theater sounds.  I will admit here that I love bluegrass music, I grew up with it and it generally makes my heart swell.  I have read online that some people think the music sounds 'all the same,' but I don't agree. Or at least, to me, the songs/score sounded like a whole instead of parts.  It helped to create a feeling, a community, that just built on what the story, book and lyrics were doing.  I don't think you can parse that stuff out - in this musical, it all came together in a wonderful whole.  The lyrics were quite heartfelt and moving and they sat on the music very well.  I especially liked how the expert musicians were also used as singers and characters in Southern Comfort - again, it made the whole thing a communal experience and everyone was a part of it. 

the view from my seat

I do have one tiny complaint - I was supposed to see the show last week, but the performance got canceled because of a sick performer.  OK, not a problem, the Public made it very easy to reschedule.  My original ticket, which I bought the day tickets went on sale (in December, maybe) was in the center section towards the back.  When I rescheduled for last night, my seat was in the front row, on the far left side.  The front row of seats for Southern Comfort is a row of lawn chairs; a clever conceit, making the front row REALLY feel like a part of things, but that kind of seating isn't good for my back at all.  Plus, being on the extreme far left side put me behind the musicians.  No matter how wonderful I thought they were (and I did think they were amazing!), being so close to them made them the only people I could hear in the group numbers.  I couldn't hear the lead actors at all, especially when they were facing the other side of the stage.  And I really wanted to hear those lyrics.  Thankfully, I noticed an empty seat in the center section as the lights came up for intermission and a very kind usher let me move into that seat once it was obvious no one else was coming for it.  I guess I just wish the box office gal who had exchanged my ticket had pointed out the difference in the seating location; I might have tried to go another night for a more central seat.

But that's a quibble.  Even from my first-act seat, I could feel all of the love and commitment of these actors and these characters.  Their sadness and their triumph was beautiful to watch.  I was so moved, repeatedly, at what they had to endure and what they all overcame, with their heads held high and their dignity in tact.  I've put the Southern Comfort documentary on my list of must-sees, but I might have to wait a bit to let last night's emotion settle before starting again.  You should all go to the Public and check out the musical for yourselves!

The other thoughts I want to mention are about playwright Kia Corthron's new novel, The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter.  Again, I know Kia and love her, so I may have been prejudiced, but I thought this novel was an incredible experience.  It tells the story of two sets of brothers, one white, one black, over a period of many years (from the 40s to almost the present day).  These characters were so real, so compelling.  I would find myself wondering throughout the day, I wonder what Eliot is doing, or I wonder how this plot point is going to move forward.  To make my reading last as long as possible, I only read chapters while on the subway.  Since the book is around 800 pages, it took me quite a while to finish, but I treasure all of those minutes.  All of the twists and turns were so interesting and the intersecting of lives and stories was masterfully done.  There were so many details that made everyone so human, so real, I felt like I knew them.  Like I would look up and they would be sitting with me on the subway.  I giggled at some parts, I gasped more than once, I cried at other times (sometimes, my subway seat neighbors would look at me with a little side eye) - it was just so unique and so wonderful.  I have no business reviewing a book, but I just want to encourage people to go out there, get this book and read it.  Live inside it, like I did (in fact, I feel quite at loose ends now without being with these characters every day!).  You will not be sorry.