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Rev. Joey N. Welsh: Can we get along here? Another Angle, the occasional musings of a Kentucky pastor: "Can we get along here? Can we all get along?": This article was originally published in the Hart County News-Herald, 6 March 2006. Edited by RHS To see other articles by this author, enter "Rev. Joey N. Welsh," or "Another Angle," in the searchbox. By The Rev. Joey N. Welsh When I was in college I attended a high school production of the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical, The Boys From Syracuse. The little brother of one of my campus chums was in it. We knew him because he was sometimes on campus with his older brother at movies and other events, and a bunch of us went to a performance to be supportive and cheer him on. It was a good presentation of a fun and funny musical, with lots of slapstick in a story of mistaken identity. The plot took off from a premise involving some parents in the ancient Mediterranean world, their twin baby boys and another set of twin boys who were supposed to grow up to be servants to the sons. A shipwreck occurs. The mother, accompanied by one of her twin sons and one of the servant twins, is separated from her husband and the other two boys. The separated sets of twins grow to adulthood in different countries. Finally, the parents and both sets of twins show up in the same place at the same time, and confusion reigns for a while. Richard Rodgers had written some fine music, and Lorenz Hart had contributed clever lyrics. The book -- the dialogue between the songs -- was written by the great George Abbott, who also directed. (One of the stars of the original production on Broadway had been Eddie Albert, later primarily known to many as Eva Gabor's husband on the television comedy series Green Acres. Mr. Albert had a strong singing voice; he had been the first replacement for Robert Preston on Broadway in The Music Man when Preston completed his time in that long running Broadway show.) We all had an enjoyable evening at The Boys From Syracuse. The audience was appreciative and supportive, mostly composed of school friends and family who were there because they thought they should be. In the end, though, we were glad to be in attendance because the show was just plain enjoyable. I remembered that special and pleasant night so many years ago because the 2006 Young Performers' Shakespeare production at Kentucky Repertory Theatre was Comedy of Errors. One of Shakespeare's earliest, briefest, and most farcical works, it also supplied the plot about separated twins, mistaken identity and the ensuing comedy that was adapted into The Boys From Syracuse. (I hadn't realized the connection between the Shakespeare play and the musical until I saw a college production of Comedy of Errors. I had a major case of deja vu during that play, realizing that the Shakespeare plot seemed very familiar to me before finally I remembered it was because of the musical.) Once again I was in the audience because I had friends who were on stage, and I knew that I needed to be there sometime during the run of the play, if only to be supportive. Sometimes, being there for people is the most important thing we can do. And, also sometimes, while we're there because we think we are obligated, the resulting experience can be an occasion for delight. That was the case for me. The Shakespeare play was an enchanting event, as magical a theatrical happening as the Rodgers and Hart musical had been. The concept of being there is an important one to me. I think that when kids pour their hearts and hard work into an endeavor, they deserve our support. This applies to artistic efforts as much as it does to athletic and academic competitions. If we aren't willing to show up for our young people when they do good and laudable things, if we don't lend them our encouragement when they do something extraordinary, then when will we be there for them? When they do something we want to complain about? When they're in Juvenile Court? Or when they're in the morgue? Might it not be a far, far better and affirming thing for us to do and a far, far better time that we will have if we show up when they are doing something outstanding? When I was in high school I viewed students from other schools as competitors. I wanted to smash them decisively on the football field, the basketball court, at academic competitions, and during speech and debate events. I wanted us to win and them to lose. In 2006 the Young Performers who presented Comedy of Errors. came from several schools: Caverna, Hart County, Edmonson County, Glasgow, and Memorial. The 20 students on stage were not in competition. They were in collaborative cooperation. And they were working hard to do right by Shakespeare and by one another. They were living out a model of behavior we don't see much in this world. When we read the headlines these days we see that, among others, the Sunnis and Shi'ites don't get along in Iraq, the Catholics and Protestants don't get along in Northern Ireland, The Hammas Palestinians and the Israelis don't get along in the Middle East, the Hutus and the Tutsis don't get along in Africa, and the Republicans and Democrats don't get along in our own country. The list is nearly endless; our world is full of people who despise one another, often with disastrous results. I remember that back in 1992, as rioting took place in our own country in the wake of the trial that acquitted the police officers accused of beating and abusing him, Rodney King appeared before news cameras and pleaded for calm, asking, "CAN WE GET ALONG HERE? CAN WE ALL GET ALONG?" Now, Rodney King has not led any kind of exemplary life, but on that occasion he could not possibly have asked better or more probing or more honest questions. Surely there is a better way, surely people ought to be able to get along. As the Young Performers prepared to present Comedy of Errors., there were several reasons for people of good will to plan on attending: audiences saw talented students in a production of a great play, and they affirmed the Young Performers' hard work in a worthy enterprise. They got to see some fine young people from various backgrounds working together and really getting along in a profound way. And, finally, just by showing up, by being there, they discovered that they did themselves a favor by entering into an experience of delight. Think about it. If you are not going to bother showing up for students now, then when? E-mail: joey_n_welsh@hotmail.com This story was posted on 2010-01-17 08:48:55
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