Saturday night I attended the UWP show from Cast A at Desert Oasis
Gymnasium in Las Vegas. At first I was not impressed with the show and a couple
of times I wondered why I was there because it was not giving me what I had
hoped for. To me it was sometimes a bit dark and rarely uplifting. I felt there
was too much “I wanna be me” or “accept me for who I am” songs. I thought we worked past all of that in the
‘60s, but I guess with today’s suicide rate among youth it is important to deal
with issues like these.
I also was wrong about another assumption from my UWP experience
concerning race. I would never have guessed that 50 years later we would still
be dealing with racial prejudice to the extent that we are in our society.
Some of the songs not only showed an overall sadness on the faces
of the cast while they were singing about searching for acceptance, but some
songs generated an atmosphere of preaching. The videos were a good touch to
make sure the audience got the message as the group was “talk-singing” about
society’s racial attitudes and other negatives and ills of society.
I did enjoy some of it however. The costumes were great for the
international segments, and the cast seemed to enjoy singing the songs in
various languages. During Intermission I bought the show album, as well as the
50 year reunion set, hoping to listen to the words of the songs more closely
thereby understanding the messages better.
I shouldn’t compare the show to my two era’s of participation
(‘60s and ‘70s), but I can’t help it. I tried to look past my own prejudices
but I couldn’t help notice the huge difference in the songs. I love to listen
to UWP music in general because it uplifts me, and gives me hope with a
positive attitude that I reflect in my life for hours, or days later. I smile
(inside and out) when I hear songs sung by Ralph or Linda and so many others. I
can’t say many of the songs I heard last night made me smile. Too deep, too
hard, too “in your face”. We said many
of the same things but with a lighter character, a toe-tapping catchy tune that
stuck with you.
A few years ago my wife and I attended a show in Vegas that had the
many songs from ABBA in the production. When the show was over and the people
were all crowded together walking out of the auditorium on to the casino floor
(the exits always make sure the patrons walk through the casinos) many people were
singing the last ABBA song we heard. It was fun, light-hearted and we were
laugh-singing the joy that we felt after watching the production.
I have often reflected on that moment because it reminded me of
the many audiences we had that left our show singing “up, up with people, you
meet ‘em wherever you go…” as they raised their arms in front of them or waved.
Most people seemed to have a lighter, more joyful step leaving, than when they
arrived. It was a positive, fast paced show where one song blasted into the
next. I know, I was the spotlight operator for cast C in ’77 and I had to be on
my toes every split-second.
Later, after the show I was reminded by a fellow sixties alumnus that
this performance was only the first or second show of this cast since they left
staging. Maybe that is one reason why there was often a painfully long gap
between songs with a definite lack of performance shine and technical polish.
Hey, it is the first time for most of them in front of an audience. I get that
and they did a great job with what they had. I give them credit but I was
surprised that the cast wore regular clothes for the entire show, and some of
them very casual.
I guess I expected more “hope I could cling to” that would give me
a personal boost in a time where I find there seems to be less and less to
smile about. It is the old songs that
drift through my mind throughout the day that I wish were echoing through the
halls of congress and the high schools of today. We lived through a time where
our message did just that.
We were at the center of a movement that “national” and regional
casts performed to dignitaries and every conceivable venue in society. We provided answers to a world questioning
almost everything and finding little. We had a purpose, and our enthusiasm from
within each of us showed it.
But the thing that amazes me when I look back is that the youth
throughout the world were so taken with the songs and the message that they had
to form their own local SING-OUT to ensure they could wrap themselves in the
one positive gift that inspired and uplifted them.