Some thoughts on… Achieving Status

Reflecting on the beginning of a new year, it’s time to think about achievements and make resolutions to accomplish even more for the next year. For example, personally I achieved Executive Platinum status on American Airlines for the first time in 2012, and wonder if it is possible to pull it off for 2013.

Whether the goals are professional or personal, why do we feel a need to strive so hard every year? Let’s see what the arts have to say.

Clifford Odet’s play Golden Boy at Lincoln Center was first produced in 1937, and maintains its relevance as ever today. The story follows a 21 year-old concert violinist, Joe Bonaparte, who gives up decades of training and practice to pursue quick fortune by entering the professional boxing ring. Joe’s ambition drives him fast towards a destiny that he believes will bring him happiness. Away from the life of musical introspection that his middle class, Italian family fostered, he seeks a journey that will catapult him to instant fame.

His story is similar to the multitudes of young individuals looking to establish themselves in a changing world. Seth Numrich portrays the arrogance and charisma of a boy becoming a man, willing to cast aside childish notions of musical perfection for the adult needs of acknowledgment and status. Tony Shaloub plays Joe’s father with pathos and a tragic recognition of the potential costs of this pursuit. A musician’s profession may not be glamorous enough for a young man seeking success, but in the trade-off he forgets the joy that a more humble life brings to others around him.

The film version of Les Miserable is a grand spectacle bringing to screen visuals hard to imagine on a Broadway stage. The novel of Jean Valjean’s lifetime penance for crimes he committed as a youth, and his foil Javert’s commitment to punishing him, is established in the Western ethos. Hugh Jackman carries the movie on his wolverine shoulders, but it’s a heavy load. Anne Hathaway as the ‘can’t take your eyes off her’ Fantine and Eddie Redmayne as the revelatory Marius provide support, yet the weight of the spectacle overcomes in the end.

Victor Hugo’s story still sings though. Javert’s solipsistic pursuit of a wrong that shouldn’t be righted is misguided and heartfelt. Jean Valjean, after a lifetime of self-preservation and flight from his identity, realizes that his true triumph is not survival but the happiness of his daughter. In this final feat, he accomplishes more than he has in his lifetime.

Like Joe and Jean Valjean, in youth we seek achievement as a way of establishing ourselves, getting the things we want and have yearned for. We seek status for ourselves. Once we get those though, we could keep gathering more, but it becomes a relentless pursuit towards an ever-moving goal.

The difficult part is shifting gears to striving to make ourselves better, not to achieve status, but as an appreciation of life. Recognizing that lacking this impetus, we are wasting the time given to us. The motivation changes to making ourselves better through the success of other - by mentoring, by training or by transferring wisdom to those we love around us. If we cling too tightly to our own purposes, like Javert, we lose true north and have nothing more to give ourselves. As Javert sings before his demise:

I am reaching, but I fall
And the stars are black and cold.

As I stare into the void

Of a world that cannot hold

January 13, 2013

Some thoughts on… Conservative Rage

Muslim rage has been a topic of conversation for the past few months.  Syria, Libya,  Yemen, Pakistan are examples of countries where citizens have expressed fury at the government leading to political instability.  Some have speculated that this may be a common theme across Muslim countries where the population feels it is losing control of its destiny.  The attribution that Islam is a contributing factor to the unrest seems simplistic, especially given that we are facing similar rage here in the United States.

Despite a tough economy, the overwhelming win for Barack Obama, may be less a nod towards the achievements of the President, and more a rejection of the policies espoused by the Republican Party.  The systematic disenfranchisement of ethnic groups, women, gays and lesbians, had a backlash in the election this year.  The vote was a clear renunciation of the call for continued “traditional American achievement” which could be interpreted as older, white, male conservative achievement.

In addition, future demographics are not in the GOP’s favor.  Their current constituency was on obvious display at the Republican National Convention this year, where the audience’s homogeneity was a prominent point of discussion. Unless a more centrist candidate comes forward, it may be difficult to sway the younger generation of voters who see the party as an out-of-touch, aging grandparent.

So now, it is conservatives’ turn to be angry.  Many feel they have lost their country and don’t see what can be done to regain the past glory.  What can the conservative party do to regroup and be a strong voice in politics again?  Let’s see what the Arts have to say.

Bring it On is the story of competing high school cheerleading teams, based on the film franchise.  One school is white, upper-class headed by an ambitious Eve Harrington, a young ingénue willing to do anything to win.  The other is an urban, multi-racial one that is more disjointed in leadership.  The themes for the musical are not new.
What is new are Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rat-a-tat lyrics evoking our culture and lingual diversity while at the same time complementing traditional musical-fare, along with the skyrocketing choreography of the teams.  Miranda may be the heir to Sondheim.  The parallels to the current election are apparent, but the twist is that in the end, the rich school wins the top prize.  The learning is that the top dog may still be successful, but the victory is tainted by the deals made to get there.

Bond is back in Skyfall, which one-ups Casino Royale. The movie takes on the question of the utility of a beat-up and broken, cold-war era spy in a cyber world.  The 50 year series needed a re-boot and with Sam Mendes direction, it got one.    Bond’s hand-to-hand combat has little use, in a world where economic markets can be destroyed by the click of a button.  A poignant scene is when the new Q (played brilliantly by Ben Whisaw) who is half Daniel Craig’s age provides him only with a gun and remote tracking device –  no more fancy cars, no more shooting pens that are old-fashioned and redundant.  Bond’s job is just to pull a trigger and know when to do so.  The movie demonstrates that there is still a role for an old spy, but he needs to be surrounded and supported by the younger generation.

The revival of Cyrano de Bergerac, is an opportunity to see the historic play, updated with a fresh translation.  The story of the dare-devil swordsman with the heart of a poet and the nose of a pig is always timely.  His love for Roxanne which is translated through the cipher of a younger, more handsome cadet is heartbreaking and humorous.  In this production, Douglas Hodge brings the panache and energy required for a larger than life character.  As the story ends, Cyrano decries the things in his life that he fought against -

prejudice, cowardice and compromise. He promised never to surrender to these ideals, and because of this he dies having spent his life paying visits to his true love as no more than a friend.

Rage is an easy outlet, but eventually reflection will be needed to regain a strong voice.  The GOP will need to drop its alliance with the far right and rediscover its more centrist voice.  Like Romney, if a future candidate makes deals with ultra-conservative but promises to govern from the center, the populace will distrust her ability to do so.  It will need to embrace the new America, which is different from the traditional America.  This includes a younger generation that overwhelmingly supports gay rights, a Hispanic population that demands fairer immigration laws, and women who refuse to lose their reproductive rights.  Not compromising may be a good ideal for a fighter and poet like like Cyrano but not for a political party.  Otherwise the GOP may be become as obsolete as a pocket pen with shooting bullets from the 1960’s.

November 11, 2012

Some thoughts on… Reaffirming Faith

In the past weeks, three momentous events have reaffirmed my faith in people’s ability to make choices that better society. The first was the vote by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in favor of the constitutionality of the individual mandate within the Affordable Care Act. By doing so, Justice Roberts brought on the ire of the conservative wing and rose above partisan politics. The second was the discovery of the Higgs-boson – the eagerly-awaited and elusive “god particle” that helps prove super-symmetry in the universe. Although the investments needed were derided, the payoffs to academic theory are worthwhile. The third was that Libya, a country controlled by Saddam Hussein two years ago, is now holding democratic elections. Though not yet complete, the passion of the people to transform the country is remarkable.

Recent shows on Broadway and the West End have echoed this theme that people will make the right decisions to help the broader good.

The winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, Once, follows a similar story-line to the movie but infused with Celtic music. Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti are destined lovers from separate worlds who meet through their mutual attraction to music. Filled with a heart-warming score that glows and glistens in its deference to Czech and Irish traditions, the show captures the tainted longing of a relationship that can never be. The chemistry of song, cast and choreography is a passionate concoction of kindness.

The producers of the two-act, South Downs/Browning Version, have ingeniously combined a new script by David Hare with Terrence Rattigan’s one-act play to create a whole fabric with patchwork from different decades. Taking place in a British public school in the 1960’s, both works describe a context of dreariness and pain broken by a searing gift of generosity which sets the protagonists adrift and subsequently on a better direction. The main character in both books begins on a path of obstinacy only to be changed unexpectedly not by a climatic event, but an anti-climatic one. The play is showing for a limited period so catch them soon.

The theater production of Leap of Faith, started with buzz and enthusiasm which burned out due to funding. The New York Times article describing the rush to bring the show to the Great White Way is revealing of production hubris. Expecting cheese and proselytizing, I left the show buzzed by an enthusiasm that glossed over its flaws in an earnest attempt to please. It is disappointing that the cast recording wasn’t produced since Alan Menken’s music though guarded at first becomes spiritual and uplifting by the end.

Trust in our leaders consistently needs reaffirmation; we want to believe in good leadership as they ask for our faith when making decisions. The momentous occurrences of the past weeks reverberate these themes. All the events have been unexpected, generous and passionate. We could not have hoped or prayed for them even a year ago making them feel like a gift. The actions bring us together as a society and demonstrate zeal in their inception. We need to appreciate these momentous events when they happen, as they force us to raise our eyes towards the remarkable and gives us hope to overcome the obstacles we face daily. July 8, 2012