dear dead mom

In the movie, the focus had been on 'Adam' and 'Barbara', the couple who died when their vehicle went through a covered bridge and into the river.

Then the movie proceeds to show their "life" up until the house is sold.

That's when 'Lydia' enters the scene.

However, in "Beetlejuice, Jr.", the musical version launches in a cemetery with the funeral of the teen girl's mother.

Angst to the max!

And the lament the girl has is in the form of an oral letter to her mom.

 

"hey mom, 

dead mom,
i need a little help here,
i'm prob'ly talking to myself here,
but dead mom, i gotta ask
are you really in the ground?
'cause i feel you all around me.
are you here, dead mom?

Dead mom
dead mom
i'm tired of trying to iron out my
creases
i'm a bunch of broken pieces
it was you who made me whole

every day dad's staring at me,
like oh hurry up get happy
move along
forget about your mom.

'cause dad is in denial
daddy doesn't want to feel.
he wants me to smile
and clap like a performing seal.

ignored him for a while
but dad has lost it for real,
you won't believe the mess that we've become.

you were my home, my destination,
and i'm your clone, your strange creation.
you held my hand and life came easy.

my jokes don't land and no one sees me.
nothing seems to fit." 

Let me tell you, I was hooked after that.

Tomorrow will be the 25th Mother's Day that I've spent without Mama.

It totally feels like a quarter of a century, too.

I'll make sure to check in with the mothers I have on fb, wish them well, as I have done ever since joining that site in 2007.

Some will even wish me a happy day, too...

but that won't be the same.

 

As for the musical, it truly was delightful and I laughed in all the right places, as did the young woman behind me, seated with her mother.

I was fortunate to have even gotten a seat, as it was a sold-out show.

But as I waited by the check-in table with five others who'd also arrived without tickets, waited and waited as dozens and dozens came after I'd entered, a little miracle happened.

The very last group in the line checked in and realized they'd mistakenly purchased too many tickets for this Saturday matinee.

The father asked, "Could we transfer the other tickets to the Sunday performance?"

"Absolutely," was the reply, "How many are to be transferred?"

Six.

Amazing.

Right place, right time... for all of us waiting.

 

I'd known of this performance ever since my volunteer shift at the SMF36 Pop-Up Shop.

Noelle Westmoreland, the boss there, knew of my love for theatre in general and musicals in particular, and she'd told me.

I was telling her about the last Rambam musical, the take-off of "Mary Poppins", and how much I'd enjoyed it.

"They'll be doing 'Beetlejuice' in May," she told me.

How had she known about it?

She was the music and stage director!!!

Right place, right time.

 

This musical was a combined effort by the Jewish school and the Savannah Children's Theatre, a necessity as Rambam would not have had enough for the large cast.

Special kudos to Constance Zaller ('Lydia') and McKinley Tate ('Beetlejuice') for being the heavy lifters and making it seem effortless!

Charlie Karpf and Louisa Corbell were wonderful as the dead former owners of the house, as were Hayes Culver and Juliette Delcroix as the teen's dad and counselor/fiancee.

Three more of special note: the ever-delightful Emmett Witchel as 'Otho'; Olivia Gosden as 'Juno', the gatekeeper of the underworld; and Maryn Meece as 'Miss Argentina', who was captivating with her song of how she ended up in that waiting station.

 

If not for the upcoming trip to Florida with Christina and her girls, I might have decided to attend again tomorrow...

but I'm saving that $16 for fun with them!

So, no "Peter Pan, Jr." tonight... but I saw the SavChTh version several years ago, as well as the GOB performance last fall.

No "Plaza Suite" down at Tybee Arts Association, either... that was performed by the Asbury Memorial Theatre in 2018.

No Tybee Ballet this week, right near there at the Tybee Post Theatre...

and quite likely no "Cinderella" musical next week...

or "Sleeping Beauty" ballet in two weeks.

I'm working on saying "No" to these events I'd otherwise attend, but the struggle is certainly real in my heart.

No fear, I do have several free events lined up.

I have to keep my cultural calendar busy...

busy, like me, the busy, vibrant woman.

(smile!)