Sitting through the performances of the 20th Season Gala provided moments to reflect on our history, particularly some of the songs that have been sung from our stage. I enjoy music...lots of different kinds. I've enjoyed Honky Tonk songs, pop, operetta, good ol' Broadway brassy tunes, ballads, ditties, Gospel, blues, country... In twenty years of producing musicals, lots of songs have floated around in my mind.
The other night at the celebration, “Hold On” from THE SECRET GARDEN hit me in a new way. As I mentioned at the Gala, the music from this show holds a special place on my list of scores, and this song...along with “Lily's Eyes” ranks right up there among the top five in this show. The whole score is powerful and meaningful, but the other night as Theresa Delmotte sang it I was struck again with it s power.
“When you see the storm is comin', see the light'ning part the skies. It's too late to run, there's terror in your eyes. What you do then is remember this old thing you heard me say: It's the storm, not you, that's bound to blow away.” Part of the power of the story is witnessing/experiencing the life journey the young Mary makes as one who is left without anything in this world, to a girl who recognizes love and is reborn through the power of life forces. The song—sung by the kind-hearted maid Martha—is just one building block that helps her make this incredible journey.
“When you see a man who's ragin' and he's jealous and he fears that you've walked through walls he's hid behind for years. What you do then is you tell yourself to wait it out; you say: “it's this day, not me, that's bound to go away.” There's is something very freeing about recognizing that a person may rage and be jealous because he fears you've walked through walls he's hid behind for years. Martha is able to help the young Mary name the negative force. She could see a man raging, but to be able to identify why—the source of the rage—helps Mary to walk through the door of freedom from that rage.
I'm grateful for songs such as these and the great privilege of being able to hear them and offer them to the community. We'd benefit from hearing of such a song in HG's history that made an impact on you.
THOMAS PUTNAM is the Artistic Director for Hamilton-Gibson Productions. In addition to directing plays, he is occasionally seen on stage as an actor.
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