It was a rainy and dreadful Saturday afternoon. It was the coldest day of the Fall so far, and the wind was unforgiving. I was on my way to Harlem to watch a show to review it and the climate was not making it easy for this to be an enjoyable experience. As I walked in, I was welcomed by what seem like a school hallway. I picked up my tickets in a generic office, and headed to the auditorium. I was still not convinced the trek to this location was worth it. The auditorium is big, with nice seats and enough space to get a nice audience going. It still looked like an upgraded version of where we used to watch our high school plays. Then, the show, Alive! 55+ and Kicking, started…
The music began, the lights in the audience went out, and the stage lit up. Within the first song, you could hear a whole community sucked in and I was part of it. The performers, all above the 55 year old mark, came to tell their stories to us through the power of music. Sometimes I forget how powerful a song can be, but I was reminded. Not only was I reminded, but it was easy to look past the amateur technical mistakes taking place with the spotlight, or the fact that some performers were so nervous on the first number that they look out of place. All of that dissipated by the time the second number came in, and the oldest member of the cast sang. His voice was a boom from another time, one that took us to be part of a dying generation. But instead of a dying man, I saw one lift with spirit. One that was ready to live, and he was joined by this group of people that refuse to give age its edge and decided to beat it by showing you can start your dream at any time.
The music, was as expected, older songs — hymns, pop songs from the 70’s and 80’s, Gospel music. Disclaimer: I’m a non-believer. I have been for more than a decade. I still enjoyed every minute of this show. Because it is not just a show, it’s an experience. It’s a celebration of life. It didn’t matter that some performers were better than others, some could sing better, or that the technical aspects of it sometimes couldn’t catch up with what was going on on stage. It didn’t matter because the work put on stage was as honest as I’ve ever seen. These people were realizing a dream in front of us and their joy was infectious. The audience was part of them the whole time, and the relationship between them and the performers just became closer as we reached the end of the show. I sang, danced, celebrated breathing, and in doing so, I became part of a community I had never been part of before. This kind of feeling goes beyond the technicalities of it, and works on your emotions to the point that you get inspired by it. This is what art can achieve.
Recommending this show is not enough, I’m urging you to experience it. There are things in life bigger than the flashy and scripted moments, and that’s where this show resides. 60 Minutes is doing a feature on this show for a good reason, and you should know why. There’s two performances left, November 15 and November 22. To miss this is to miss a chance of knowing some of the most interesting people you would get to know. It would be to miss a chance of becoming part of a culture and society that may be long gone, but that lives inside that auditorium. Get yourself to The Depmsey Theater on 127 West 127th St., and enjoy the otherworldly work the MAMA Foundation for the Arts and director Ken Wydro has put together for us. It is more than worth it, it turned that horrible rainy day soaking walk into a sunny inspiring stroll. How many shows you’ve watched have done that for you?
Twisted Talk: Have you heard of Alive!? Will you be getting tickets to the next show? Discuss below!
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