By Luke Durling 07/02/2024
As I listen to a Spotify playlist of Broadway hits looking over the dew covered fields at 7:30 sunrise. ‘‘My Shot” and “I Believe” intermixed with the various Meinken and Ashman classics from Disney come to my ears. I look out the window as Evan Hansen laments about waving through one and the hopeful cast of A Chorus Line squabble about getting a job. I come to a seemingly trivial epiphany that is still an interesting one nonetheless.
No one entity or amalgamation quite encapsulates the spirit of longing like this thing we call Broadway. It is not even a street, a show or even a musical anymore. Broadway seems to be the very gilded idea of longing instilled in every single classic song and iconic performance. Primarily in the “I want” songs that so often are the lasting memories of any musical experience.
Whether we want to be a rich man, a king, to be respected or simply to be seen, the reason why we keep going back to the musical and the spotlight again and again is because no other art can really say “I want” in so many different forms and feel completely unique in so many ways. There will be musicals that will not resonate with everyone, but perhaps the point of the musical is to have a resonance with those who long for the same longing. If you want to defy the gravity of expectations, go to Oz and croon with Elphaba. If you want to have some fun, go down to Easy Street. You want a shot? Either rap with a founding father, make a little razzle dazzle, or any other kind of energy you want to get back you can probably find. You can find the same frustration, anger, strife, and fear in this longing as well since what we consider Broadway is, well, broad in the sense of longing.
As some of you may know, I recently auditioned for a role at my local Broadway extension, The Croswell, because I, too, longed for something. A chance to be in a creative community. A chance to learn more about the world of theatre I adore firsthand. I am proud and baffled to say that my shot paid off! I plan on being a part of The SpongeBob Musical, opening on November 22nd and running through December 1st! It’s funny, I have wanted to see this particular show for years, and I never thought in a million years I would actually be in the production itself. I still am amazed by it all and production hasn’t even fully begun.
However, as with most of my musings, I have another, deeper connection with the show than meets the eye. The main, showstopping number of the show is titled “(Just a) Simple Sponge“. An “I want” song, the ballad sees SpongeBob lamenting about how he wants to be taken seriously, wants to help people, but keeps getting shot down for his seemingly feeble and naive nature. People doubt SpongeBob because they see his wonder and joy as weakness rather than his absolute strength, which leads him to doubt himself. That is the beauty of SpongeBob I have always admired, but others can’t seem to understand. I long to love the world indiscriminately and passionately, despite people seeing it as hopeless, material or mundane. I also want to use that same crazy and childlike wonder and help others in any way I can, no matter what other people think when they see my wheels or hear my broken speech. I am not a simple man. No one truly is. I want, more than anything else, to show that to people, to remind those who have forgotten,. What seems impossible in the name of good is often always possible. Let me attest to this possibly and possibly help others along the way. That is why I write, sing, dance, talk, and get up each morning. I cannot thank The Croswell enough.
At the end of the day and at it’s very core, the reason why we continue this tradition we call Broadway and the musical is for the love of equal frequency and the longing that love instills. Not all musicals may be the same caliber as Broadway, but this thing Broadway has become can be heard in us all. We just have to long enough for it.
Calm and Cultured 