By Luke Durling
07/10/2024
The season began with a volcano and it will end with a volcano.
Escape To Margaritaville saw a group of flawed people leave the comfort of vices and fear to become what they truly meant to be, The SpongeBob Musical (November 22nd-December 1st) will show a community coming together, instead of fleeing with fear and anger. In the hope of a better tomorrow. Each production using the danger of lava and ash to make the opposite points.
That cannot be a coincidence, especially when you consider the other productions in The Croswell’s 2024 season lineup. If this is indeed accidental, then it’s absolutely poetic all the same.
The second production, The Bodyguard, showcased how death and destruction can bring connection between families, bring a love never expressed to fruition, even if the connection is lost forever. The penultimate production, Young Frankenstein, (October 19th-27th) will highlight how creation and discovery, no matter how monstrous, can rekindle a connection with family, deep love, and life itself we never knew we could have.
The third and current show of this season, School of Rock, (July 12th-21st) shows us what happens when we uplift the artists and outcasts in our communities, the beauty that unfolds. The Croswell’s fifth show, Cabaret, (September 12th-22nd) shows us what happens and what we lose when we don’t.
Which brings us to the fourth and crowning jewel of the season, Disney’s Newsies (August 9th-18th) seems to be the perfect culmination of all these themes of longing for a familial connection with people both past and present in a world they can’t quite decide whether to leave or live on and fight the good fight in. The story is exactly the right centerpiece of the season, with equal parts humanity and wit. The more I think about it, the more genuinely ecstatic I become. Not just for this show but for all of them, the amazing people who make them possible and the wonderful stories they tell.
The 2024 season went in with a bang and will definitely go out with one. The volcanoes might be a coincidence, but the bang is absolutely not. The bang is a guaranteed result of the passion everyone at The Croswell making every show and performance the absolute best it can be. Come be a part of it yourself..
School of Rock has one more weekend. Consider joining the band! Tickets are still available.
Calm and Cultured 