Sitawa Ignited

For Colored Boyz on the verge of a nervous breakdown/ when freedom aint enuff ticket and bulletin.

This post is part of a three part series; Part 1 - Meet Joseph, Part 2 - Joseph Musical, and Part 3 - Fulton Theatre

I would like to share some of my dreams with you (Ok, these are not my childhood dreams, maybe my mental health advocacy curiosities) - I have always been curious about Mozart’s Magic Flute.

In the mental health/suicide prevention world, there is something called the Papageno Effect. This borrows from The Magic Flute which apparently shows how the depiction of suicide can lead to attempts by others - this is why suicide prevention advocates urge mass media not to get into the details when reporting about suicide.

Back stage tour of Fulton Theatre, Lancaster PA - Fulton's Executive Artistic Producer, Mark Robin showing us how the Cinderella's carriage works (December 2021)

Though I have always been curious about the root of that caution, I have never made an effort to watch the play because I never thought I could enjoy operas and musicals…that was until I started catching shows at Fulton Theatre (which is the main theatre, and one of the attractions, here in Lancaster, PA).

My first visit to the Fulton was when I was doing Leadership Lancaster - a year long leadership development program that saw us visit various projects across the county. Every month we learnt about, and visited, specific fields that contribute to the growth of the city and county. During our Art day, we visited a couple of museums and theatres including The Fulton Theatre and Sight and Sounds (our tour guide said people come in bus loads from across the East Coast to catch shows at Sight and Sounds).

Fulton Theatre's Executive Artistic Producer, Mark Robin giving us a tour of the stage as he explains where the musicians sit and how different stage mechanisms work (December 2021)

We got to see loads of the behind the scenes things at both theatres (and as someone who loves logistics and learning how things work, that was so much fun for me). We also got complimentary tickets to the Fulton's Cinderella and Sight & Sounds' Queen Esther. I have been going to The Fulton ever since (it is a 15 minute walk from my apartment)…and I have enjoyed every single show I have seen. If I had to choose my top 3, I would go with 1) Children of the Empire 2) For Colored Boyz on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown When Freedom Ain’t Enuff 3) Kinky Boots ...ok truth be told, these are the three shows that made me cry my eyes out.

Children of the Empire was part of Fulton Theatre's 2022 Fulton Festival of New Works: Stories of Diversity which is a platform to showcase stories by those least represented in the theatre space and/or about issues faced by 'minority groups’. Playwrights submit their work during Fulton's call out, and the top 3 or 4 are showcased over the summer just before the official start of the new theatre season (which runs from September to June).This particular play had a very simple set up - a bunch of people on a Zoom call - but the content was very deep, I cried my eyes out three quarters of the show. It was a disciplinary board meeting (on Zoom) to discuss the conduct of a (white) policeman who shot a (black) man during the 'BLM Protests in Washington DC'

I enjoyed watching the World Premier of Bryan-Keyth Wilson's For Colored Boyz at Fulton Theatre, Lancaster...It starts off with the Black man being taken from Africa in slave ships and we follow his life in America through the lives of 5 men - from the plantations, to musicians in Harlem and Memphis, hip-hop rappers and so many facets of the Black man's life in America.

For Colored Boyz was as a finalist for the inaugural Fulton Festival of New Works: Stories of Diversity in the summer of 2021. Shows that are voted as best during the summer showcase, get to be on Fulton Theatre's season schedule for the next year. This play was on the 2022/23 season calendar and was staged in the Tell Studio Theatre which is an intimate space on our 4th floor of the Fulton Theatre. Just like Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls who considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuff we see different aspects of the lives of Black men in America as we explore the difference between freedom and being free

This is the show that made me fall in love with musicals - Kinky Boots (whose lyrics were composed by Cyndi Lauper - Girls just want to have fun and Time after Time). It opened at The Fulton Theatre in March 2020 but the world shutdown so it got a second chance in September 2022. This mainstage play follows the life of Charlie, whose dad owns a shoe factory. Charlie does not want to be in the shoe business so he travels abroad. He is just about to get married when he gets news that he has to come back to sort things out because his dad has died...initially he wants to sell the factory but things change after he meets Lola, a drag queen with amazing taste in shoes. They team up to make some Kinky Boots - which includes lots of fighting and dancing. I was blown away by all the men in this play...they could not only walk in 6 inch heels, but they all danced pretty good in them. Charlie and Lola also discover that they have some similarities as they both explore the relationships they had with their fathers (as usual I laughed and cried my eyes out)

Kinky Boots credits outside Fulton Theatre, Lancaster PA

Another thing I love about The Fulton is their preview days. This is usually held a day before any show officially opens - you pay what you want to watch the full show minus intermission. This gives the actors an opportunity to do the whole show in front of a live audience - and allows those of us on tight (student) budgets to still enjoy theatre...only catch is that you have to be outside the theatre at 4pm to get your ticket (no online sales) then come back at 7.30pm for the show

This season's shows at Fulton Theatre, Lancaster PA

As I sign off, I leave you with Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (which borrows from the story of Joseph and reminds me of one of my fav experiences - road trips with my dad during my younger years...he always had country music tapes in the car.

I look forward to more theatre experiences in the new year...and taking road trips (train rides) to check out both the Philadelphia theatre scene and New York’s Broadway street, as I track down Mozart's Magic Flute.

Until the next post, keep chasing those experiences…the science shows they will add some happiness and wellbeing to your life.

Pullout from the local dailies - December, 2023

This post is part of a three part series; Part 1 - Meet Joseph, Part 2 - Joseph Musical, and Part 3 - Fulton Theatre

When the musical starts, we meet Jacob, the four ladies and their boys. Joseph and his brother Benjamin are the youngest of the bunch and are the only sons of Rachel (Jacob/Israel’s Day One). Jacob loves Joseph so much that he gives him a beautiful coat (the amazing technicolor coat). This, and a couple of dreams that Joseph had shared with his brothers earlier on, makes them angry to the point of plotting to get rid of him.

Following the Biblical narrative, the musical shows the brothers selling Joseph off to Egypt where, after a stint in prison, he becomes second in command. Years later, famine strikes Canaan, the land the brothers are in, and they travel to Egypt where food is in plenty (thanks to Joseph’s leadership). They do not know it is him when they bow before him (which is a revelation of Joseph’s dream from years back - that his brothers will bow before him). He later introduces himself, they reconcile and live happily ever after (roll credits).

If you have ever wondered how the Israelites (children of Israel/Jacob) ended up in Egypt pre-Exodus, this is how - came for food, stayed for the vibes.

Image from Fulton Theatre - This was one of my favorite scenes: the brothers were reminiscing about their days in Canaan as they sang 'raise your berets to those old Canaan days'. Listen to a version of the song on YouTube - which doesn’t have anything on Fulton Theatre’s version (loved the Fulton’s ‘Paris feel’, berets and the 'french accent').

The costumes and stage mechanics were amazing - the corn field imagery was spectacular.

As a caution, if you have photosensitive epilepsy, you might want to skip this one because they use some strong, and sudden, light effects.

The dancing was also amazing - I can only imagine the auditions requirements, because the people sang, had ballet moves, did some tap dancing, had some Pilates/gym type movements...I lost weight watching them move.

And the music - that was the best part of it all. I loved the Elvis in Egypt scene (made me laugh), loooooved the brothers walking down memory lane in Paris (where did those Canaan days go...raise your berets to those Canaan days) and the Caribbean vibes - Benjamin Calypso - found a version on Youtube (see below) but it has nothing on what Fulton gave us...these songs live rent-free in my head.

Though it was based on the Biblical narrative, the main theme as expressed in most of the songs is living up to our childhood dreams.

Now that we have met Joseph and talked about the Musical, lets talk about Fulton Theatre.

See you on the next post.

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

Fulton Theatre, Lancaster in the backdrop...my musical booklet in the forefront.

This post is part of a three part series; Part 1 - Meet Joseph, Part 2 - Joseph Musical, and Part 3 - Fulton Theatre

Hi beautiful people,

We have been sharing some of our experiences in my Happiness and Wellbeing Winter Class this week. The overall topic was the relationship between money and happiness, and some of the questions we tried to answer include: Do we need money to be happy? If yes, how much money? Does more money mean more happiness (or was Notorious BIG right when he said more money, more problems). We also looked at spending - Are we happier if we spend money on ourselves or on others? If we are happier spending on ourselves, is it when we spend it on experiences or on possessions?

Most of the studies we looked at agreed that 1) money plays a role in happiness but only to a certain extent, 2) spending money on others makes people happier, and 3) when people spend money on themselves, spending it on experiences instead possessions makes them happier.

One of our assignments was to write a reflection paper based on the studies, and also talk about our ‘experiences vs possessions stand’. I consider myself an experience over possession person - books and vinyl player/records do not count as possessions, right? Because we could only talk about one recent experience in our reflection paper, I saved this one for the blog - watching Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat musical at Fulton Theatre earlier this month. The show is still open until the end of the month so I will not give any spoilers in this recap which will get a little Biblical as I share about Joseph and a little Historical as I share about Fulton Theatre, Lancaster.

By now you know how much I love talking about Biblical narratives and the tea they share (I have a whole gossip glossary type page - Tea from the Bible ☕️). We will start our kiki session by talking about Joseph’s family tree; from his messy great-grandfather Abraham to his even messier grandfather Laban.

Somewhere after the creation story in the Book of Genesis (the first book in the Christian Bible) we meet a guy called Abraham who has a son called Isaac - yep this is the father son duo where the father tried to sacrifice the son. We aren’t told how he dealt with the trauma, but we are told that he married a lady called Rebecca and they had twins - Esau and Jacob. Esau was technically the first born but somehow thought that trading his birthright for a bowl of beans was a good business move (he read Jack and the Beanstalk for longer than is required).

Got a complimentary ticket for the show...if you can, do the middle aisle preferably downstairs...I am clearly not a top branch birds eye view person when it comes to the theatre - December 2023

After the trade-off, Jacob (the second twin) is on the run because he tricks his dad into blessing him instead of Esau. He meets a girl (Rachel), likes her and shares his feelings. She reciprocates and he goes to her father (Laban) to make his case. He says he will do anything, including working for 7 years, to have her as his wife. Laban accepts the offer and Jacob goes to work. Year 7 rolls in, wedding bells are ringing, and Laban throws a party. In the evening when he is to present his daughter to her groom, Laban sends Leah (Rachel’s older sister) and Jacob seals the deal with the ‘wrong sister’.

Morning rolls in, Jacob sees #AboutLastNight reels and is not amused. He checks in with Laban and is informed that it is not customary for the second born to be married before the first born buuuut if Jacob still wants Rachel, he can have her in exchange for another 7 years of labor (which he agrees to). Can we pause and talk about how messy Laban is, why didn’t he tell Jacob all this earlier on? If you believe in karma, is this payback for what Jacob did to Esau or will we just say that all things happen for a reason and let it be? Also can we talk about how these men are ‘trading’ women like products and how they actively created tension among these sisters? I know Leah should have said no, but could she really? (The Bible has some of the messiest drama…and I live for it).

Now Jacob has two wives, who are also sisters (forget those reality tv shows, these are the OG Sister Wives). The sisters start giving birth left, right and center because back in the day (and to some extent today) a woman’s worth is pegged on how well her reproductive system worked (which is unfortunate). Rachel is not able to give birth immediately after marriage and so to keep up with the ‘pissing contest’ she ‘gives’ her assistant to Jacob to have babies on her behalf (again, women being traded, this time round by other women). When Leah sees this, she too, despite having her own kids, 'gives' Jacob her assistant.

Image Source

At the end of the day, Jacob has 13 kids with Leah, Rachel, and their assistants Zilpa and Bilha. We only hear about the 12 sons who end up being the 12 tribes of Israel but there was a daughter, Dinah, whose story we will shelf for today - not because we want to continue with the trend of 'erasing/silencing girls' but if I go down that path, we will never get to Joseph and this Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Musical experience. If you are curious, read Genesis 34 - please be warned that it involves sexual violence and revenge killings.

Also, if you are not sure how we went from 12 sons of Jacob to 12 tribes of Israel, well Jacob wrestled with God or one of his angels (the scholars and translators cannot come to a consensus), and because he showed up and showed out, he left the match with a new title - Israel - and the award of getting all the promises his grandfather Abraham had been given (which included having a great nation and loads of descendants). Based on this all his descendants (everyone on his family tree from then to date) are known as the Israelites, and his 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.

Now that we have met Joseph, let’s talk about the Musical and Fulton Theatre.

See you on the next post.

Sending love and light,

Sitawa

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