Although education and coaching dominated much of my professional life, the persistent backdrop of my journey has been in the arts: music, theater, literature, and poetry. Much of my writing has focused on life’s transitions from childhood to adulthood to old age without appropriating justice to the arts’ roles in those transitions. This piece is about theater.
Live Performances
Joliet Catholic High School grounded me with more than a solid academic foundation. During my last two years, I was able to take advantage of educational opportunities outside the classroom beginning with baseball, intramurals, band, newspaper, and yearbook. There were also class trips to the Museum of Science and Industry and a live performance of the “Diary of Anne Frank” in 1957 in Chicago.
The ”Diary” was the start of my affection for live theater.
The list of live performances increased during the college years. While at Lewis, I saw Edward Albee’s “Zoo Story,” “Music Man” with Forrest Tucker, and “Take Me Along” starring William Bendix. And, yes, the Three Stooges performing at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee (1960).
After marriage, the list continued to grow, sometimes with our kids attending. (“Porgy and Bess”). Other performances that I can remember: “The Glass Menagerie,” “Man of La Mancha,” “Rent,” “Stop the World,” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” I also saw “Mark Twain Tonight” at the Ford Theater in Washington, DC.
Movie Musicals
Although not live, movie musicals became a less expensive way to enjoy the theater. As a sample, a few of the following were favorites of mine: “American in Paris,” “Damn Yankees,” “Stormy Weather,” “Show Boat,” “Moulin Rouge,” “West Side Story,” and “Tommy.”
Participation
There was a point in my life that I decided to take a leap at trying the theater for myself. I had just changed jobs from Lewis University to the College of St. Francis and still was sporting a Lincoln beard. Director Georgiann Goodson of Joliet’s Bicentennial Theater invited me to participate in “Spoon River,” featuring the poetry of Edgar Lee Masters. That was immediately followed by The Children’s Theater at the same location where I was presented as Abraham Lincoln.
My theater career was brief but it gave me the chance to experience the highs and anxiety that accompany it. It was also the chance to recognize that the attributes for acting on stage were not among my major talents.
Braidwood Beginnings 