Someone Else's Story

From time to time a song will come along that hits me with a punch of emotion. I’m man enough to admit that I’ll listen to the lyric, to its soaring melody line and let myself revel in the release, teardrops slowly making a journey down the channels of my face. It happens most often during torchy Broadway ballads. (So, sue me. I’m a sucker for lush orchestrations, over the top belting and a key change or three:) I heard a song on Sirius today that had such an effect. From the musical “Chess”, the title is “Someone Else’s Story”. Beautifully performed by Judy Kuhn, it made me determined to find out more about this modestly successful musical. Before I heard ”Someone Else’s Story” this afternoon, I was only familiar with “Anthem” and “I Know Him So Well” from that score.

Why did the song affect me so? As the last notes subsided, I made a connection between the title and how I’ve lived my life as an actor, a gypsy. I’ve gone theater to theater, contract to contract, city to city for decades, putting on a costume, filling in the details of the imaginary lives of countless characters. It’s made me money; it’s brought me joy. I’ve done it to great success, but the question in my mind is, “Have I done it for so long that my own life feels like a role to be played? Am I authentically living my life or am I taking refuge in play acting? Am I anxious to get back onstage so that I can create art, use my talents? Or am I anxious to escape from the real world where my parents are aging, day-to-day life is messy and the outcome may not be a happy ending?

( I've always loved my life ... )

Someone Else's Story

From time to time a song will come along that hits me with a punch of emotion. I’m man enough to admit that I’ll listen to the lyric, to its soaring melody line and let myself revel in the release, teardrops slowly making a journey down the channels of my face. It happens most often during torchy Broadway ballads. (So, sue me. I’m a sucker for lush orchestrations, over the top belting and a key change or three:) I heard a song on Sirius today that had such an effect. From the musical “Chess”, the title is “Someone Else’s Story”. Beautifully performed by Judy Kuhn, it made me determined to find out more about this modestly successful musical. Before I heard ”Someone Else’s Story” this afternoon, I was only familiar with “Anthem” and “I Know Him So Well” from that score.

Why did the song affect me so? As the last notes subsided, I made a connection between the title and how I’ve lived my life as an actor, a gypsy. I’ve gone theater to theater, contract to contract, city to city for decades, putting on a costume, filling in the details of the imaginary lives of countless characters. It’s made me money; it’s brought me joy. I’ve done it to great success, but the question in my mind is, “Have I done it for so long that my own life feels like a role to be played? Am I authentically living my life or am I taking refuge in play acting? Am I anxious to get back onstage so that I can create art, use my talents? Or am I anxious to escape from the real world where my parents are aging, day-to-day life is messy and the outcome may not be a happy ending?

( I've always loved my life ... )