1 August 2015
If you have never experienced or even heard of the Great River Shakespeare Festival (GRSF), I am terribly sorry. GRSF is a summer long festival put on here in the lovely town of Winona. It's a summer filled with outdoor concerts, 5k runs, and multiple performances of several of Shakespeare's plays. This year GRSF put on Shakespeare's beloved Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as Tennessee Williams' brilliant The Glass Menagerie.
Today, I was lucky enough to have a bit of a GRSF marathon and saw both The Glass Menagerie and Romeo and Juliet in one day. I started going to these performances two years ago when Jessica and her parents invited me to attend a play with them. I quickly fell in love with theatre and Shakespeare's works. This was the twelfth season of the Great River Shakespeare Festival, and I am honored to have been a small part of it as this season draws to a close.
Jessica and I went to the two o'clock performance of the Glass Menagerie. The play was beautifully executed and left the audience in a sullen quietness that filled the theater. The slap of reality that strikes the on lookers as the play draws to a close was painfully beautiful. It was a bitter sweet moment as the four actors took their final bows as their characters and said goodbye to the play they had been performing for months.
As a quick break from the pall that had settled over Jess' and my heads, we decided to grab some dinner before the real heart breaking of Romeo and Juliet began. There is a great local cafe that everyone loves to eat at, so naturally we stopped there. The Acoustic Cafe has live music, great coffee and delicious sandwiches. What more could you ask for? As we devoured our hoagies, we soon regained our care free happiness and couldn't wait for the concert on the green.
As I mentioned earlier, GRSF is more than the plays, it is also a festival with amazing concerts. Today, Farewell Milwaukee was playing. Another great thing about these free outdoor concerts is that they bring in regional bands and artists. It is so cool to be able to hear and support local musicians. After the concert ended, Jess and I quickly bought a T-shirt and a poster with the 2015 GRSF logo on it before the next show.
Souvenirs in tow, we headed to our seats. we were in the third row, right in the middle. Right then we knew this was going to be something to remember. As Romeo and Juliet began, I noticed that the directors had infused a modern twist into the original storyline. Instead of wearing classical long robes and gowns and using swords, the play was set in the 1950's and the actors used switch blades. I was already impressed. The ability to adapt a hundred year old play and set it in a different time period without changing the meaning and themes of the play itself is a feat. GRSF did it flawlessly. The first act of the play was filled with love, joy and tears of laughter. However, I knew it was too good to last.
Now before I get to the wretchedly ironic ending that is Romeo and Juliet, I must tell you, I am not a crier. I am not one of those utterly sentimental girls that will drag up tears for no reason. Only a truly marvelous book or movie can bring tears to my eyes. For example, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I mean, if you didn't cry while reading that, do you really even have a soul? Or, American Sniper. Again, the tears were flowing freely at the end of the movie, as my heart went out to the fallen solider and his family. Now, I can honestly say, I cried as Romeo killed himself as he looked upon his thought to be dead lover's body. As he sputtered his last breath and Juliet awakens to find him dead, I had tears rushing down my cheeks.
It's incredibly interesting how much a person can change and how one's views of literature can change with them. As a freshman in high school, we were required to read Romeo and Juliet for my challenge English class. I always had an appreciation for Shakespeare, but I never truly got Romeo and Juliet. I could not fathom why anyone would ever kill themselves for a person they had barely known, yet claimed to love. I was more mortified by the fact that my teacher called on me to read as Juliet in a scene where Juliet and Romeo are supposed to kiss. Don't worry, my teacher just cracked a joke and said I didn't have to kiss the boy reading Romeo's lines, but still. I did not understand the true complexity and tragedy of the play until now.
I am now almost nineteen years old. It's been four years since I last encountered the play Romeo and Juliet. I've changed a lot. I have experienced much more emotion and life experiences, and with that I have grown to understand Shakespeare and the true themes and irony of the play.
I think one of the most important things that hit me, was the fact that love is much different than infatuation. True love is an all consuming inferno that will always last. As I thought about this, I yearned to know how great it would feel to have that sort of love. And then I realized; I already do. Every single one of us is loved even more by the Lord than Romeo could ever have loved Juliet. And that is truly amazing.
It's crazy the ways the Lord presents himself within our lives, if only we would listen. I never thought I would come out of seeing Romeo and Juliet with tears in my eyes and a broken heart filled with sadness for a fictional love story and lives that ended much too soon. But then again, I never thought I'd come out of Romeo and Juliet with tears of joy as I realized how much the Lord loves me despite how undeserving I am.
So, as you can see, it's been quite an emotional day, so I am going to get to bed. I've got one last play to see tomorrow. It's a good thing Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy because I think I've had enough crying for a while. Thanks for reading. I know this post got long, but this blog isn't for you; it's for me, and I really needed to vent this evening.
Until Tomorrow,
SimplyMe
