Read Me a Bedtime Story Summer Break, The Musical!

Summer Break, The Musical!

Jonathan Joy

For The Ashland Beacon

After the breakout success of Go-Go Gravy, a musical about breakfast foods, Alex was poised for big things.  Unfortunately, writer’s block set in.

“Every time I sit down to pen the script or to try to compose some songs for a show, my mind goes blank. What happened to my creativity?” He confided in his friends Guilia and Edwina.

“Maybe you need a little help from us.”  Guilia suggested.

“Guilia may be on to something.”  Ed agreed.  “We three did make a strong team, personally and professionally.”

“That’s why Go-Go Gravy was such a big hit.” Guilia added.

Eventually Alex, Guilia, and Ed reunited.  It was the first time in several months they’d been together, and the friends picked up right where they left off. 

The trio spent their evenings taking in the many fine retail and entertainment options around town and set time aside on the weekends to brainstorm new musical ideas. 

“I have a start on a Go-Go Gravy sequel.” Alex stated.  “Not much to it, though.  And I might like to do something new, different.”

Guilia and Ed bounced a lot of ideas off Alex, but nothing seemed to stick.

It was on an evening trip to Camden Park one hot late summer night that Ed had her light bulb moment. “This is it.”

“What?” Alex and Guilia were puzzled.

Ed continued.  “Look around the amusement park at all these people having the time of their lives.  Half of them look like they’re about to burst into song.”  

“A musical about Camden Park…”  Alex wondered.

“Maybe.”  Guilia interjected.

Alex continued.  “No, a musical about all the fun summer break things.”  Alex discovered aloud.

“That’s more like it.”  Ed was getting excited.  “Just think about all the places we’ve been and things we’ve got to do these past few weeks.”

“Summer Break, the Musical!”  Guilia exclaimed.

“Yes!”  Alex and Ed screamed.

In the weeks and months ahead, the three set aside all the free time they could to come up with ideas and develop the play.  Slowly but surely, it came together.  

Like before, with Go-Go Gravy, Alex would write songs and compose music.  Ed took the lead in designing costumes.  Guilia volunteered to build the set and props. 

Of course, putting together a theatrical production takes more than just three.  A whole village of imaginative, artistic people was needed. 

Flyers started appearing all over town.  “Come be a part of the new Summer Break musical.”

Theatrical types turned out by the dozens.  Actors showed up to read.  Some were the same performers who took the Paramount stage the previous year when Go Go Gravy premiered.  Others were newcomers. 

Singers and dancers wowed at auditions.  The head of the theatre department at Splendid University joined in once again to help craft the script and to direct.  And the city’s sponsorship included free use of the amphitheater stage in Central Park, a perfect venue for a summer musical.

Staging a play is no easy thing.  It takes a lot of time and hard work.  From auditions to rehearsals, to memorizing lines and designing and constructing all necessary materials, to focusing lights, to advertising and selling tickets, and more.  But the payoff is grand. 

The payoff in this case came in the form of opening night, ten months to the day after that inspiring trip to Camden Park.   

Summer Break, the Musical featured catchy hits that highlighted a variety of Tri-State treasures.  The first act included songs like a classic pop inspired “Greenbo a Go Go” and a slow, soulful “Sunset on Summer Motion” and a catchy, country tune “Pride Inside and Out.”  The second act featured a heavy metal melody titled “Rock on, Rock-afire” and an ode to the fast and furious go karts at Malibu Jack’s.  There were songs about the Big Dipper, Dreamland Pool, libraries, HART in the Park, Eurovision, Mission Impossible, the YMCA, the P.A.T.H., Inner Geek, Alchemy Theatre, Blue Falcon Board Gaming, and more. 

The show was a hit.  Audiences raved.  The award-winning Ashland Beacon newspaper review gave Summer Break the Musical five stars.  Everyone in town was caught up in the joy of it all.      

Like all good things, though, the show eventually came to an end.  Theatre is that type of art that only fully exists in the moment when it is being performed, and there comes a bittersweet time for every show to close. 

When the final curtain came down, Alex, Guilia, and Ed rejoiced in their sense of creative accomplishment, for they had produced something truly fun and unique, while also enjoying companionship with friends and fellow artists along the way.  And they had a blast!    

In the weeks that followed, the trio slowly but surely went their separate ways.  They still hung out from time to time, but life for each got progressively busier as life does. 

Ed returned to her circus job, which she had missed, and that kept her on the road a great deal. 

Guilia was promoted to manager of Burger Bonanza and worked quite a bit of overtime. 

Alex could still be found all over the Tri-State, maybe sitting in a booth at his favorite Go-Go Gravy restaurant or on a bench at Ritter Park or in a massage chair at the mall.  Wherever it was, he always had a pen and composition book in hand, scribbling away potential ideas for songs for the next blockbuster musical.  Or he might be on his phone texting those ideas to his imaginative friends. 

All three playmakers looked forward to getting back together someday and working on the next big show.