"Recital"

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi everybody,

For those interested, here's the second play I wrote for this year's Boston Theater Marathon.  I wrote it a day before the submission deadline, and it was too short, so I was surprised it was a finalist--sometimes it's best not to obsess!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/539558

As always, thanks for the read!

Richard

[lighter]

Hi Doc G:

I can see why it was selected.... it was a powerful piece, even though it's short.  Maybe more powerful, bc it's short?

The son's frantic attempt to please his mother, after she died, was heartbreaking.  She was always going to be in his head, always, and he'd never be able to please her, and you could see how badly he wanted to.

He fought off her condemnation by choosing himself, when the pager went off.  Right?

 He chose a career that meant something to himself, and his father.  It mitigated his mother's condemnation?

I have a question.... was the choice between medicine, and the violin all he had?  Did his parents force him to choose, without regard for what he wanted?

Well done, Doctor G.

Lighter

[Dr. Richard Grossman]

Hi lighter,

Thanks so much for the read and the comments!  I suspect one of the reasons my plays have not been selected for the Boston Theater Marathon is that I don’t “tie them up” at the end.  I like to leave people thinking.  If someone comes back to me a few hours or even a day after reading one of them and says  “I was thinking about your play…,” for me that’s the greatest compliment. 

So, I can’t answer your questions.  The characters are “who they are,” and different people will identify with different aspects of one, the other, or both.

I can tell you this:  The seed of the play was my mother’s dying wish that I take up the violin again.  She had been very attached to me, and music was a major part of that attachment.  When I gave it up in 7th grade, it hurt her deeply—after all, I was this little kid who was sitting/playing next to the concertmaster in the High School orchestra.  I did play in my college symphony, just on a whim—with my roommate, who was a percussionist.  But by then the damage had been done.

While she was in bed a few days before she died, I played for her (Bach, I think!).  The last things I said to her were that I loved her and I promised that I would play a string quartet when I was ready.  I did with my teacher and friends:  my father came to the Boston area for the “recital.”  So, the ending of my story is touching, but it is not as thought provoking as the play.

Thanks again, lighter—I so appreciated your comments!

Richard

[lighter]

Doc G:

OK.  I'm glad you got to play for your mother, and that she heard you.  When I read the play I was chanting in my head....

"Don't talk.... just play your violin.  Don't talk.... play.  Don't talk...... Oh NO YOU TALKED!"

What a relief to read you did play for your mom.  A relief that she heard you.

Also, I identify strongly with the mother in your play.....

my oldest dd has been very private about her piano, songwriting, singing, performing in recent years.  She's been taking lessons since she was 6yo, and I adored everything about sharing it with her.  It was such a lovely time, and I can identify with losing that beloved connection.  It's so hard.
Lighter