Sunday, November 30, 2014

Southern, Gothic, and Supernatural

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Hubby Tony and had a very interesting evening last night.  We attended a production of a new-to-me musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County

When I first read about Ghost Brothers in the newspaper a few weeks ago I was intrigued by its pedigree.  The show was written by Stephen King, had music and lyrics by John Mellencamp, and was produced by T-Bone Burnett.  The program billed it as "A southern gothic supernatural musical of fraternal love, lust, jealousy, and revenge."

In my experience plays and musicals have multi-night runs at a given theater.  However, this production was more like a concert; last night was the only performance in St. Louis. It was presented at the Peabody Opera House, a 1930's-vintage venue that was renovated and reopened several years ago.   Tony and I arrived at the venue about twenty minutes before the show started.  We walked past the two huge limestone bear statues that guard the outside stairs and into the beautiful marble lobby.  Once I had my purse checked we used the sweeping stairway to go up to the next level, where we entered the theater and took our seats. 

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County was one of the most unconventional musicals I've ever watched.  As you'd expect, the music was first-class and diverse.  There was some rock, some blues, and some roots songs.  The plot that Stephen King created was properly dark and creepy, and there were quite a few twists that I wouldn't have guessed were coming (especially the ending).  Tony and I spent most of the ride home discussing our interpretations of what had gone on.

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