Born Blue Musical Review (by a parent of one of the members of the cast)

(Added note to blog post below:  We were notified on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, that Rebekah has been removed from the cast.  I wrote this blog post review below during the weekend of October 30-31, 2015)

• Remembering Born Blue's Preview at The Mezzanine - Wednesday, October 28, 2015
• Colorado Springs Conservatory Unpaid Invoice 
• Unpaid Colorado Springs Conservatory Invoice Update 12-19-15

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My daughter Rebekah is "talented." She can sing and dance and act and play the piano and play the guitar  and Ukelele. I'm "one proud mom."

What I didn't know when I began to encourage my child to develop her musical and acting talents, that sometimes she would be exposed to issues and people and language and situations that I believe are "too adult" for a minor.

My Daughter Rebekah in Born Blue - Photo Used WITHOUT Permission

I've been told that I've "lived in Colorado Springs too long" by a liberal thinking friend, and that may be the case, but when it comes down to it, I think liberal thoughts, I'm supportive of liberal and non-traditional values, but when it comes to my own children, I'm "old fashioned." I want my children to be cast in old fashioned musicals like Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, and Mary Poppins, not in the "modern" theatre that seems to be what is approved of today.

Rebekah invited us to the premiere of Born Blue on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 which took place at The Mezzanine, a "nightclub" which is now part of the Colorado Springs Conservatory's numerous programs. (The Conservatory has given my daughter many opportunities and believes in Rebekah's talent, and I'm very grateful for that.)

At least this time Rebekah "warned me in advance" that what I was going to see might bother me. During the summer of 2015, she played the part of a prostitute in The Conservatory's summer musical, Working. I was not told in advance that Rebekah was cast in that role, and it upset me greatly and made me very uncomfortable to see her dressed as a prostitute and acting out that role.

Back to "Born Blue" and my thoughts:

Remember the fairy tale "The Emporer's New Clothes?" If you recall, no one wanted to admit that they could not see that the Emporer was naked, wearing nothing, since they'd seem "dumb." They were told that the Emporer was dressed in the most beautiful cloth and that those who saw the clothes were people who were smart.

Well....that is what happens with "Born Blue." It's so intellectual, that only those who aren't "with it" would admit that they can't understand "what in the heck is going on."

Below is a summary of the musical's plot:

The musical takes place at "The Atomic Bar & Chill" which is a purgatorial dive bar in another plane of existence which is also a place of transition and retrospection.

Those present are becoming raceless and sexless, which is indicated by grey and blue skin tones, but the more Blue a soul is, the more highly evolved it is. When a soul in the "Bar & Chill" evolves to the enlightened state of being entirely Blue, they're ready to move on.

There is one beverage served at "The Atomic Bar & Chill" called Blue Brew.

This is a special night at the Bar & Chill since the Earthly apocalypse has occurred and an overwhelming mass of souls is coming there.   The narrator Infinity leads those present through a musical exploration of three life stories that occur in three different time periods:

1. The Salem Witch Trials, 1692
2. American Slavery, 1864
3. Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux Reservation, 1969

My daughter Rebekah is one of the main characters in this musical and has a huge role (she is almost in every scene), but her main role is in the 1969 reservation scene. She plays Catori, a young activist and folk singer who gets involved in a relationship with another woman, named Ophelia. During a "love-in/rally" Catori also conceived a child.

Catori's and Ophelia's relationship is kept secret from Catori's father, Dell, who gave up on life after seeing his wife murdered in a federal raid when Catori was a child. Catori and Ophelia want Dell to accept them and Catori chooses love and her relationship with Ophelia over what her father might think or approve of.  Catori leaves and continues the relationship with Ophelia and births a baby boy which she names Blioux.

By the end of the evening's events, the cast significantly becomes more Blue than when they arrived.

The Born Blue musical includes the audience and is an interactive experience, and it is intended for the audience to leave with questions and the audience may wonder about what took place.

I left the premiere puzzled. What did I just see? I heard the most incredible music (which I didn't understand one word of), and I saw a musical that I didn't understand.  I heard my daughter use "language" I don't approve of, and I saw her do some things that were "too much" for me as a parent. Yet, I was very proud of my daughter and was amazed at her performance.

Above Photos Used WITHOUT Permission