As with most things, the long you live, the more they either make sense or seem completely insane. On rare occasions, both are true.
When I was a kid, my mother loved what they call Golden Age musicals. A lot. My name is Kelly because she loved Gene Kelly so much. My father supposedly wanted to name me Casey, but mom would have none of that. It was Kelly and that was that. She made my first name be Robert, after Bobby Kennedy, just in case I became president. But Kelly was, is, and remains the name everyone calls me by.
It fits. Sort of out of the norm, a bit rough around the edges, and at times singing in the rain good times or bad. Not always. But often enough
One of the musicals we'd watch often was Brigadoon. A story of a mythic town in Scotland that sleeps in some other dimension and only appears now and then, to the true believers, as they wander mountains seeking things of little import but with something about them that merits a bit of magic. The town appears, everyone sings, there's romance and drama and magic. And then, somewhere after midnight, if vanishes. And the traveler stands there in the woods, alone again, hungry for more of whatever they just experienced and pondering on the brevity of it all.
At least, that's how the story seemed to me as a boy.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe is full of little Brigadoons. Moments of magic that rise out of the mist, dazzle your eyes and delight your mind, pick you up and make you dance, pull you out of your tiny thoughts and problems as it hurls you into mystic experiences.
And then, Ding Dong Ding, Midnight comes as it always does, and you are wandering down rainswept cobblestone streets, questioning your sanity and if you really saw that perfect show, truly heard that bagpipe in the distance, really saw what might be the best musical farce about genetics ever devised.
And you have two choices. Either grow sad at time passing so quick, or leap with joy that you were allowed to be part of the show for the briefest of moments- the great show of it all.
The Brigadoon of it all.
And we had a lot of Brigadoon yesterday.
First, we all went to a high tea at the Signet Library. Beautiful room, makes you feel like your in Downton Abbey. I had this Aram tea infused with Rose. I am not generally a big tea drinker. But when in Downton... And it was glorious. And then they bring these magnificent trays of little sandwiches and confections and cakes and avacado mousse and items you would think were from the finals of The Great British Bake Off. Exquisite. We all seemed to breathe deeply, relax, and I think as one wanted a nap after.
On the day rolls. Lisa and I wander the Scottish National Museum, which is sort of a natural history museum with hints of the Smithsonian. We look at ancient stones with carvings that look like something from a movie that one of the characters who will soon be killed read with dread saying something like "this means get out before the demon cackels" and then the inevitable CACKLE is heard, and said character is dispensed to parts unknown.
Really cool.
Then the show. We know there is a reviewer coming this day. At least our second, maybe more have come, but we don't know for certain. But this one is a sure thing, because as the show starts, sitting in the second row is a woman with a press lanyard and prominent notebook, writing at a fiery pace. Page after page. We all notice her. It's a small theatre. Hard to miss. Both exciting and a bit... distracting. Nothing like doing a song and then have someone five feet away start to scribble furiously.
Brigadoon!
After, head to a tavern for a quick drink and snack, then it's off to CRISPER! THE MUSICAL, which is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Brilliant lyrics, impeccable performances, absurd premise. Pure theatrical joy. They have a soundtrack on Spotify and iTunes. Get it. Listen to it. Wait for it to hit big and then go see it when your local theatre does it.
Next, we head to another area to see Silence! The Musical. This is a musical comedy based on The Silence of the Lambs. It's framed with a greek chorus os lambs, and has such hits as "I Want to Smell Your C#nt." The cast is to a one perfect. The show itself amazing and brilliant and sidesplittingly funny,.
Brigadoon again!
We all wander home over the rainswept streets, talking of the show, the reviewer, the day, life itself. The glory of it all.
And somewhere deep inside, there is a tinge of the blues, knowing full well that this moment will pass in time like tears in rain, to quote Roy Batty, my favorite replicant.
For now, we are still in the magic village. The music plays, we dance whenever we feel we must, we meet strangers who quickly become friends, we learn a tiny bit about our souls.
And we wander on, not lost at all. Lucky and lovely and leaning in.
Brigadoon indeed.
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