by Jeff Sprague

Well, readers, we have come to September and the beginning of the 66th Season at Colonial Players. Rocket Man opens this month, and I was fortunate enough to see the invited dress rehearsal. As last season’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone also did, this slightly odd (in a good way) piece deals with the questions of existence and search for meaning that have been with mankind since the caveman days. While not overtly mentioned, and I suppose open to interpretation, there is also an underlying theme of mental illness or, at the very least, unhappiness, that I think is pretty pertinent in light of some recent events in the national news. I refer to the fact that there always seems to be discussion about “needing to do more” for the mentally ill (usually after some horrible gun tragedy). Of course, the unexpected suicide of comic legend Robin Williams has also made those who love acting more and more aware of how happiness can be elusive even for those who seem to have it all. I’m not Sigmund Freud, so I don’t want to spend too much time talking about this; however, I was struck by how the protagonist in Rocket Man (Donny, played excellently by Ben Carr) does not seem to visibly fear the unknown after experiencing periods of misery in his life. Some people use religion to curb apprehension, but his understanding of the vastness of the universe, in its natural state, seemed to be what brought him some sense of catharsis. It’s evident that this is not always the case, but I’m not spoiling the plot.

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