Performance relives major events of 1968 http://www.pioneerlocal.com/arlingtonheights/entertainment/1166496,db-america-091808-s1.article
September 18, 2008 By MYRNA PETLICKI Contributor Any way you look at it, 1968 was an extraordinary year in this country. Michael J. Miles looks at it month by month in "America 1968," Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. The Glenview musician, composer and musical playwright was inspired to write this show following the success of "America 1941," part of a series Miles created that he calls "Musical Documentaries for the Stage." Dec. 7 to Sept. 11 "America 1941" gave a monthly account of that year leading up to the Dec. 7 Pearl Harbor attacks. "Everything changed in America after Pearl Harbor," Miles said. "The entire piece was finished and in its final phase of rehearsal when 9/11 happened." It was first performed six weeks after that fatal day. "Then there were all these comparisons," he said. Miles began thinking about other significant years he could examine through this format. "1968 seemed complicated by comparison to 1941 because of all the stuff that happened in that year -- the assassinations, the Tet Offensive (in Vietnam), the Democratic Convention," he said. "It was a wild year for music and popular culture." Once again, Miles has created a show for which comparisons can be drawn to the present day. In this case, the events of 1968 bear "incredible parallels to the war in Iraq," Miles said. Music charts "America 1968" features a cast of nine musician/actors. The multimedia show also includes video projections of photographs, some short historic clips and TV commercials. Audience members will hear some of the best songs from that year, including Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild," "Hey Jude" by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man." Cast members become numerous people from that period, speaking the words of Robert Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover, Abbie Hoffman, Alan Ginsberg, Walter Cronkite, Loretta Lynn, Richard Nixon, Vietnam veterans and many others who impacted or were impacted by that period in our country's history. The words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated that year, are also heard -- but not the "I Have a Dream" speech. The amazingly predictive speech Miles uncovered through extensive research begins: "The only way we can achieve freedom is to conquer the fear of death for if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." This is the 40th anniversary of that tumultuous year but Miles insisted, "I didn't set out to coincide with that because it took me several years to write." The first performance was last October at the Old Town School of Folk Music. The Prairie Center engagement will be the second time the show is performed, but several future dates have been booked. History lessons Rob Pileckis, production supervisor of the Prairie Center for the Arts, said the show "was highly touted by the press last year when he was at the Old Town School of Folk Music, so we're really looking forward to getting him here. I think the timeliness of the show is striking, this being an election year. And even though we're not having a convention here, the convention in '68 was in Chicago so I think there's a local interest in it as well. All the elements combined make us look back at the era and think about how things have changed and how things might change again in the future." Miles is confident that audience members will connect with the show. "This is our American story," he said. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to sixties-l@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
