“They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.” ı ı ı

Jacques, in Act-II, Scene-VII of William Shakespeare’s, As You Like It, spoke the words above as a definition of the world compared to a stage performance, and all humans being just actors. In many ways through a lifetime, that may be the most accurate definition of what is definitely the world.

Like Shakespeare’s works, where he wrote tragedies, which included a little bit of comedy, and comedies, that included a little bit of tragedy, the world we live in mirrors Jacques description of the planet on which we live. Sometimes, when that world becomes a bit heavy on our shoulders, and we feel the effects of its dry “sense of humor” in our lives, we look for an escape to take our mind off of some of that “comedic cruelty” of the world causing various degrees of trepidation in our daily lives. Ironically, at times, we find that escape in a variety of stages, where performers take us away from reality for a while acting as mental doctors, magicians, jesters, and more, as Jacques said in his soliloquy, but not only do actors and actresses play many roles, so too, do the many sitting in audiences.

In my life, I’ve found many of those relief stages in “theaters” of sports, films, music, comedy, and drama. Ironically, those stages can be equated to the very setting of Jacques first utterance of the soliloquy above. I’ve enjoyed “live stage” performances of numerous genres, sporting events, skills competitions, music, plays, and through movies, television, and radio which have briefly taken my mind off of some of the trials and tribulations of life.

In the past 4 months, Sally and I have attended the performance of Jimmy Buffett’s Off Broadway show, Escape to Margaritaville, at Shea’s Performing Arts Theater in Buffalo, and returned there in late March for the performance of Richard Thomas in Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In between those two we attended an amazing show by students at Jamestown High School as they performed the musically inspired version of Yiddish author, Sholem Aleichem’s, collection of stories, titled “Tevye’s Daughters,” better known as Fiddler on the Roof.

Having seen Fiddler, on the Big Screen, on stage at Jamestown Community College, and Shea’s in Buffalo, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed seeing it at Jamestown High School. I was right, but I was also awed by the performance of these young people having undertaken such a demanding show, and doing it in not only an entertaining way, but in professional style, from the actors and actresses, to orchestral performers, lighting technicians, stage manager and stage crew, set designers, costumers, make-up artists, orchestra director, choreographer, vocal director, and overall performance director. There was not one difference in the level of performance that we saw there, comparing it to the Screen performance, the Shea’s performance, and/or the JCC performance. This one was even a little more special for me, especially when the song, Sunrise, Sunset was performed.

Back in 2018, after my son, Jon, became engaged to our now daughter-in-law, Erica, one of my column narratives included a takeoff of that song from Fiddler written in a way that imagined Erica’s parents, along with Sally and me, singing that song to Erica and Jon as if it was their actual wedding day. Hearing it recently in the JHS Auditorium, brought goosebumps to my arms, a lump to my throat, and a tear to my eye, as Tevye and Golde sang it to their stage daughter and son-in-law to be.

My sentimentality didn’t end there though, as I sat in that auditorium and thought back what was 50 and 51 years ago when I walked that same stage as a junior and senior at Jamestown High School, as part of the Ensembles in Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein’s, Oklahoma, and Jerry Herman’s, Hello Dolly. It was such a wonderful trip back in time, thanks to those who had a hand in the performance of Fiddler on the Roof that day.

Thinking back after that recent show, I thought of all the stage performances I have seen in many genres, in many theaters/arenas, at many levels, and all the hands and talents that went into allowing me to escape the real world for a bit and recharge my perspective and emotional batteries. That, in turn, allows me to return to reality and undertake the many “parts” I play on my stage of life, reminding me of Shakespeare’s line from As You Like It, and the validity of Jacques words.

All the real world is definitely a stage, and all of us are players in the performance of this show called Life. Barring illness, tragedy, or Acts of God, the success or failure of that show depends on each one of us.