"A Magical Moment in the Theater"

It’s Toronto. I’m in my late teens.

My mother, my brother, his wife Nancy and I are attending a road company production of the musical, Carnival, a show based on the lovely, Leslie Caron-starring movie, Lili. On Broadway, Carnival starred Anna Maria Alberghetti. The Toronto production starred, I don’t know, Florence Henderson.

Instead of the immortal Jerry Orbach, who co-starred in Carnival on Broadway, the road company brought us Ed Ames, an Ames brother who played “Mingo” on the Fess Parker series, Daniel Boone. On Broadway, a featured role was played by the magnificent Kaye Ballard. We got Jo Anne Worley, from Laugh-In.

That’s touring companies. Their agent calls:

“I got you a job.”

“Broadway?”

“No. Toronto.”

What does the Toronto audience get to see? A cast full of disappointed actors.

But none of that matters.

The late teen me loves musicals. Unfortunately, Broadway’s in New York and I’m shoveling our driveway in Canada. The best I can do when the latest hit musical premiers is to buy the “Original Cast” album as soon as it’s available. And play it till it melts.

Then, maybe two years later, when the national tour plays Toronto, I go to that show, knowing the songs backwards and forwards. But particularly forwards.

And so it is with Carnival.

You’ve never seen the show. But you know it. And then you see it.

That’s the set-up.

Okay.

We’re in our seats, me on the aisle. I can barely contain my excitement. The lights go down. The show is about to begin.

It’s the Opening Number. I know exactly what’s coming.

The curtain is up. The stage is virtually bare. The first sound you hear is a lone concertina, playing the introductory notes to Carnival’s enchanting, waltz-rhythmed theme, “Love Makes The World Go Round.” The orchestra joins in. At first, softly.

Roustabouts file onstage, and immediately set to work. To the accompaniment of an intensifying orchestration, the roustabouts take that bare stage and

…assemble a circus before our very eyes.

The opening song proclaims, with a rollicking announcement:

The circus is in town!!

Di-rect from Vienna

For se-ven days only

At po-pular prices

These won-ders of wonders

Whose da-zzle and daring

And (blah blah-blah blah)

Have astounded the capitals of Europe

And confounded the Orient as well.

And as the “setting-up” continues in full swing, the circus artistes begin polishing their talents – jugglers, acrobats, aerialists and clowns. The stage is swirling with activity, as they sing…

(TO A POUNDING “OOM-PAH-PAH”)

Come on

Mortgage your house and

sell

your

cow.

Zu-rich,

Venice, Cologne,

Berlin

and

now…

(THE MUSIC IS SURGING)

Di-rect from Vienna

For se-ven days only

At po-pular prices

At this point, out of the corner of my eye, I notice my sister-in-law Nancy elbowing my mother, urging her to look at me. Turning to look, my family is astonished by an electrifying transformation. As I watch Carnival burst into glorious reality before me…

My face is aflame,

My eyes are on fire,

My mouth is agape,

I am entirely

Aglow.

And entranced.

I never worked in the theater. I climbed a different mountain. But I’ll tell you this:

Whatever I accomplished in television

It never left me aglow.

And you can forget about entranced.