My Lai Remembered
By JOSE PATINO GIRONA
jpatino@tampatrib.com
Published: Feb 15, 2003
TAMPA - Eric Davis, the musical theater director at Blake High School, didn't choose this year's musical production to teach students about the effects of war.
He chose it because it's a musical that has never been performed, and he believed his students would benefit from the experience.
Michael Roberts, the writer of "Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire," worked with the cast as they prepared for the opening on Thursday.
"I didn't choose it because of [the war] connection," Davis said. "I did it for the art of the piece, not for political reasons."
At the same time, he concedes that the rock musical about people involved in the My Lai massacre by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam has ties to the current tension of war.
"It does give us things to think about," Davis said. "It gives a warning of the things that can happen in a war if things aren't handled with care."
The musical is a fictionalized account of events that led to the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968, which left more 300 villagers dead. The cast includes 25 Blake students and a 14-piece band.
The music combines rock elements with funk, jazz and American and Vietnamese folk, said Roberts, who wrote the musical three years ago while attending Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Roberts, 24, said he was affected by reading about the My Lai massacre and wrote the musical to help himself heal. He performed the musical with a band at Dartmouth, but the more than two-hour show has never been staged with a large cast, costumes and props.
"I never envisioned it this way," said Roberts, who lives in San Francisco. "He [Davis] has a vision for the show that complements mine. The show is better in this form than with a smaller group."
As Davis has directed the stage production, Roberts has worked with the cast on the music. Many of the students are drama majors and not music majors, so it takes time to teach and rehearse a complicated arrangement, Roberts said. But the students are quick learners and have a good ear for music, he said.
The students are enthused to work with the writer of the musical.
"The experience has been the most amazing of my life," said Linsea Waugh,
18, a senior who plays a lead role as a Vietnamese woman. "It's rare
to work with the writer of the show. We really get to create our character
from scratch."
The musical's war theme has generated thoughts and discussions. One cast member said the musical helped to reinforce his view of opposing a war against Iraq.
"It puts in perspective the people who went to war in 1967 and 1968," said senior cast member Chris Necker, 17. "They went there and they died for reasons they didn't comprehend."
Roberts and Davis hope audiences will be open to the merging of a variety of musical genres. They also hope people aren't turned off by the war element.
"It does take on some political influence," said Roberts, an artist
in residence at Blake until Feb. 23. "It's a cautionary tale of what
can happen when you put a bunch of kids in a situation larger than they
are.
"I was trying to take something that was horrific and somehow create
something beautiful out it," Roberts said.