A character named Chorus appears on stage with a pair of yellow roses in a vase and sets them on the ground near the front of the stage. He then sings an elegy to his lost brother. What follows is an explosion of characters delivering songs and monologues that reflect the difficulty of grieving and the impact on the performer. There’s a Dylanesque troubadour who has been rejected by his audience, a British rocker who feels like a phony and a retired country music superstar who returns to the stage after having a spiritual epiphany. In between these performers is the struggle between Icarus and his brother. One wanting answers and the other reluctant to talk. “Move on. There’s nothing here to figure out.” Says Icarus to the audience but a persistent Chorus won’t leave it alone retaliating with “Blue Roses” a ballad with the chilling refrain of “It Might be Too Late to Dedicate a Song to You.”
Icarus answers with a confessional monologue explaining the true reason of why he doesn’t like to talk about his death. “I don’t remember it. Do you know how humiliating that is?” The show ends with a Guitar God coming down from the heavens and resolving the play much like The Deux ex Machina in Ancient Greek Drama.
“The Tragedy of Icarus” is a Rock n’ Roll Elegy for the coolest guy that ever lived. Derek Larson was not famous. He played guitar but wasn’t a rock star. He painted houses for a living. He was loved by many and his loss affected all who had come to know him. In the eyes of his brother, he was an Icarus figure. A rebel who flew too high, resulting in his own untimely death. Derek becomes Icarus in this new one man show by first time fringe producer Joshua Caleb Larson. Across the landscape of a dream, characters weave in and out in a tribute to Derek’s musical heroes: Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. Everyone struggles in some way in “The Tragedy of Icarus” either with loss, love or even the audience. Spiritual intervention helps resolve the dissonance and in the final monologue of the show, The Beatles, “Let it Be” becomes the backdrop of a scene that reunites brothers through their infinite bond of music.
Posts
