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For a True Story Part I: Plays



I am a whore for a true story. I can’t help myself. Knowing that what I am reading or watching has really happened captivates me. The inspiring, fascinating, and sometimes horrifying stories fill me with intrigue and delight. Here, the curiosity might just kill this cat. Depending on the story I either feel better about myself or not. That is, there are incredible people who have risked or sacrificed their lives for advances in medicine, civil rights, law, and all aspects of society. The depths people will go to; to fight for changes they believe in just blow me away. It makes me wonder if I have that kind of courage and conviction. It is easy to believe you would do anything for someone you loved, but could YOU really risk your job, family, and life?

On the other hand, there are those stories too scary to be true, it boggles the mind. That people can live in their own world full of hate, violence, and even filth never ceases to amaze me. That is where the element of truth is the most fascinating. I can go over and over it in my mind but it will never make sense. It is this sense of bewilderment that hooks me most to a terrible but true story. I want to figure it out, explain away this bizarre behavior but I can’t. I think this is also the element that attracts me to stories about serial killers. I can’t comprehend that behavior and so I read and watch all I can but there will always be that barrier. I guess that’s a good thing. All that’s left is to sit back in amazement and thank the good Lord it’s not my story. 

Once I started to make a list of the true stories I love and wanted to share, I quickly realized this topic would become my next series. Every day this week I will add another component to my true stories list that I love and think you will be interested in too. I will be giving brief descriptions, hopefully enough to convince you to check it out. For those interested, the links beside each story will direct you where you can find more information and either see it, read it, or watch it.

As you can tell, a large part of my life revolves around attending plays.


Here are some of those true stories... (cue the Law & Order chime)

  • Million Dollar Quartet – based on an impromptu recording session on December 4, 1956 with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley.
http://www.playbill.com/events/event_detail/22576-Million-Dollar-Quartet-at-New-World-Stages-Stage-4 


  •  Gypsy (not currently on Broadway, but see the book “Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper) - tells the story of a young woman with the most demanding and famous stage mother of all time. Gypsy Rose Lee and sister Baby June grow up in the world of vaudeville and she eventually strikes out on her own with her striptease act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy_Rose_Lee

  •  Jersey Boys- tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as they rise from Jersey boys to superstars.
http://www.playbill.com/events/event_detail/7557-Jersey-Boys-at-August-Wilson-Theatre
  • Thurgood (filmed live on Broadway and shown on HBO) - tells the story of Thurgood Marshall’s before, during, and after his time as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
www.hbo.com/movies/thurgood/synopsis.html


Check back tomorrow; For a True Story Part II: Movies!!

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