But let me take that up a notch. I think in a deeper sense, the semi-pros in that Princess Ida production aren't actually doing what they would really do. The entire premise of musical theater relies on the absurd idea that people break into song and dance at moments of high emotion, or really any emotion at all. That's not our normal universe--that's a fantasy world. Fantasy worlds operate by different rules. In a fantasy world like that, people don't sing awesome music while staring at the audience or nodding casually to each other; when they're choristers, they don't pair or trio up at random as people do at parties. They are always doing what the music does.
Age quod agis.
Breaking news: it may look to you as if you are living an ordinary life, but if you accept--really accept--the Christian message, you're actually in a fantasy land where every single mote and moment is choreographed by a masterful director. You can, of course, ignore that, and end up getting moved around like a piece of scenery. Or you could, you know, act. You could work with the director. You could actually pay attention to the music of the spheres.
It's tempting to say, "But I am doing what I would do if this were real--see, I gave up X for Lent, and said a nice thing to Y, and refrained from this habitual temptation."
That's fine, mon frères. But all that is actually still just level one whispers and nods. If you were really listening to the music, if you really thought this were real--all those little, isolated instances of reality would actually be connected and coordinated and, yes, choreographed (not be you, but obviously with your cooperation, consent, and input) into something much more tremendous.
In other words, if you really believed in God, you would be a saint.
Also, we'd have far more excellent Gilbert and Sullivan productions with which to educate our children.
No comments:
Post a Comment