Mind Picker: Tunesday : Rock Me Amadeus

Rock Me Amadeus

(Bolland & Bolland / Falco) Performed by Falco

He was the first punk ever to set foot on this earth.
He was a genius from the day of his birth.
He could play the piano like a ring and a bell
And ev'rybody screamed:
Come on, rock me Amadeus.

He was a superstar, he was dynamite and whatever he did (it)
Seemed to be alright.
And he drank (and) he cursed and he fooled around
But when the women would shout:
Rock me Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Oh oh oh Amadeus.

With a bottle of wine in one hand and a woman in the other
'Cause he was a ladies man
He never stopped to worry what the next day would bring
Because the girls would sing:
Rock me Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Oh oh oh Amadeus.

His mind was on rock and roll and having fun
Because he lived so fast he had to die so young.
But he made his mark in history.
Still ev'rybody says:
Rock me Amadeus
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Oh oh oh Amadeus.

Looking up Rock Me Amadeus this morning, I noted that it ranks #6 on Rolling Stone's list of the worst songs of the 80's, but as someone from that era, I can't help but have a protective spot for both Amadeus and Falco in my memory: this was one of the songs that my friends and I would be sure to dance to when it was played in the clubs in Lethbridge (where we were always happily served underage); one of those songs that I never knew the words to, but would sing along with, loudly, nonetheless. And Rock Me Amadeus eventually served another purpose: When I met Dave, he was a Theatre major, and while I could have listed on one hand all of the live theatre I had seen to that point, he told me stories of going on high school trips to NYC to see some Broadway shows; telling me that the stage production of Amadeus had been his favourite of all time. When The Simpsons later did their Planet of the Apes Musical episode - with its showstopping Rock Me Dr Zaius - that felt like all worlds colliding, in the best possible way: this was my music, his movie, our inside joke about the theatre business. And if it's not obvious from this meandering lead up, it's the Edmonton live theatre scene (of the early 90's) that I wanted to write about this week.

First of all, I should note that (of course) I went to see Dave in his University productions after I met him. That first year, I only knew him in time to see the last show of the season - a compilation of a few Shakespeare scenes from different shows - and from that, it wasn't easy to see if he was any good (what did I know about Shakespeare?) The next fall, Dave had the lead in Loose Ends - a 70's-set growing-to-middle-age relationship play - and he was awesome in it; a real star. (Happily, when their on-camera course decided to do that same play as a film, the actor who was supposed to play the lead didn't show up for the first day of filming, and Dave stepped into the role; we have a VHS tape of that around here somewhere.) Dave had smaller roles in Six Characters in Search of an Author and The Marriage of Bette and Boo, but I thought he was wonderful in both. (I also watched his dance show that year, but his role had to be simplified after he dislocated his shoulder during rehearsals. Youch.)

While Dave decided against actively pursuing an acting career after he graduated, I did see him in a couple more roles: He played the main character in a Fringe show (I Fell in Love With an Eel) and the robot in an episode of Gilligan's Island Live (the role he was born to play, lol). As an aside, the acting group that put on Gilligan's Island Live also did an improv soap opera (that Dave once appeared in), and it was here that Nathan Fillion - although an Education major at the same University as Dave, not an actor - was appearing just for fun when he was "discovered" and whisked away to Hollywood. I can only imagine how that made all the trained actors feel, but, come on, it's Nathan Fillion.

After Dave started working in management at Theatre Network, I saw plenty of shows with him. Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie routinely appeared at his theatre (and their sketch comedy was eventually picked up for one season on CBC). As a matter of fact, my mother came out to Edmonton to visit once, and as the Trolls were having a "let's trash our rental house event because it has been condemned and will be soon torn down", we took Ma to that house, and she made a big deal out of how cool it was to be connected to artists, and she asked if she could have a rubber chicken she found in the house, and it was granted to her. On this same trip, she came to see The Tit Show at the theatre (it was pretty much The Vagina Monologues, but about breasts, before there even was a Vagina Monologues), and she claimed outrage that the Edmonton Journal refused to run ads for the show without censoring the title. In support of the show's right to exist, Ma asked if she could have a poster for the show, which she then had the actresses sign, and she had it framed and hung in the main bathroom of their house back home. As this was the bathroom that really only Kyler used, he found it an anti-man effrontery; both tacky and humiliating. I know my mother was trying to make a statement with all this, and while I found it all embarrassing at the time, I need to remember that she was a lot younger then than I am now; funny how we never see our Moms as real people with a valid engagement with the world around them; as though only our own experiences connect with the way things are, relegating the Moms to supporting roles or backstories.

Naturally, I saw many many shows at Theatre Network, and Dave's happiest experience was meeting Anne B. Davis from The Brady Bunch (she wasn't appearing, just an audience member supporting a friend), and they had a lovely chat about acting and life. We didn't see as many Fringe shows as one might expect, but Theatre Network hosted a "Pick of the Fringe" (where they extended the run of the plays that Steven, the GM, liked), and I saw some of them (being given free tickets in exchange for selling tickets in the beer tent for the theatre).

As I wrote before, I met Gale Gordon (from The Lucy Show) and saw him perform in Mass Appeal while I worked at the Mayfair Hotel. And as I wrote before, I both saw Donny Osmond and met Bruno Gerussi while working at the restaurant at the Citadel Theatre. As I mentioned then, the only play I remember seeing at the Citadel was Man of La Mancha, and only that because Steven (the GM of Theatre Network as I just mentioned, and the friend that Dave initially lived with in Edmonton) took me when I had mentioned that it was my favourite musical. And it was only my favourite musical because, for whatever reason, I had bought the soundtrack once upon a time and usually listened to it if I was alone and cleaning my apartment; so, really, it was just the only musical I knew all the songs to. And even as I type this, I can't really remember if Dave and I saw Phantom of the Opera when it came to the Citadel (as much as Dave doesn't like musicals in general, he hates travelling road shows of musicals), and while I vaguely remember Curtis wanting to go see Cats, I have zero memory of ever seeing it or not. No memory either way. Weird.

After their graduation, many of Dave's fellow classmates did get into the acting scene, and we saw plenty of shows at the other small theatres in Edmonton - and especially if his friends Steph or Patty were in them. The strangest play I remember seeing was one in which one of Dave's friends played a dog - with him romping around fully naked except for body paint - and the set was covered in a thick layer of mixed hair that they sourced from beauty salons. I squirmed all through that play, trying not to look at the guy's flopping bits, and imagining how itchy all that hair would be to his skin as he'd flip and roll on stage.

We saw loads of live theatre when we lived in Edmonton, and continued to see plays after we moved to Ontario. In particular, we've now been to dozens of plays at the Stratford Festival, most of which we've taken our kids to, and it's cool to us that the actor who once played Mr. Howell in Gilligan's Island Live is now a regular company member in Stratford's Shakespeare productions. As I started with, I hadn't really experienced much theatre before I met Dave, but knowing him has certainly enriched my life in that area - I can't imagine how the girls would have turned out if they hadn't had theatre, and theatre training, in their childhoods; if they couldn't get all our inside jokes.

Parker: Troy! Mac Parker. Ever hear of...Planet of the Apes?

Troy: Uh... the movie or the planet?

Parker: The brand-new multi-million dollar musical, and you are starring...as the human.

Troy: It's the part I was born to play, baby!