You can't have a military musical without their famous drill teams!   Maybe their performance with be to Putting on the Ritz!
putting on the ritz- Rufus Wainwright - YouTube

Felt this hit from the 70's turned out to be a very appropriate song for our venue.  Have a listen...
The Partridge Family - That'll Be The Day - YouTube

When the chains around me no longer ground me

and my soul can sail away to a better life -
That'll be the Day

And when the silence is broken and words unspoken
can finally have their say, then we'll all sing out -
That'll be the Day
That'll be the Day

We should be together like the sand and the sea
Like the rocks in the sunshine go together with the
grass on the summer ground, the leaves on the tree
Like the sheep and the meadow go together like the words and the music
The honey and the bee, like the work and the play -
that'll be the day

And when those feelings I've hidden are no longer forbidden
and our love is here to stay
Then we'll all shine on -
That'll be the Day
That'll be the Day

The setting is loud, hectic, never private, unseen cameras everywhere.  Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of military personnel in blue naval camo gear. The Controlled Industial Area (CIA) is patrolled by young Marines with machine guns.  A world of big trucks and a whole lot of man.  A really tough place to come out as a gay man.  Every aspect is massive, it is much larger than its civilian counterparts.

Opening Scene...

The Rear Admiral, Phil, walks form the shower wearing a short terrycloth robe.  He enters his dressing room just off his bedroom.  The walls are covered with Broadway posters, many of them autographed.  The mirror is rimmed with glamour lights....draped with feather boas.  As he enters, spins into his room, his energy cannot be contained.  He is passionately singing "That's entertainment"

"The clown with his pants falling down 
Or the dance that's a dream of romance
Or the scene where the villain is mean 
That's entertainment

The lights on the lady in tights
Or the bride with a guy on the side
Or that ball where she gives him her all 
That's entertainment

The plot can be hot, simply teeming with sex 
A gay divorcee who is after her ex
it can be Oedipus Rex 
where a chap kills his father 
And cases a lot of bother......

Hip Hip Hooray, the American way
The world is a stage 
The stage is a world of entertain....ment!!!!

He vamps through he whole song, playing to the crowd.  His is a great expression of joy.  As he dresses and the song concludes, he pulls on his jacket, moving from dance step to military step, grabs his Navy hat and marches out the door.  Tan uniform.  He sang that song most mornings and it always gave him some measure of joy but lately he had had doubts about the role he chose to play.

This sets the stage for the entire show.  The American way, the world is a stage.  The stage is a world of entertainment.  We are all actors playing our roles but some roles are harder to maintain and we all reach a point where we don't want to "act" anymore.  The RA has a wellspring of joy.  He is also very conflicted and despite the fact he leads a big chunk of the Navy he very rarely feels safe.

I decided to start listing my ideal cast, not because I think they would be interested, but to give the characters a more concrete form ... anyhow it never hurts to visualize!  So here it goes...

Victor Garber is one of our favorites.....he has an amazing ability to go from a scary intimidating persona to breaking out into Mr. Broadway song and dance man.  So for the part of the Rear Admiral one could never go wrong.
For those unfamiliar with Victor Garber's other side here's a little tidbit...
Victor Garber sings and dances in Eli Stone Season 2 Episode 5 by garbermaniaca

Okay so this video shows not only my age but that I've been a fan of Victor Garber since the 70's.
This old clip is worth the watch.....hauntingly profound at the end when you realize what they are dancing on top of.....one of two buildings, at the time, that was still under construction.  All For The Best GODSPELL

The Rear Admiral is in the midst of crisis.  years before, he chose the military over his love of the stage and with that made many sacrifices.  The effect of which are now being felt.  A person that operated in the realm of certainty is now besieged by doubt and at the same time feels new hope.

Phil is a meticulous … detail oriented, very smart, high achiever.  Loves uniforms…very tidy, well pressed.  His home, outside of his dressing room, is very traditional/contemporary he likes clean lines. Greys and tans with lovely dark rich throw pillows.  He is a fan of Danish design such high quality but with simple sleek lines.  Very tailored, appropriate for someone of his status.  He has a love for art and covered his walls in it….he has collected it and his furnishings over many years.  Why the military? Liked order (and men) wanted his father’s approval and felt he needed boundaries.  Never allowed himself to fall in love.  He achieved this position, in large part, because of his decisiveness.   He doesn’t waver and appears to be all in on every decision he makes.  This air of certainty gives him an intimidating presence.  Very few are privy to the joy and softness that makes up the greater part of him.  He is very highly respected but also feared, giving out an energy that you would not want to cross.  He appears highly refined and is not one to swear openly, so when he does, WATCH OUT!

Running contrary to Phil’s rightness and certainty is the growing issue of being burnt out.  His life of black and whites is becoming very hard to maintain.  He has a very real mental image of himself cracking like a plate.  Thirty years ago he made the choice, the stage or the Navy and although he was actually quite good at Navy type things and experienced a meteoric rise up the ranks, he never lost his love for Broadway or broad shouldered men.  He had always pushed regret aside and if pressed would deny ever being conflicted, but lately he was finding rhythm in the most unlikely of places.    
Here is a bit of stomp .... (replace the kitchen set with a pier, rebar, garbage cans, steel plate, jackhammer etc...you'll get the gist.) Stomp Kitchen

His family history was filled with strong Navy men and he was raised with thoughts of duty, honor and order.   He achieved the position of Rear Admiral just as he entered mid life and begins to ask all the big questions.

He feels he has lost his passion for all things Navy.  During high-level meetings he finds his inner self-singing little songs like "I don’t give a shit! "and "who the #@%* really cares? "  He finds these themes a little worrisome but he relishes the opportunity to create little ditties.  Right now he really just wants to sing and dance, not so much to express joy but more to create it.  He is actually finding all the order around him to be stifling at best and often almost suffocating.  He was raised in order, but recently has been searching it for cracks.  His mind drifts back to when he was a child, he felt life always had the potential to be a musical.  Let the music in, let the music out. Let the music in, let the music out.  That little mantra could always calm him and fill him with more optimism than a whole fleet of destroyers and aircraft carriers ever could.  In this life he felt like he could always fall back on order, take orders, give orders.  That thought was no longer comforting.  He wanted to dance and not alone.  He had led a very solitary life, again a conscious choice that he had, until recently, felt was the right one.

Phil prided himself on his ability to keeps his life’s compartments separate.  There was no bleeding of one into the other.   This had made perfect sense to him before, but he was now feeling like scribbling, screaming, mixing everything up and then afterwards, laughing and laughing.  

 Gerard Butler or Hugh Jackman would both be the perfect the Pile Driver....definitely the "man's man" quality that is so part of the shipyard...great voices and huge stage presence.  A couple of diddy's from these two.
Gerard Butler sings 'The Music of the Night'           Hugh Jackman-GANGNAM STYLE

Rod, our Pile driver Superintendent, lives big and always comes out on top.  At first blush he would question the very concept of doubt, real men and all that stuff.  He is what he is......An open book, until ......... he isn't.  Where Phil has shades of hope, Rod only feels fear, fear of being exposed to those around him, but also to himself.

Rod had always had a very close relationship with his crew.   (kept them tidy)  They were his family and accepted him at face value without asking a lot of questions.  They seemed to know Rod better than he knew himself, a fact that now only added to his discomfort.

Rod sees himself as a real Man’s Man. He is big; 6 foot 2 inches with an ample amount of girth.  He is meticulous and very tidy…and does his best to keep his mind tidy.  He sees his crew as an extension of himself.  He’d straighten their collars and pick pieces of lint or debris off of them if need be.  He tends to be a bit of a horn tooter, rightfully so … He is a “soldier.” A real, front line guy.  He has a bit of a gruff exterior but a true sweetness about him.  Tends to be on the bossy side, whether you work for him or not.  He expects a lot from people but is always eager to help out where he can.  Overall he is seen as fair, very well respected and admired. Rod’s life is very compartmentalized and tries to stay within the lines.  Always falls back on, “It’s a mindset.”  “I am a soldier.”  In his mind, in many ways, he is as much a military man as Phil. His compartmentalizing works well on the job, but is a challenge in his off time.  He is a bit/a lot O.C., and he struggles to be at ease…..fumbling about at times, very different than his work persona.  Though Rod is quite “Manly” he is highly sensitive and can easily get his feelings hurt.

Rod is proud to be a pile driver.  That is how he saw himself and it was how he expected others to see him.  He was proud to be all that title represented, strong, straight, manly, on target and capable.  His motto was, “Bam, I am always on top.”  The double entendre of his title and favorite phrase was not lost on those around him, but out of sincere respect they never appeared to notice.

 As far as anyone knew he came from a little town way up north in Alaska.  He liked to say, “small town, big people.”  In fact, he claimed, his town was so small that one particularly harsh winter it was completely covered in snow and was never seen again.  Being so small, he said, few people even noticed the loss.  Rod liked Alaska, it was big like him and represented mystery, a fair amount of danger and required no apology.  If you were from Alaska there were certain things people assumed about you and certain things they didn’t.  

Tye Diggs as the crane operator .... not only does he have amazing talent .... he looks and dresses a lot like our very metro-sexual crane operator.

A little diddy from the movie Rent....Rent You'll see
The crane operator we will call Elvis for now.  When not working he is a competitive body builder, though he did shy away from competitions for quite a number of years do to the realization he would have to don a speedo. 

                                                                       

 Matthew Broderick can go from rugged days of the movie "Glory" to the Music Man.  He would be our perfect, Jerry, the tap dancing welder.This isn't a video of Matthew Broderick but it shows the style of tap from two of the greats.  Jerry views himself as a true patriot so Yankee Doodle Dandle is the perfect venue.  Great Dance Routine- James Cagney and Bob Hope - Duration- 3-34. by abfabjurisprudence 3,267,261 views  Still looking for the perfect clip of Matthew Broderick

Jerry considers himself a redneck though prides himself on the fact that he doesn't look like one.  He is the type that would be happy with a house in the middle of a hundred acres.  It would have a lookout tower and a shotgun.  He is very witty and finds himself to be quite funny.  Though he claims to not be "prejudice" because he hates everyone, he is actually very well liked almost to the point of heterosexual "cool Jerry" man-crushes that seem to follow him.  His motto "I don't have opinions I just state facts!"

Russell Crowe has the no nonsense Man quality and I've heard rumors he can have a bit of a temper.  He would play the part of Terry, the job superintendent for the pier product. 

 Terry is a cowboy.  He likes everything cowboy including the sappy cowboy music., but luckily he does appreciate the old classics too.  He may yell a lot and get a bit red faced when angry, but as soon as his outbursts are over he forgets it and moves on.  He is fair and runs a tight ship, a very good boss....as long as you do your job!  He is all American and has a strong friendship with welder Jerry.  They hope to.one day retire from construction and open Terry and Jerry's Chaps and Taps bar. Russell Crowe and Jimmy Fallon Sing Folsom Prison Blues ...

 Neil Patrick Harris reminds us of our friend Chris who isn't actually gay but is referred to as "a gay man in a straight man's body."  Chris struggled with all his safety attire clashing with his fancy socks. A show tune for your listening pleasure from Neil Patrick Harris
It's Not Just for Gays Anymore - Neil Patrick Harris   ....a great duo too...Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman duet at 2011 Tony Awards - Duration- 4-42. by GuilbeauxFan 7,146,701 views
Chris is by far the snazziest dressing gear head construction guy I have ever met.  He believes that the white man is the ruin of the country and tends to throw minor tizzy fits over it.  His friends continue to gracefully remind him that he is also white.  He has great appreciation for Britney Spears...especially "Toxic" which he performs on karaoke nights.

His struggles at the Shipyard are mainly, government, military, security (always feeling watched), an over abundance of testosterone, styleless dress code etc...etc..etc...etc...etc

Drives a vintage Citron car or his vintage vespa.  He is a gear head but not in the same category as the other guys … it’s all about the beauty aspect.  He wears his vans into work and reluctantly changes into his boots, but not before he eats his cereal that he brings in every morning in his vintage cooler with his own special bowl, spoon and milk.  Analyzes everyone....

Megan Mullally would play me....unfortunately what is the most like me is her unusual voice.  On more than one or seven occasions I was told that I could make a living as a voice over........for  cartoon characters!  The last guy went a step further and said..."you know like one of those porn cartoons."         NOOOOO! I don't know!

 Yep, not a compliment.  Though I think Megan's is just part of her act........not so much me. Ha!  Needless to say she has a crazy amount of talent!  A little Karen Walker character from Will and GraceKaren Walker - It's Not Unusual (Extended Scene) Funniest Scene From Series 5

Could see her performing this with hardhats and construction garb instead of Top hats.JUDY GARLAND "GET HAPPY" (SUMMER STOCK, 1950) by Hans Elgret

Gina entered the shipyard with the mind of an artist and couldn't understand why everything had to be grey.  She was employed as a laborer on this massive construction project of demolishing and rebuilding an aircraft carrier pier.  Pier "Bravo" yes, that is actually the name.  The shipyard was very intimidating and extremely overwhelming to her in the beginning.

 Though she loved physical work she had never been in construction and definitely had never passed through the gates of the shipyard.  In Gina's peacenik mind it would eventually be a huge fishing pier; catch and release only, of course.  She was looked upon as a crazy liberal, though she never talked politics.  She did, however, drive an old Saab, ate organic food and didn't have cable so that, they concluded, "gave her away".

I think this would truly be called shooting for the STARS!

Of course, I must pay tribute to the ... Village People - In the Navy OFFICIAL Music Video 1978 ...

they were the first, in my recollection, to publicly sing about this 

I would like to preface that this is a fictionalized account of my life at the Shipyard.  Though there may be some similarities to certain characters, I exercised a “little” bit of tellers license and took great pains to disguise everyone, maybe embellishing on a few traits here and there.   Some dialog has been transferred verbatim from crew to paper…. I just could not have made it up on my own! Though different surroundings than I had ever been a part of and people that I probably would never have met, it was, overall, a great experience and I was privileged to work with good-hearted, hardworking, funny and amazing people from all walks of life.   Stay tuned.....

copyright excepts from Shipyard "The Musical" 2013