Performances for Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong well-received in Waterbury, and more to come…

The best praise for a show is not in what theater-goers say, but in the emotions almost involuntarily expressed as the story sweeps them along. Each performance was punctuated by audience reactions. There was much laughter, a few gasps and contemplative exclamations, and long stretches of stunned, enthralled silence. A hushed reverie blanketed the audience of each show long after the applause finally faded. Often, only performer Ethan Bowen’s return to the stage and the flickering on of lights broke the spell.

At the recommendation of our Rochester audiences, talk-backs were held after the Waterbury performances. Vietnam veterans in the audience shared stories of proud young men delimbed by mines, a growing sense of futility in their drills and danger lurking behind every tree, and chilly receptions back home.

The sound and set design were praised; one audience member citing the effective use of space to transport the audience between the narration and the story, reminding the viewer that while a fictional account of history, stories sometimes express something truer than what facts and figures can.

Bald Mountain Theater hopes to continue to bring this thought-provoking story to schools, veterans, and new audiences so that it might engage, encourage discussion, and tell a story that is both tied to history and deeply human.