Deaf West Revival of Whistle Down the Wind — Page 3

John Adams, you hold your own, God bless ya, much like your namesake! No, you didn't give me that impression; I was just making that point for others who might develop that impression.

In order of clarification:

* Re: "the very idea": the very idea that he might be Jesus.
* Re: starting "The Vow" for the kids' sake: she sees how hopeful they are (well, at least one of them), she realizes that whether or not this man is Jesus, he needs help, she thinks she can manage it, and the snap decision she makes is to humor the belief.
* Re: line readings: in my interpretation, they're not always for the kids' benefit or intended to be read as such by the kids (emphasis mine). Sometimes, they're how she copes with the situation. To use one of your examples, in my head, I hear "I swiped it from my dad, but I know you'll forgive me" as something the kids can read as sincere, and she can intend as "heh, long as we're saying you're Jesus, right?"

(To digress for a second: This may be my own 'armchair quarterback' directorial interpretation, but I do not think that either the exclamation or the following confused muttering in pain is intended to be a deliberate deception. I think he first realizes who they think he is when she says, whether wholeheartedly or not, "Being the Son o' God, it can't be that difficult for you." I can see very clearly the mental gymnastics that follow in his face before deciding, in the absence of any other solution, to ride it out: "Son of God? What the hell is she... wait a minute... did I... wait, what?! Oh no! No, no, no, no, no... think, think..." I picture him being very confused by all the stuff the kids are saying that implies a Jesus connection until he realizes, in that horrible, vulnerable outburst of "I want my mother back!" and what follows, what she means.)

Back to that bullet point (which I only do with asterisks because the forum's bullet-pointing system, in my experience, bites the big one): When I talk about offering an "out," I see her in her dialogue frequently testing him in a way that devout belief, at least as experienced by fundamentalist Christians of the nature implied in her small town, doesn't allow for, and that doesn't strike me as merely an incredulous kid. "Steal the car? Break the seventh commandment?" You're supposed to be Jesus, do you realize what you're asking me to do?

On a somewhat but not strictly related point that technically falls here, I don't think any of what I say about "found family" implies a sophistication beyond her years. She doesn't have to consciously know that's what she means for it to be her intention, or for us to derive that interpretation of it.

* Re: "one more 'failed messiah'": To be specific, I'm referring to everything that has let her down that follows in that sentence as a "failed messiah"; I'm not using the phraseology in its most literal sense. For "failed messiah," in that context, substitute "every dream that didn't come true," or even "every person and event that did not meet or exceed her expectations," which is perhaps more on the mark.

Updated On: 4/17/26 at 11:21 AM

TBFL said: "
Though the show has it's faults 'A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste' is 11.5mins of overwrought Jim Steinman and i love it. Easily the best number in the show, even if Swallow suddenly thinks she's a bad girl just because she's on the back of a motorbike....

Ha fully agreed there.

"

EricMontreal22 said: "I still find it interesting that despite setting it in the South, the concept of also having a racial/racist angle wasn't brought to the material until Gale Edwards' revisions for the London version (including making it more sung through which I think suits the heightened themes.)"

For myself, I wish they'd eliminated the concept altogether rather than give it such cursory attention. I believe there's only one line that brings it to the audience's attention, and then is never mentioned again:

Edward Candy! There’s rules in this world and we gotta abide by them, even when we know they’re wrong… and bein’ seen out here in the bright light of day flirtin’ with a white boy is breakin’ one of those rules. So get back to where you belong.
Candy But Ed…
Edward You heed my words like your life depended on ‘em. Now get on home.

I can see how it might be perceived as insulting to show Candy and Amos' relationship, with no comment at all beyond the singular scolding from Edward. It seems insultingly perfunctory.

But... there are only so many minutes/hours in a show.* Better to just not address it, rather than toss in an unexplored "teaser".

I also think Candy & Amos' relationship deserves better attention within the writing. If there's anything that does seem obvious to me, in a semi-sexual context, it's that Amos wants to date Swallow.

I think Amos & Candy have a relationship primarily based on a mutual want to get out of their Podunk town to someplace more exciting (New Orleans).

Candy's primary goal throughout the show is to get Amos motivated enough to stop talking about it, and actually leave with her (to provide the transportation). She's got one foot out the door, but gets stood up by Amos who chooses instead to help Swallow get the gun (and consequently express his feelings for her).

The "bad girl" references w/Candy might be more in line with multi-racial fraternizing rather than physical romance.

---------------------------
* This is why I prefer Sondheim to Lloyd-Webber shows. Sondheim would have written music that capsulized a lot of information into a single song. In "Whistle..." there are a lot of unused opportunities for story/character development in favor of songs that superficially touch on emotional metaphors. Like the song, "Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts". This is as deep as it gets:

TIRE TRACKS AND BROKEN HEARTS LETS GET AWAY FROM THE PAST SO MANY WAYS TO STAY HUNGRY BABY SO MANY WAYS TO GO FAST
TIRE TRACKS AND BROKEN HEARTS THAT’S ALL WE’RE LEAVING BEHIND IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT WE’RE LOSING IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT WE’RE GOING TO FIND

In regards to character needs, the whole song might be summed up by just the last line: "It doesn't matter what we're losing, It only matters what we're going to find." All those other references to things like "what we're missing most are the real good times", "I want 'em bad and I want 'em now, we were born going faster than the limits allow", and my favorite, "So many ways to stay hungry, baby. So many ways to go fast" all support that last singular "want" to get out in the world - which is a pretty singular goal. Only to get out - nothing ambitious beyond "out". That's a lot of unused song, IMO.

Updated On: 4/18/26 at 07:46 PM

TBFL said: "Elena Shaddow as Ghost of Swallow’s Mother

Now i'm intrigued."

Clearly the director saw the Watermill production in the UK four years ago. The ghost of Swallow's mom was a constant presence in that one, watching over her shoulder and dancing with her.

The pros to that approach: it brings Swallow's grief to the forefront, centering it as a guide for her every thought and deed, which (to some) may explain her irrational behavior as dictated by the book.

The cons: it was distracting, and reviewers often found it more confusing than clarifying.

My two cents: in previous productions, Swallow's mom has been an unseen presence, a catalyst in alienating Swallow from her father, thereby giving her greater motivation to seek a parent figure in her life. Plunking a ghost onstage caters too much to audiences needing overly clear messaging, the same kind of crap that leads to increasingly seedy revivals of Cabaret or every Gypsy since Patti LuPone's turning Rose into more of a one-note psycho than the production before.

It's a useful tool, but is it a really useful tool?* No. Which, with my track record, means American reviewers will embrace it, praise it as an innovation, and we'll see it copied from here to Des Moines.

* (...that joke would've been funnier if it was still the name of Lloyd Webber's company. Oh well. Sticking to it.)

Updated On: 7/31/26 at 12:15 PM

Yep, the very same.

first off @chrishuyen - thanks for giving the only report I've been able to find since this weekend's performances. When they first announced WDTW in the spring, I was excited that it would finally be staged locally so I could actually see a performance of a score that I've loved since I first heard the songs from it in the late 90's (a VHS I had imported from the UK of the Andrew Lloyd webber birthday celebration which turned into a music fest which highlighted at least 4 songs of WDTW which was preparing for the London premiere after the DC tryout never made it to NYC)

Anyway... I'm glad I didn't venture the hour and a half up to Poughkepsie from the sound of it. I didn't recall reading in the announcements that this was a concert/workshop of the show. I'm curious if this means they're actively trying to develop this into something - a full blown NY premiere? or perhaps a return in London.

The idea of deaf/sign language adding to this story does seem intriguing to me. The only way for the show to work is there has to be a sense of believable innocence on the part of Swallow and the Children and at the same time the line of tension where there's romantic inclinations between Swallow and "the Man" is a really tight one to maintain... (can become really creepy or unbelievable) So perhaps bringing this element into the characters helps navigate that.

Wonder if ALW was in town for this too?

Anyway - thanks again for sharing. It's exciting hearing some new interest in this show

Pernigraniline said: "The Original London production was VERY troubled - that multi-storey set with the freeway regularly crushed performers, leading to court cases with RUG and big payouts. Almost certainly didn't make profits, and stymied its transfer to Broadway."

Wow, I had never heard this before (I really loved that production which I first saw with its second cast,) and of course the party line was that it made a profit, one of the last times that happened for a major London new ALW show (until School of Rock.) I certainly never heard about injuries, but I could see how that would happen with the set....

I used to find the premise of the book to be unbelievable, bordering on preposterous that a revival meeting comes to town in small part of the US in a big top, meanwhile a young girl loses her mother only to discover that a man hiding out on a run as a escaped convict believes this person to be Jesus and can reunite her with her mother, you have to really think is that story plausible in any shape or form? But then again most of America believe that Trump is the savior!

Updated On: 8/5/26 at 09:00 PM

I also followed the Show quite closely and don't remember hearing anything about accidents either. Is it possible that folks are thinking of Ann crumb injury in aspects of love?

Updated On: 8/6/26 at 08:07 AM