This year they’re once again trying to let Manteo and Wanchese speak better English. They do this every few years and they think it’s a radical break with tradition, when in fact it’s been done before, and before, and before…
I’ve noticed this loss of collective memory. The other night the director spoke of another “tradition” that’s been altered this year, the “tradition” that the entire company (excepting Indians and Principals) participate in the intermission scene change, when in fact that “tradition” is only about five years old. It used to be that the Actor Techs and technical staff would do the scene shift, and damn proud of it. They are back to that this year.
Of course my memory only goes back 19 years. It could be that this cycle keeps rolling around every few years.
So when evil King Wanchese threatens the Colonists he no longer says “When moon come big, white men be gone!”
Now he says: “By the next full moon all you white people will be gone!”
Kevin McGinnis was the BEST Wanchese... One night, according to legend, he said "When moon come big, strap your board to your back and hitch a ride in your wetsuit 'cause we're goin' SURFIN!"
ReplyDeleteYears later, Pete Peterson took that "moon come big" line and made it unforgettable from a speedboat out on the sound!
By the way, Susan, sweetie... If you're reading this at work, when will you be home? I cleaned as much of the garage as I could, and think I need to build a couple of drawers for all the "stuff", so I'm heading to Home Depot soon as I post this and figure out the "secret word". I'm thinking about calling Dominos, or popcorn for dinner if you're going to be much later. Your loving husband...