Rolling Thunder: A Rock Journey at New World Stages is Boomer heaven, a two-hour evening of 17 of the top songs of the late 60s and early 70s, which I have always felt had the greatest music of my lifetime. These songs and a sense of freedom were part of the joy of that era, and the six talented performers evoke those memories with the songs. But this time was also marked by tragedy. The Vietnam war, which began in 1955 and continued until 1975, is the backdrop of the show and the songs reflect that as well.
A program note says the characters are a composite of real people, “their essence and personalities distilled from research, actual letters and interviews with Vietnam veterans.” Bryce Hallett, an Australian journalist and former arts editor at the Sydney Morning Herald, wrote the book and Kenneth Ferrone directs.
Projection designer Caite Hevner creates the environment with scenes of the jungle in Vietnam and the soldiers’ letters describing the intense heat and humidity as they carried 90-pound packs on their backs. Photos and news clips of protests at home, against the war and for civil rights, portray this turbulent and unique time in our history. We hear from Presidents Johnson and Nixon and Walter Cronkite on TVs. (My friend and I looked at each other and smiled. He was our long-time neighbor, and wrote the introduction for my first book.)
After a dramatic opening of the cast singing “Magic Carpet Ride,” we are introduced to the characters, spotlighted one by one. Thomas (Justin Matthew Sargent) tells us how he came to join the Marines. He saw an officer on his college campus and was inspired by his confidence and his uniform. He thought, “That’s how I want to look. I’m going to be a Marine.”
Johnny (Drew Becker) says people thought he’d gone mad when he enlisted in the Army “but I’ve been thinking about my one big chance for adventure, to see a bit of the world while I could.”
Linda (Cassadee Pope), Johnny’s girlfriend, says she understands why he’s going. “I barely blinked as I watched the plane disappear among the clouds. Johnny’s dad put his arm around me. We didn’t say a word.”
Andy (Daniel Yearwood) says the training at Fort Campbell was mindless and tough. “I wasn’t cut out for it.”
Mike, who also plays Jimi and others, (Deon’te Goodman), a Black soldier like Andy, writes to his childhood friend after hearing he’s been drafted. “Some of the guys don’t take well to the fully integrated units. Take your riffle to the mess and the latrine.”
Andy’s Mom, who also plays Nurse Kelly and others (Courtnee Carter), writes to her son. “I’m so worried. Please take care and try not to lose yourself. I will keep your room just the way you left it. And remember, don’t go drinking that water! I hear it’s been contaminated from all the chemicals they’ve been spraying. I love you, sweetheart. Mom”
I remembered every one of the songs they sing, even though I was only in elementary school for the 60s. “Black Magic Woman,” “Born to be Wild,” “Eve of Destruction,” “House of the Rising Sun,” “War” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and the others are songs I haven’t heard in decades yet they instantly transported me back in time. Chong Lim and Sonny Paladino provide the arrangements and orchestration and Paladino conducts the five-piece onstage band and plays keys.
Before the final scene the following appears as rows upon rows of names scroll up the length of the stage:
More than 2 million lives were lost and 3 million people were wounded.
Hundreds of children were left orphaned.
About 9 million Americans served on active duty during the official Vietnam War era between 1964 and 1973.
58,151 died and 153,303 were wounded. 61% of those killed were younger than 21.
1,875 are still unaccounted for.
The show concludes with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
After the enthusiastic standing ovation all those currently servicing, veterans and family members were asked to raise their hands and were thanked as we applauded. Then the tone shifted as we were invited to sing along with a medley of songs. A woman in the audience shouted, “Can we?” The answer was an enthusiastic “Yes!”
It was a blast to sing my lungs out with songs of my youth accompanied by a rock band in an off-Broadway theatre, not caring if I was off-key occasionally because everyone else was singing and the music was so pulsating no one would have noticed.
In photo, by Evan Zimmerman, are: Pope, Becker, Yearwood, Sargent, Carter and Goodman.
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