Then You'd Know Why I Feel Blue

I am still awake. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever sleep normally, for a bunch of hours in a row, at the appointed time. Right now it feels like that will never happen.

Today the family went to see Buddy, the musical based off Buddy Holly's life. I didn't really know anything about him, apart from a song or two I recall, probably from a movie. I should have done my research, because (spoiler alert) he died when he was really young, after only being famous for a year or so. I found this out during the intermission, and because I'd just spent an hour and a half getting to know what kind of person he was, how kind and fun and passionate he was, I got really sad. Even though it happened fifty years ago, and I didn't really know anything about him until this afternoon, the whole production was done so well and I had really gotten attached to the character (who I imagined to be the real guy, since I get sucked in like that).

When the actor who played Buddy came back on stage after the intermission, it all seemed so melancholy. The cast and story were just as energetic as before, but now I knew what was going to happen and I knew they knew what was going to happen, and the real Buddy Holly had no idea what his fate would be. The second act was a concert with Buddy, Ritchie Valens, and The Bopper, with everyone on stage doing these grand musical numbers, culminating in a dark stage, empty and black except for a spotlight on Buddy's hands on his guitar. There was a voice-over radio broadcast of Red Robinson (that man has been in showbusiness forever) making the announcement about the plane crash, which killed Buddy, Valens, and The Bopper. Then everyone came back on stage and the concert continued, with Ritchie Valens and The Bopper coming onstange to sing with Buddy; I think they were trying to end it on a high note. But it felt morbid, like it was their ghosts singing a concert in heaven or something, and I almost started crying because they were so young and happy.

I hate it when sad stuff happens in real life, and then I unknowingly watch a play about it.