Broadway Revival of an Old Favorite

Scripting had been simple:
total improv, each night
a different story, whatever
inspired the sole cast member:
a voice blaring on a loudspeaker.

The director’s job was easy:
put your name on the program
and coach the voice to speak,
preferably loudly; no music,
no choreography, no budget.

The hard work belonged
to the set designer, who later
said in a celebrated interview
that it took more than work,
more than sweat; blood.

Like the voice on the loudspeaker
the audience changed each night
but generally had the same
predictable reaction: great
expectations, disappointed.

Democracy in America: A Contemporary Reprise
Based on a work by Alexis deToqueville

This poem is submitted for One Shot Sunday, sponsored by One Stop Poetry. To see other poems prompted by the photograph and an interview with the photographer, Jacob F. Lucas, please visit the site.

Photograph: The Show Must Go On by Jacob F. Lucas. Used with permission for One Stop Poetry.