50 Years ago, Fort Walton Beach opened its doors and the tradition of the mighty vikings began. 50 years ago, we were also still under the influence of the Summer of Love and the cultural revolution of "sex, drugs and rock and roll" that shook our nation. Some fun facts from 1968-1969:
- Dr. Christian Barnard performs the first successful heart transplant
- Martin Luther King Jr. was asssinated
- The first Big Mac goes on sale in McDonalds costing 49 cents
- Boeing 747 made its maiden flight
- Emergency 911 Telephone service was started in the USA
- Anti Vietnam War protests were prevelant throughout the western world
- Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon
- Laugh-in and Gomer Pyle USA were the top TV shows
- The top toys included Chatty Cathy, Barbie's Dream House and the EZ Bake Oven
- Mrs. Whittaker celebrated her 1st birthday on October 9, 1968
And then there was the music. Woodstock ushered in a whole new era of rock and roll that was ignited by the likes of the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash and Young and the Beatles. The fashions reflected the anti war sentiment with military jackets adorned with peace signs, and other trends including long unkempt wild hair and headbands showed the feelings of anti establishment felt by the youth.
When I decided to produce Shakespeare's favorite, and perhaps most bizarre comedy, time traveling to 1968 was a pretty easy year to set it in. Shakespeare's audiences were fully invested in the fairy world-- a world where magic happened and mortals could be manipulated by the power of a potion in the hands of a skilled leader. Likewise, the musical giants of the late 60's no doubt created a magic and culture all of their own that produced the same effect-- a divergence from the harsh realities of the world's problems as a result of an immersion in music, free love, and plant-based substances altering what one believed to be real.
Although we have made some cuts to the original text to make it more relatable to our young audiences, Shakespeare's underlying theme remains the same-- the power of love makes you crazy. Young people like the ones I teach everyday are especially susceptible to the effects of the chemistry of hormones on their brains and good judgement. Falling in and out of love, deciding what is and isn't attractive in a potential mate, and realizing that what was adorable is now just aggravating is just part of the process we all go through as young adults as we navigate LOVE -- and it's a process that often stretches into middle age as we mature and grow as human beings. Shakespeare used the power of music to draw people into the story, and we have honored that element by loosely basing our Fairy King and Queen on Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, two gifted artists who gave us sensual, powerful, and souful music, and whose careers ironically both ended at the age of 27 in 1970 due to drug overdoses. The clash between the straight-laced middle class and the free-love hippie culture was somehow lessened when they could both enjoy and appreciate the same music, and as is usually the case in turmoil, it is the arts that bring us together.
"Lord what fools these mortals be" is probably the most famous line in the play, uttered by Puck, Oberon's lackey who enjoys nothing more than creating havoc for her own enjoyment, and certainly could be the one line that defines the whole play. We are fools in so many ways that I can imagine the Almighty just shaking his head indisbelief at our ridiculousness. I hope that you, too can laugh at our foolishness tonight, and remember a time when the power of love made you downright blind and silly.
Christa Whittaker
