DIRECTOR'S NOTES
Sketches by Kärin Kopischke
Why? In my view, the reason is not just the storytelling, which is addictive, tenacious, and rich. It is something larger. Stephen King is a fearless miner of the darker recesses of the brain. He understands not just the human condition, but what drives good people to do bad things, which is, for all intents and purposes, at the heart of classic tragedy.
The Shining is a horror story, but it is also much more than that, because it is dimensional, psychological and, perhaps most importantly, believable. The supernatural forces at hand in the Overlook Hotel — Danny’s talent to “shine”, Jack’s ability to see ghosts — are not so farfetched in a world like ours today, in which people often fear things that are not there. Or are they? Dogs can smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans, revealing a world we will never know. A small percentage of humans are born tetra-chromatic, meaning they have the ability to see an expanded color spectrum, providing a glimpse of a whole other reality. Why should we deny that there may be a world unseen, kept from us by our inadequate five senses. Instinctively, we know this is possible. Something deep in all our collective conscious tells us that there are forces lurking beyond the known physical world. And that something may be, in fact, a cosmic correcting force that cleanses us of past sins and restores the world to balance. This, and a good fright, is what connects all of us to The Shining. Initially published as an airport bookstand novel, it is now a modern classic, as ubiquitous and popular as The Grapes of Wrath or Hamlet and, apparently, ripe for grand opera.
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Stephen King is a fearless miner of the darker recesses of the brain. He understands not just the human condition, but what drives good people to do bad things ... National treasure and composer Paul Moravec, and renowned librettist Mark Campbell have joined forces to capture the essence of all that is mysterious and frightening in The Shining. Our collective efforts have been harnessed to bring to life the Overlook Hotel and the terrifying journey of the Torrance family. Hopefully we will have been as successful as King was in revealing all that is not there. – ERIC SIMONSON
| THE SHINING
M
y admiration for the stories of Stephen King came later in life. A while back — about ten years ago — I was asked to direct a musical called The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County as a radio play. The songs were by rocker John Cougar Mellencamp and the story and book were by Stephen King. The piece was, at that time, in its very early stages. It had not yet received a full production, and its creators wanted to hear what it sounded like. They offered me the job and I gladly accepted. I was a fan of Mellencamp’s, but unfamiliar with King, so in preparation I began to acquaint myself. The Shining was one of the first books I read, and it lived up to its hype. It remains my one of my favorites. One book led to another and before long I was making a dent in the King oeuvre. I read novels, short stories, collaborations; I listened to bookson-tape while driving; I watched film and TV adaptations as well, and I am still far from the end. The man is very prolific. He is also an expert story teller, able to grab the attention of a reader and keep it until long after the last page. I am an unabashed fan, and I am not alone. He is a very popular writer.
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