Peter, Moving: Mr. Lewis returns

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis, who since November 2008 has written about the culinary and cultural aspects of the Fort Smith/Van Buren region, continues to write for The City Wire from his new address in Austin, Texas. As he did with his previous delicious essays, Peter humbly attempts to move beyond the conventional and expose, entertain and enthuse. If anything Peter proffers in this space results in the expansion of cultural awareness of the world around us, we apologize in advance.

You only thought you could get rid of me.

As they say in the Amazon River Valley, “au contraire, mon ami.” I’m like a bad case of lupus you just can’t seem to shake.

One may be forgiven for thinking, “How in the heck is he going to write for The City Wire all the way from Austin?” Valid though the question may be, the questioner misses the possible benefits. Just consider me a reporter embedded deep in enemy territory. That is, of course, if everyone in Arkansas still looks upon Texas, and especially the Longhorns, as an enemy, SEC be damned.

Furthermore, there are countless possible benefits to my new location in relation to my post as writer-at-large for the finest source of business and entertainment news north of the Red River (I’m referring to The City Wire, folks). For instance, if there was ever a Mexican invasion, my dispatches from the front lines would grant plenty of notice to the fine residents of the River Valley. This isn’t to be discounted.

While any possible scenarios are all well and good, my larger mission is to become a cultural voice for the River Valley. There is the thought (misplaced or not) that things get to the confines of the Land of Opp … excuse me, the Natural State, a little slower than they arrive at other places. Somehow, I, the chronically gauche and anachronistic youth, have been tapped for cultural commentary.

BELL CURVE
Recently I had the opportunity to witness a rather unique experiment in live theater. Through a friend I had heard about a trailblazing theater performing live reenactments of Saved By The Bell episodes. Having grown up amidst schmaltzy schlock of Saturday morning television programming, the idea of watching this production of Staged By The Bell was too much to pass up.

Upon arrival one Sunday evening, I was not certain what to expect. My assumption was that I would be receiving a word-for-word reenactment of a classic episode. Instead, a wide-ranging display of humor was delivered, courtesy of the late 80s & early 90s.

The performance began with a stand-up comedy routine by Ruby Collins. Initially, she seemed rather nervous and I feared that I would be subjected to a second-rate comedian. After the initial unease passed, Ruby Collins unleashed an awkward barrage of uncouth humor that had the crowd in stitches (myself included).  Following this was a game show particularly designed to draw crowd participation whilst also picking up large laughs. Then, following another brutal stretch of comedy from Ruby, we were finally treated to the main event: Jessie’s Song.

First appearing on Nov. 3, 1990, this episode is one of the more famous from the SBTB catalog, largely as a result of Jessie’s famous meltdown scene (You can see it here).  With the pressure of midterms mounting and the meteoric rise of her singing career, Jessie turned to caffeine pills to help her keep a grip on life. Though she was informed by Slater that the pills were bad for her, she instead chooses to ignore his accurate warnings. Eventually, the morality lesson surfaces and everything ends happily ever after.

Going in to the performance, I was expecting a sort of rote display, word for word recitations and a limited appearance of "acting" from the players. Surprisingly, this was quite off the mark. The audience was treated to a nuanced and intentional performance. The ticks and particularities of each "original" actor were studied, exacted, and exhibited with aplomb. Kelly Kapowski’s signature hair tosses became an overt tool for laughs, as Lauren Forman perfected the move with overtly self-conscious flair.  Bryan Cruz took Slater’s head bob and slight grin from swarthy teen idol to shy half-wit. Performance morphed into a unique art form.

Interspersed through the performance were commercial breaks. With products ranging from My Buddy and an early 90s hip-hop barbie, patrons were led down memory lane. All of the commercials, including the New Kids on the Block action figures, were  perfectly arranged to bring laughs. Which, after a very long weekend, is always needed. There is nothing like quality comedy to remind us of the inanity of life. For cultured yet godless folk like myself, this is paradoxically reassuring. 


In your free time, here are three culturally edifying things to watch:
• The Duke and The King: The Morning I Get To Hell

• Democrat or Republican, MadTV or SNL … this is amazing

• And lastly, a reminder of how bad the 80s could be.

Pushback
There is no guarantee that he’ll respond or care, but feel free to send Mr. Lewis your thoughts at [email protected]