>>46461634The music of "THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND" is most assuredly secondary to the story. It is a running accompaniment to take the audience through changing moods while the tale of two people is being told, thrust together upon the set of a television broadcasting studio to complete their separate jobs for the day - Bubba, a (hopefully) novice cameraman, and Armando, who's trying to sing his heart out and make it as a performer. The characters are constantly completely transparent and unsubtle with their thoughts and intent throughout the play - Bubba, through his usage of the camera, and Armando through his body. Both of them evince a constant, tamped-down frustration that the true gravitas of the performance they are executing does not seem to be adequately conveyed to the audience, and this constitutes the abstract drive that propels the production onwards.
Armando throws his head back as if to belt but continues singing normally, he jumps when the song lyrics say jump, he strums his sham of a guitar so hard that even when his right hand comes off it he continues shaking it by the neck as though he could wring out some more music out of it. Bubba is less invested but still tries, like someone who has read "guides" to stage camera operation written by people more interested in selling poetic language than practical knowledge - he zooms in and out repeatedly on Armando's face to desperately try and emphasize the passion in it, pans out into wide shots to convey some unspecified emotion, and sometimes tries to follow Armando's flailing arms before giving up.
In their actions, they demonstrate a simpleness that is as much charming as it is infuriating. Armando's overemoting is obvious, but more curious is Bubba's where he leaves the camera focused on the guitar frozen in the air almost like he doesn't quite know what to do without being told, or when he zooms in on Armando's feet, sunk into the floor, to satisfy his own fascination and curiosity instead of trying to redirect the camera's attention, or when he keeps the camera on Armando all the way to backstage - perhaps because he forgot how to turn off the follow function. At one point, Armando is muted for two songs, and Bubba does not lift a single finger to warn him or to fix anything - despite having previously demonstrated that he is more than capable of the act - because, perhaps, sound is not in his job description? These small, trivial questions keep the viewer engaged and primed for the central message of the unfolding performance.
Both the characters try, through all the means at their disposal and to varying degrees of enthusiasm, to communicate the majesty of a musical performance to their audience, but are constantly stymied by their lack of skill, inexperience, and their character flaws. Truly, "THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND" belongs up there with the likes of "Waiting for Godot" and "The Bald Soprano" as a striking absurdist performance that explores the nature of existence and meaning in a way that is both amusing and insightful.
