“Punchline” (from “Enlightened”, a new musical)

Jan 27

Demo and lyrics are at the end of the post!

It’s hard to know how much to say about a new project—what to give away? What to keep secret? Well, it seems as good a time as any to drop the premise:

A faithless right-wing pundit is chosen by God to become Her prophet, and to help bring about the downfall of the carceral state. But first he must make himself accountable to those he has wronged, and work toward his own repentance. Enlightened is a riotous and irreverent exploration of abolition, state-sponsored violence, punishment, community, repentance, and accountability.

Why would God choose such a shitty person to be Her prophet, you might ask? Well, being a prophet is dreadful, thankless work—She doesn’t want to pick anyone She likes for the job anymore. Still, our protagonist, Roger (after the eponymous “Dirty Trickster”) has a lot of growing and changing to do, even after he finds himself suddenly and disorientingly enlightened to God’s truths (did you know that God is an anarcho-socialist?). She tells him that before he can do Her good works, he must go “suffer and repent” among those he has wronged.

Maybe the 11th-hour number isn’t the first song I should be releasing to tease the project, but it was foundational for me in finding the energy of the piece. What would it look like for someone who has profited off of fascist rhetoric and disinformation to begin to earn our time and attention? What do we want to watch such a person say—and truly mean?

Roger’s salvation is not the primary concern of the piece, I think, but it is the focus; his is the more comedic and flawed journey that we go on, which I think has a lot of merits in terms of the theatrical (not to mention that I would like to keep the rest of the plot a bit more of a surprise, at least for now!). Sometimes we would rather watch an asshole get kicked in the nuts and finally learn a lesson than watch a good person get unfairly persecuted by the state. We can watch the second thing in real life all the time, but seeing a real dick confront his sins? That’s the realm of the fantastic, which is what musical theatre is all about.

Punchline

(From Enlightened, a new original musical; book, music, and lyrics by Òran Matheson, written Jan. 2023)

Is that all it takes?

I just have to take it?

No more dodging, no evading,

Mental gymnastics, obfuscating?

It’s so much easier this way

Never thought that I could just say

“I’m sorry”

And if I’m ever going to make it

To a better place, and be a better person

Then I’m gonna have to face it

If I get punished, I’ll deserve it

It’s likely gonna hurt

But I’ll be fine

And if this is all just some kind of cosmic joke

I’ll be the punchline

I stand ready to accept what I’ve got coming

Won’t put my arms up to protect my face

When I see the blows incoming

I’ll know that they’re all meant for me

And I’m taking every one

Weren’t you the one who said that I must suffer?

Then I’ll suffer for your grace

Just as you have suffered for mine

Holding me through my mistakes

And giving me this chance to do what’s right

This time, I swear I’ll earn it

Because if I am gonna make it

To a better place, and be a better person

Then I’m gonna have to face it

They are angry, I deserve it

And this is gonna hurt