Middle-School Students Enjoy "Bloody Blackbeard"

Earlier this evening, I got together with seven current students, six of their family members, two former students, and a fellow teacher to see Triad Stage's "Bloody Blackbeard."

The verdict? Everyone enjoyed the show. The setting, the costumes, the music, the special effects--all are very impressive.

One student wondered if Poor Margaret's wooden face really looked that way in person. I told her that Kaleigh Kathleen Malloy benefited from at least a little make-up for the part.

There's a scene in which Blackbeard's bad side wins over, and to prove this point to the good-and-decent wife (Mary Ormond, played by Isabelle Gardo) he's most recently added to his less wholesome collection of wives, Blackbeard gives in to the pirates' way of sharing his wife with his crew (without her consent). It's not a graphic scene, but it doesn't have to be to get the point across. One of my students leaned over and whispered, "Mr. Floyd, you didn't warn us about that!" While I don't think it was ultimately too much for my students to handle, that's the one part I definitely would have prepared them for.

After the performance, some of my female students were interested in seeing and perhaps meeting young Blackbeard ("Neddie," played by Chris Wright) in the lobby. We saw some of the other actors, but if Wright came out, we missed him. He gained some female fans on opening night, partially for his performance and partially for his appearance.

I was disappointed when I found out that this show was going to open the last week of school, without any student matinees in its opening days. But I think it ended up working out for the best. For young people (such as my eighth-grade students), I'm not sure that "Bloody Blackbeard" would have ended up having as much universal appeal as Triad Stage's "North Star" and "The Diary of Anne Frank" had when we took our entire team to see them as field trips. I gave out letters and permission slips for "Bloody Blackbeard" to all of my students (about 96), and 9 of them ended up being interested and free for either the June 8th or June 10th performances. I'll also be seeing "Bloody Blackbeard" Tuesday night with two of my current students and one of their mothers. I think they too will enjoy it. If it had been a whole-team field trip, at least some students probably would not have appreciated the performance. This way, I think the students who signed on to attend will end up having a positive experience.

Thank you to the cast and crew of "Bloody Blackbeard" for doing such a great job. We had a really good time tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing the show again Tuesday and Saturday. (22 friends and family are getting together to see it on Saturday.)

And a special thank you to Sherry Barr, Triad Stage's Director of Audience Services, for working with me to reserve seats ahead of time for my students to attend. She has helped me set up our past field trips, and she is my primary contact for setting up group reservations for friends and family to attend Triad Stage productions. She is always great to work with, and I thank her for everything she does--Triad Stage is lucky to have her!