RIP Al Myers

In stunned silence I sit down to write someting in response to the news that our friend, Al Myers died last night. He was a prince among men; truly a great soul.

I only knew him in the context of community theatre. He was an actor, a producer, a director, and a "techie." He pitched in. He did what needed to be done. He did what he did with a good attitude and was always willing to help, coach, mentor, or follow without complaint.

Al was cast as Peter in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar that I directed in 2003. Surprised as I was that he chose to audition for a show that he had directed (in 1989), I was so grateful for what he brought to that production. Al stepped into that role and got it; he understood Peter's complexity and sadness, even to the point of helping create one of the most amazing moments in the production: a Pieta at the very end.

The first time I worked with Al he played Lazar Wolfe in Lyric Theatre Company's production of Fiddler on the Roof in 1993; the last time was when he directed that show in 2006. My wife produced that show, we were continually grateful for the opportunity to work with him. Sue says she learned much about the role of Producer from Al; he always took the time to work with each of the teams involved in the production so he could develop relationships with the team members and keep lines of communication open to know where there might be challenges that needed to be addressed.

Al was a brave director. He's the one who directed Finian's Rainbow in 1994; it's a show with a very diverse cast (and includes a subplot about a bigoted Senator from "Missitucky" who is turned black) with oustanding results. During the 2006 production of Fiddler, Al made a point of helping the cast come to an understanding of what people from villages like Anatevka went through, including having a seminar with a rabbi from Ohavi Zedek Synagogue and a seder dinner for the cast and congregation.

He was also a Civil War re-enactor (he's in the back row on the right in the linked photo). Al looked great as a colonel in the 2nd VT Volunteers. I can imagine him as a great leader in that awful war, his gentle strength would be an inspiration to the troops.

I don't know what else to say about the man from whom we can learn so much. WWAD? "What would Al do?" could be a good place to start when undertaking almost anything, and most certainly when thinking about how we treat each other.

I hope he knew how much we appreciated him.