Anything Goes : "Holler If You Hear Me" by Charles B. Murray

I saw “Holler IF You Hear Me” last night and I’m inspired to Holler because I Heard. I heard the story and anguish of the plight of the young African American man trapped in the prison of urban ghetto violence. I heard the cries of the African American woman struggling to be respected through a genre that has profited by degrading her in the eyes of her own children. I heard the words of a modern prophet martyred not because of religion or civil rights but because of a capitalistic system that values dollars over souls. I heard MUSIC that resonated in my DNA to prove that dramatic story telling is not limited to the status quo. I heard an audience cheer and moan and clap and snap their fingers and grunt and shout and yell out Bravo because there arose a voice familiar enough to relate to in real life. I holler because last night I heard yall loud and clear. Yet in the midst of my own personal epiphany I couldn’t help but notice those there who could not hear. The scripture came to mind from Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears let him hear!” Why could they not hear? Perhaps their inner eyes were blinded by the beat or the lack of extravagant costumes, sets or the expected spectacle that accompanies the thought of a Broadway Musical. Perhaps they remain closed minded to rap, hip-hop or urban noise and funk. Perhaps because they did grow up listening to Tupac or running the streets or dodging bullets to get home from school they just couldn’t relate. Whatever the reason there remains a veil that dulls their senses and prevents them from hearing or relating to what was being so eloquently said. Theater is so much more than an art form. Theater is a cultural archive of society forever capturing a snapshot of a moment of time in history portraying who we are, where and how we live but most importantly what we feel. True Art forces you to feel something, ponder the moment and regurgitate those emotions over and over again. Therefore I Holler because I Heard You.