"Dogs Made of Rust" from The Ratcatcher, by The Imaginists and The Crux
Channel: SpaciousEconomy
Date: 2013-01-08

The Ratcatcher, based on the Pied Piper tale, is an original collaboration conceived, produced and performed in Santa Rosa CA. by the Imaginists theatre company and The Crux. 

After a confrontation with his disowned, homeless daughter, the Mayor sings this ballad. It is a beautiful and classic expression from a man ruled by fear, who long ago fled from his own Journey and traded it in for the good life. The Mayor is a "success"-  he has stature in the community, a bit of power, "summers at the cottage and winters at the beach".

In this astonishing performance by Brent Lindsay, we see that life's outcomes are just as the Mayor had expected, but perhaps not as he had hoped - regret, pride, despair, and resolve are all present. Standing directly behind him is The Ratcatcher - Josh Windmiller of the Crux - a knowing shadow presence literally accompanying the Mayor's denial. 

As Joseph Cambell points out in his seminal work "The Hero of a Thousand Faces":

"Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or 'culture,' the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved. His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless—even though, like King Minos, he may through titanic effort succeed in building an empire or renown. Whatever house he builds, it will be a house of death: a labyrinth of cyclopean walls to hide from him his minotaur. All he can do is create new problems for himself and await the gradual approach of his disintegration." 
The San Francisco Bay Guardian named the Ratcatcher the best Musical Theater Collaboration of 2012. 
http://www.sfbg.com/2012/12/18/stage-might?page=0,2

Recorded on December 17, 2012 by Kala Philo, SpaciousEconomy media. Sound by the fantastic Doug Faxon.