Roof Over Our Heads

     Could you live like you were in the Victorian era for weeks? What would you miss the most? Your electronics? Comfortable clothes? Snack foods? Appliances more up to date than wood burning stoves? For me it would be 21st century YA fiction and being out of the closet about being nonbinary and air conditioning and not having to wear a corset.

     It's no walk in the park for Finn, protagonist of Nicole Kronzer's Roof Over Our Heads. His family is all about live theater. They all direct or act. Finn is determined to follow in the family footsteps even though he has serious trouble memorizing lines. 

     The family lives in a huge historic mansion owned by a regional theater. Herein the problem lies. In the way of older buildings the mansion is becoming high maintenance. The theater high ups want to cut their losses by selling it. The family is equally determined to hold on to their home which they can can't unless they can prove it to be profitable...

     ...which they plan to do by creating a very unique immersive theater experience. The weeks of rehearsal and performance the cast and crew must live like it's the 1890s including following all the Victorian rules and customs. Instead of being performed on a stage the different acts take place in different rooms, several at the same time. That's going to be be extremely difficult to pull off even under ideal circumstances...

     ...but what if everything that can go wrong does? This coming of age narrative combines lively comedy with genuine insight. Theater kids past and present (like yours truly) will especially enjoy it.

On a purrrsonal note, one of my favorite acting experiences was when I spent a summer at a haunted summer stock theater in New Hampshire. It was a lot of fun even though rehearsing during the day and performing 🎭 at night, a new show every week, was tiring. We were like one wild and spontaneous family. 

A great big shout out to all who think for at least part of their lives that there's no biz like show biz.

Jules Hathaway 

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