Get Up Stand Up, the musical
🎵 Get Up, Stand Up, Stand Up For Your Rights 🎵
The words of Bob Marley were not only the soundtrack of my entire childhood but throughout my life. Growing up in a house filled with his music, and images and watching concerts on vhs tapes (remember those), he was as iconic back then as he is now.
His poetic words have been as important and impactful for each generation, especially as the world has been moving on and remaining the same. It never sounds dated, and it’s more than just music. It's revolutionary music that never leaves your soul when it enters.
The overt spiritual messages of oneness and equality, the importance of protest, and standing up for your rights in the face of oppressive, brutal and corrupt regimes governing the world make Bob more than just an artist. With human rights being challenged and degraded worldwide, there has never been a time where standing up for your and our rights has not been urgent, imperative and long overdue. His music has always been bigger than him, maybe bigger than he could have conceived at the time. This a perfect example of when artistry meets activism and purpose and explodes into the open minds, hearts and spirits in the world.
I didn’t think I had been to a reggae musical before, and then I remember seeing The Harder They Come at The Theatre Royal in 2006. It’s been a long wait for another reggae icon's story to take centre stage in a theatre.
I had everything crossed that Get Up Stand Up at the Lyric Theatre would uphold the life, legacy and music of the legend that is Robert Nesta Marley and meet my very, very high expectations.
It did in most ways. It was Bob’s story, but for me, the women in his life stole the show. From how Rita and Cindy’s stories were positioned musically and emotionally and with such strong vocal performances, they became bigger stars throughout the show, more so than the character playing Bob. Both women were amazing; the performances had so much heart and emotion and were the highlight of the entire show for me.
We got to see and feel Rita Marley’s story and pain and witness up close Cindy Breakspere’s and Bob's relationship, which brought forth the most emotionally stirring of all the scenes and musical performances between the two women. Their love of the same man pitting them against each other in their musical performance of one of Bob’s songs was intense and emotional. It made me feel for Cindy at that moment while simultaneously feeling all of Rita Marley’s pain.
Not that I wanted to revel in the pain of any woman, but this was such a relatable scene of fighting for something, or someone that you feel is yours no matter the level of pain that person has caused you or that your fight for them may not be as hard as their fight for you.
Although it’s important to mention that the actor that played Bob delivered well too in the role, even to take a big role takes such bravery, and there must have been so much pressure to play someone so beloved and get the performances right, he did it well.
The performances of Bob throughout the years were great, especially the young Bob, but the embodiment of the spirit of Bob in the musical performances needed a bit more of the energy I had seen in all of his live performances. It’s hard to meet that kind of expectation that I had. I was not expecting an exact reincarnation of Bob, but I was expecting something closer to it.
The musical performances did what they were expected to do. They gave us that feeling that we feel or should feel every time we hear a Bob Marley track which was to be moved into a space and to remain in that moment with the lyrics floating in and around you. Hopefully, you feel the same when listening to one of his tracks. That we were all there paying homage to a legacy of music still as relevant today as it was back when Bob wrote each lyric felt heavy in the room. We are still testing and trying times in our current state of humanity, and it’s hard to think who or what will bring us out of it.
Every song you would expect to hear on the set list was performed to a high standard and quality by the entire cast as we sang along. My favourite song of all time is Redemption Song, and when it played, it was hard not to let a few, hopefully discreet, tears fall.
The only downside was the no-standing rule which limits fully immersing yourself in a play like this. You wanted to get up and dance but couldn’t. Even whilst listening to rebel music, we still had to be reserved and adhere to the rules.
Although I’m hyper-aware that my expectations were set very high and it was done well, I did want a bit more. It was such a short time to tell Bob Marley's story, and it felt too condensed. I wanted and needed more of his activism and impact on Jamaica, politics and the world, which is an important part of his story, but I felt this wasn’t giving as much time.
The pressure on the creatives involved in bringing this story to the stage must have been immense, especially to do so within a specific time frame. It felt a bit stripped back to make it digestible to a more diverse audience which felt like some of the equally important areas of his life and legacy were given less scene time.
The backdrop of red, gold and green, which were such prominent colours for me growing up, glowed so bright and beautiful from the stage with dreadlocks and head scarves on full display. It was a cultural joy to see. I would have liked for more to be included in Rastafarian culture to go a bit deeper so that there is a better understanding other than just relating to the visual elements that are also an important part of the identity. Again, with just 2 hours, covering such a dynamic life story is hard.
The message that Bob Marley intentionally put into his music is still as relevant today as when he first wrote it. That people, all people, as he wanted, are still listening to his words and story even more so now is not only something to celebrate but also something to support.
https://getupstandupthemusical.com