The Moment Was Now

The Past Illuminates the Present

Writing an original musical and getting it cast, rehearsed and staged anywhere is a daunting, time consuming labor of love that requires special people with talent and perseverance. Gene Bruskin, a retired Labor Organizer turns out to be one of those people.

Gene wrote his historical musical, “The Moment was Now” about the reconstruction period with it’s active and important social and labor movements, focusing on their leaders including Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, William Sylvis, Frances Harper and Issac Myers as the 14th and 15th Amendments were being debated and adopted.

Over 150 years later those amendments have returned to our daily lives, the national news and current political debates over citizenship, voting rights, due process and equality.

This show is similar to the staging approach of Hamilton, but set in Baltimore in 1869 as these characters sing and dance their way through these critical issues and it strikes me as a piece of art that can be used to help inform people and rally them to action in our current moment.

“Justice or Just Us ?” is one of the songs presented by Frances Harper and Issac Myers, who are portrayed by Julia Nixon and Daryl! Mooch. Daryl! also directed the production.

The show was in final rehearsals in 2019 when I first met Gene though a mutual friend, Len Shindel. Gene was intending to tour the show and wanted video to help promote that. This is Musical Director Glenn Pearson who was a key element in bringing together the arrangements, the band and rehearsing the musical numbers.

We documented 3 performances in early 2020 in Baltimore, that turned out to be the last times the musical was performed live.

This photo shows Jenna Rose Stein as Susan B. Anthony pleading for the women’s vote.

The reactions and reviews were very positive and there were plans in the works to take the show on the road, but Covid occurred and stopped everything…well almost everything. Fortunately we had documented the entire show, from 3 different angles and we were able to edit together the entire production.

As Covid hung on, many film festivals and other live events turned to Zoom and streaming to stay alive and provide outlets for new work. “Moment” was picked up and featured by a number of festivals around the country like the May Day Labor Festival.

Here is Jay Gould, one of the wealthy Robber Barron’s played by Lecount Holmes Jr. in front of a projected image used in the show. He gets a lot of boos from the audience.

Lecount also portrayed Frederick Douglass to much more applause and cheers.

Sadly, Julia’s magnificent voice was silenced as she became one of Covid’s victims and the show has not been restaged live since then.

However, the Social and Economic Justice Film Festival in San Francisco reached out

to Gene and has chosen our film of “Moment” to be a part of their live and streaming festival on July 26. The themes and lessons of the show are resonating now, more than ever with the current actions being taken by the Trump Administration. Gene and I believe the film can provide a good event to rally around as resistance continues to grow and come together.

This is Ariel Jacobson as Labor Leader William Sylvis, singing “I want it all”.

I hope that some of you can join in the live stream on July 26 or attend at the historic Victoria Theatre. Here is the poster art for the show. Please share to folks you feel would be interested.

We are actively looking for more outlets for the film and are discussing the possibility of staging it again and possibly touring.

History and art matter.