The opening question sets the tone for this satisfyingly warm memoir show. “Do you ever feel like a castaway on the beach of life, marooned and left to do your best with whatever you can find on the shore?” The Driftwood Bridge is subtitled, “An Offering of Story and Song.” While the early new age-y vibe briefly threatens to push a casual viewer away, the depth of storytelling washes away any fear of self-indulgent meditation.
David Mielke and Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma wrote and perform a self-described “gaybaret.” This real life couple begin the show gathered together with the audience as witnesses to a more public wedding ritual. Years before, their union took place in a forest. Both men evidence the statement that they are full of joy. The Driftwood Bridge spans the time travel they took from their childhoods to their meeting and this moment. The result is vivid, moving and utterly engaging.
David is the more emotional one. Thomas seems the more intellectual. Both, however, have major things in common including a love of music and poetry. Tommy’s upbringing was surrounded by books. Thomas defines the ending of a chapter as a “torture device; a hook on which you dangle until the next day.” Both seem to love words and that is on display throughout their show.
As a young gay boy growing up in the 1960’s, David tells his story of “old shame” and “fear.” A mentor named Marie is his lighthouse beacon, guiding him through the rough waters of life’s crashing waves. She is an exquisitely drawn character who feels almost as important as the two men sharing the stage.
The Driftwood Bridge is certainly filled with melancholy and serious reflection. David spends his childhood spending time with “my family of TV characters.” He finds solace in reruns of Bewitched. Endora is channeled. The funnier moments work well and this section of the show is utterly charming. Both men find ways to demonstrate the mechanisms and people who helped them evolve and survive growing up gay in a less open time than today.
As staged, the show makes extremely literal use of driftwood as props which record words or are used in the storytelling. Although I occasionally found the device excessive and distracting, I did appreciate the piling up of their histories on their individual seashores. When the bridge brings them together, the last piece of the puzzle is overwhelmingly poignant.
This live stream of The Driftwood Bridge was recorded on November 24, 2019. The show was supposed to run for five weeks in Seattle this past month. With all of our theaters closed, they are offering this production online until live theater can reopen. Let’s hope they can take their positive energies and heartfelt messaging on the road in the future. Did I mention this entertaining show contains magic too?