There is one scene in the SW saga that piques my interest more than any other at this time of year: the scene in ROTS where Anakin rushes to the opera house to meet Palpatine for what I perceive to be the first real step Anakin takes down the slope to the Dark Side. I often wonder what went through George Lucas' mind to set such a Darkly significant scene in such a beautiful, creative, and different setting? At no other time in the saga do we get a glimpse into the artistic culture of the GFFA. There are very indirect and passing references to such...the intricately painted ceiling in the dining area of the Lars homestead, various works of art in the Jedi Temple and the Palace at Theed, but those are the only real glimpses into the artistic culture of the GFFA that I can think of.

Surely the GFFA was filled with rich and diverse culture...arts, entertainment, and music. Music. Theatre. I know how important these things are in my life...and my son's.

Two years ago, I wrote a blog entry here mentioning my son's turn as Gaston in his high school's production of Beauty and the Beast. He was a sophomore at the time, and that show was his first experience in a play/musical production of any kind. It was only in the months immediately preceding that show that we discovered that my son could sing. Now, as a soon-to-graduate senior with the lead role of Tevye in this week's Fiddler on the Roof, my son's path has been determined. He will attend college for Vocal Performance next fall with an emphasis on Theatre and Opera.

If you read my previous entry, you know what this means to me...personally...the woman who is Troy's mother. My son's accomplishments touch me not only as a matter of motherly pride, but also as they reach deep into who I was long before I had children...who I still am. Deep down. In the place I don't always have the opportunity to share with the world. My feelings about the fact that it is my own flesh and blood who reaches out to me in this way are difficult to articulate. Troy and I have a very unique relationship.

Luke and Anakin had a very unique relationship.

In choosing to be a Jedi "like (his) father before (him)," Luke inadvertently reached out to the Anakin who existed before he was enveloped by Darth Vader. I say "inadvertently" because Luke wasn't choosing to save his father when he first followed Obi-wan Kenobi on his damned fool idealistic crusade. He was choosing what his heart told him, what his genes told him, what his father inside him told him. We talk here often about Padme's last words resonating inside Luke years later, but we don't often discuss the voice of Anakin inside Luke that called him to be a Jedi. It was more than a boy's schoolyard dream that compelled Luke to choose his path. It was Anakin's heart and Anakin's gifts, coursing through Luke's veins. It was with Anakin's own gifts that his son reached out to him.

When my son, Troy, takes the stage as Tevye this Wednesday night, he will perform with an artist's heart and gifts that he inherited from me, reaching out to me in a way he can't possibly yet fathom. His talents dwarf mine, to be sure, but they were once mine. Watching Troy onstage, I will be watching the "me" that existed before he was born. I don't necessarily need to be "saved" or redeemed, but every once in a while, I do need to be reminded of whom I am.

Luke is Anakin. Troy...is me.