O P I N I O N

NOT THAT PROFOUND

By Nathan Graziano

Until recently, my acting resume was rather sparse, consisting of only a single role.

When I was in the eighth grade, I was cast as Mr. Nigel Fezziwig, Ebenezer Scrooge’s jovial boss, in my class’ production of “A Christmas Carol” for a holiday festival at school. Before hitting the stage, I decided to ease my nerves by chugging successive cups of Pepsi. Then, moments before stepping into the spotlight, I puked mouthfuls of soda onto my cravat and petticoat.

But as they say in the biz: “The show must go on.”

So I’m not exactly sure what prompted me to respond to Michael Azevedo’s post on Facebook calling for readers—likely my consumption of copious amounts of beer—for a production of an episode of the ’90s television show “Northern Exposure” at Pembroke City Limits, his brother Rob’s bar in Suncook.

It also happened that my wife and I had binge-watched the entire series last summer so “Northern Exposure,” which I thoroughly enjoy, was still fresh in my mind.

For those who might be unfamiliar with “Northern Exposure,” the show is set in the small town of Cicily, Alaska, where Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow), a New York City slicker and a graduate of Columbia University’s medical school, is indentured to work as the town’s only physician to repay his student loans.

An eclectic and hilarious cast of characters inhabit Cicily as Dr. Fleischman begrudgingly honors his contract and stumbles into a love/hate relationship with a pilot named Maggie O’Connell (Janine Turner), a rich girl from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, who is trying to defy her affluent parents.

“Northern Exposure” won numerous awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1994, largely on the back of some terrific writing and spot-on performances from the cast.

Azevedo quickly got back to me and before I knew it, I was cast in the role of Joel Fleischman, which has now been added right above Nigel Fezziwig on my acting resume. I’m working on getting headshots done.

On Thursday, Oct. 10 at Pembroke City Limits, I took the stage with six other actors to perform the 1992 Season 3 episode “Democracy in America.”

The cast included Jen Whitmore as Maggie O’Connell; Fred Richards as Holling Vincoeur, the Cicely’s mayor and the owner the only bar, The Brick; Annie Biello as Edna Hancock, who is running against Holling for mayor; Michael Hauptly-Pierce as Ed Chigliak, a young native of Cicely and an aspiring filmmaker who is voting in his first election; Gary Evans as Maurice Minnifield, a former astronaut and millionaire landowner in Cicily; and Michael Azevedo as Chris Stevens, the affable deejay for the town’s only radio station, 570 KBHR, and an amateur philosopher/artist.

On the same night when the Northern Lights were visible in New Hampshire, in an election year where literally “democracy in America” is on the ballot, the seven of us performed for a small but engaged crowd.

But as I sat on the stage, listening—really listening—to the performances, I experienced a slight malaise at what Chris tells Ed after the election results are in and Edna is announced as the winner:

CHRIS: We did it, Ed. It worked.

ED: We did? Did what? What worked?

CHRIS: The grand idea, buddy! The process, Ed. We’ve just witnessed a peaceful transition in government. Do you realize how miraculous that is?

And I did. And I do. And the malaise stemmed from the fact that after Nov. 5, we may never witness the peaceful transition of power in America again, something we haven’t witnessed on the presidential stage since 2016.

Sure, we were just reading a script from a television show made more than 30 years ago, but we were also celebrating the very thing that has always made “America great.” And now “democracy in America” is being threatened and tested in a way that it hasn’t been in a long, long time.

On that stage, I realized that I have always taken the “grand idea” for granted, assuming free elections and democracy would always be there, the bedrock of the unique freedom that Americans enjoy.

But this is no longer guaranteed, and as we approach the final two weeks before the election, our democracy stands on the edge of a precipice, and I suppose we should all heed the words of Tiny Tim, from my other theatrical performance 35 years ago, when Tim said, “God bless us, every one.”

You can reach Nathan Graziano at ngrazio5@yahoo.com