Singing is something that gets even better with age

There are secret weapons you can use to combat the strange invisibility of getting older. One is singing.

July 20, 2023 1:30 am
The cast of VCA’s upcoming production of “Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.” Mark Wells (center) will play Tevye. Directors Marita and Elise Ericksen are far right front, both wearing black, with Marita’s hand on Elise’s shoulder (Courtesy Photo).
The cast of VCA’s upcoming production of “Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.” Mark Wells (center) will play Tevye. Directors Marita and Elise Ericksen are far right front, both wearing black, with Marita’s hand on Elise’s shoulder (Courtesy Photo).

As a lifelong Frank Sinatra fan, I have always been torn between the swing period and the torch-singing days.

And now, I find myself turning again and again to his melancholy “getting older” songs.

One of the best is “This is All I Ask”, a beautiful rumination on aging and how people stop noticing you. For women, many call this the “Invisible Women Syndrome”, a time period after women hit 50 when their earlier worth plummets as they are no longer seen by many as attractive.

I have long maintained there are secret weapons you can use to combat this strange invisibility. One is singing.

For my entire life, whether I was 20 or 60, I have felt seen when I sing. There is something about having an audience that always filled me. And beyond that, there is nothing like getting to know your cast-mates in a musical, joining hands with friends in an energy circle before the curtain, or hearing the applause when you are done. Yet for many of us, the chance to audition, get cast, and act in theatre begins to fade away as we age.

About 20 years ago, when I was in my 40s, I reclaimed singing after a long break. I joined Vashon Voices, the Vashon Chorale, gospel groups, and a jazz group. But my favorite singing was probably in Drama Dock musicals, often singing with my children. These are some of my most treasured memories. I often miss those musicals. They often take a lot of time, so as my career got busier, I just stopped doing them.

So I am utterly grateful to Vashon Center for the Arts for putting on “Fiddler on the Roof Jr.,” a condensed version of the beloved musical. Local singers will be playing the roles after a quick two-week camp and putting on a performance for the community. And the hook? The cast (with an exception or two) is all over 50.

I have always been a fan of Fiddler on the Roof, but never expected to have the chance at my age to play one of the show’s daughters, as I will for this production. This two-week camp with early evening rehearsals was doable. So I get to join friends from around the island and sing these beloved songs, including the wonderful “Sunrise, Sunset.”

If science is to be believed (and isn’t it?), singing is good for people as they age. It helps us keep our brains busy. It helps us with posture and with social connection. So if you have been mulling it over, why wait? There are a variety of ways you can sing throughout your life on this island, including the wonderful Vashon Island Chorale.

Thank you so much to VCA, director Elise Ericksen and musical director Marita Ericksen for giving us parts in this show and a chance to sing and dance again like we are 17, when it felt like the world was new.

We may be older. We may look much different than our pictures of days gone by. We may have children who have turned into adults themselves, blossoming even as we gaze, like sunflowers.

But by the grace of our local arts organization, we get to experience those benefits to cognition, to our posture, to our levels of tension. We get to reconnect with friends. We get to join the energy circle before the show and see the curtain go up. And, we have the chance to feel the spotlight and soak up the applause.

And we are invisible no more.

Lauri Hennessey, a longtime islander who works as a college instructor and in the non-profit sector, is a frequent contributor to The Beachcomber. See her perform in “Fiddler on the Roof, Jr” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 28 and 29, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.