Irving Berlin says that "there's no business like show business," and while this may sound like a rather forward description of the business to those who aren't a part of it, there is a lot more truth to the specific examples given in the lyrics than any theater person can deny.
Most people have heard of the old adage, "the show must go on," and even in my short theater life of 15 years, I have seen many examples of this very idea. Irving captures this beautifully by stating "you get word before the show has started that your favorite uncle died at dawn. Top of that, your pa and ma have parted, you're broken-hearted, but you go on."
Just within my personal experiences, I've seen people go onstage during a breakup, several fights with their cast members backstage, the day their grandma died, right after throwing up, and even during a power outage. While most people would stay home from work when they've got strep throat or during a family loss, people in the theater go out in front of the audience and leave their troubles backstage.
It's something all theater people have done at some point whether big or small. Programmed into our existence, the feeling wells up inside and your mind thinks "I need to be out there, losing my voice aside!"
Which leads me into another part of Berlin's song, "there's no people like show people, they smile when they are low." This attitude spreads throughout the theater kingdom. Even when a dance is difficult, you feel under the weather, or you don't feel comfortable yet playing your character, true theater people smile through the pain and discomfort.
Something that is not easy, but definitely necessary because the creation of a production can be tedious, and work gets done faster and better when you're fully dressed with your smile.
The theater world is a dog eat dog work sometimes, and many people will tell you 'no' before you ever hear a 'yes'. Irving again hits it just right with "yesterday they told you, you would not go far, that night you open and there you are. Next day on your dressing room they've hung a star, let's go on with the show!"
People leave roles for many reasons; they can't handle the role, they didn't learn their part, they have to move, etc. and many people who were nobodies before becoming the star of the show in their place. New talent is often discovered through the use of understudies taking over a role and can make someone's career out of good luck and hard work.
Finally, Irving Berlin's song finds its way into the musical "Annie Get Your Gun" where several characters proclaim that the aspects of theater include "the headaches, the heartaches, the backaches, the flops.
The audience that lifts you when you're down." And I think this particular lyric is a huge part of why performers are able to get out there and keep the show going through thick and thin. The audience motivates you to go out there and give them the best show they've ever seen!
In the past year, I was in a production where the lead actress lost her voice, and her understudy went on. Her understudy pulled through, completed the lead role of the show flawlessly, and the audience was supporting her, just as much as us, her cast, were. When we took our final bows and her turn to bow arrived, the entire audience rose to its feet, and the cast applauded her while still standing onstage.
Half of us were in tears, because of her strength, hard work, and our love for people who work hard getting a chance to go out there and show it. This experience solidified everything Berlin had to say about the business for me, because there really is "no business like show business," and I wouldn't want to be in any other business I know.
