Kill the People: How Do You Measure Success, in Drama and Life?

DURING THIS past weekend’s Northwest Bookfest, Mitchell Maxwell, a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, spoke at the about his new book Little Did I Know.  Maxwell is an imposing man: he stands over six feet tall and his confidence makes him seem just as wide. He is a former high school football star who turned down a college scholarship to produce plays at Tufts University. The decision was a wise one: to highlight only a few of his accomplishments, he is the imaginative producer behind Stomp! and the popular revival of Damn Yankees. 

It is this seasoned 35-year theatrical life Maxwell has lived that gives shape to his book’s protagonist Samuel August. In the story we watch August’s dreams of producing theatrical musicals unfold during a 1976 season of summer stock. And though it is a work of fiction, August’s maxims are Maxwell’s own. 

One of which, “Kill the people,” means “Knock 'em dead.” It is a standard by which the success (or failure) of a musical or play is judged. Part of Samuel August’s coming of age story – as was Maxwell’s – includes learning how to judge not only the success of a show’s production, but also the success of your life.

Maxwell writes on his website, “Success, as it’s measured by society, is a fleeting condition.” It is hard to resist seeking society’s approval when, as Shakespeare saw it, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”  But resist we must, because those who judge the worth of their life’s performance by the whimsical standards of life’s audience will never be pleased with their performance. Shakespeare may be right that all the world’s a stage, but it is also true that everyone’s a critic and there will always be bad reviews.

A better idiom to follow, also one of Maxwell’s, is “When you look into the abyss you find your character.” Put another way, when blinded by darkness, our internal character lights our path through the void. It is when all external standards of judgment are erased that we truly shine. 

Do your best in all that you do, Maxwell advises, and then you will be successful.  Also, don’t read the reviews.

Maxwell’s book can be purchased through his website www.mitchellmaxwell.com. 

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Trent Latta is an attorney and member of Kirkland’s Cultural Council. He can be reached at TrentLatta@gmail.com.