Cancer diagnosis just a bump in the road for Provo playwright, professor
Kerilyn Johnson and Zach Wilson play Joseph and Emma Smith in George Nelson's "1820: The Musical.'
George Nelson, head of the playwriting program at Brigham Young University, recently was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. His current show, "1820: The Musical" is now playing at the Covery Center in Provo.
Instead of giving into despair over his cancer diagnosis, George Nelson dove into completing a musical he hopes will dispel misinformation about the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Nelson, 66, of Provo and head of the playwriting program at Brigham Young University, said back in April he was having problems with food getting stuck in his throat, so he headed to the doctor.
“I thought they could do a scope and stretch out my esophagus like so many other people have done, but when they got in there, they found a tumor and I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer,” Nelson said.
Fortunately, the cancer had not spread to other areas of his body, so doctors immediately started chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
“The six weeks of treatments were not fun. The radiation burned my stomach and esophagus and eating was excruciating. It basically felt like road rash in my throat,” Nelson said. “The timing of my diagnosis was really interesting though. My show had been cast and we knew when it was going to open so I had a little peace of mind. My last chemo treatment was on the Monday of the second week of rehearsals, so by that time, I was feeling stronger.”
Nelson said instead of “curling up like a ball,” he got back to working on the show.
“I got up and went to work and met with the actors, choreographers, composers and musicians,” he said. “It gave me a focus and something to distract my mind.”
The show, “1820: The Musical,” which opened Aug. 6 at the Covey Center in Provo, portrays the life of LDS founder Joseph Smith, told through the eyes of his wife, Emma. Nelson said he initially wanted to name the show “Tale of a Lunatic?”
“There were so many attacks and lies going on with Joseph Smith, especially with ‘The Book of Mormon’ musical and it was really having an impact on the rising generation,” Nelson said. “In fact, Joseph had been called a lunatic so many times, I thought about using that title and letting the audience decide for themselves. Either he was a lunatic or he was telling the truth about everything. There’s no middle ground.”
The show is done in a very contemporary fashion, Nelson said, from the costumes to the music, dancing and the set. It’s also very forthcoming, especially about sensitive topics such as polygamy.
“The longest scene deals with the issue of polygamy and how it affected Joseph and Emma. We don’t try to answer sensitive issues and we don’t try to solve them. We bring them up and lay on the table for people to analyze themselves,” Nelson said. “We deal with the fact that Joseph Smith wasn’t perfect and he never claimed to be, but there were and are so many lies floating out there about him. I really hope this show will have enough footing to give people something to think about when they think about what we believe.”
Nelson, who has already had one show make it to Broadway, said he would like this play to also make it to a larger audience.
“I showed it to a producer in New York. He said he was very impressed and came back and said he knew nothing about our religion aside from ‘The Book of Mormon’ musical and ‘Angels in America,'” Nelson said. “He also said he believes this could be the Mormon ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ because it deals with universal things and struggles with faith, yet it doesn’t try to ram it down your throat or try to convert you.”
Nelson said now that the show is up and going, he feels like he can relax and see his surgeon for a possible resection of his stomach and esophagus.
“If everything goes well and I’m able to have the surgery, my stomach will be moved up behind my lungs and that’s where it will live for the rest of my life,” Nelson said. “I’ve experienced so many little miracles throughout all of this. I really feel like I was walking on the faith of hundreds of people who said they were praying for me, and for that I am very grateful.”
The show runs through Sept. 11. Tickets can be purchased at http://coveycenter.org.