A couple weeks ago, while plugging his book The Masters, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner gave an interview to The New York Times explaining that the people he interviewed—Bono, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and Pete Townshend—were “philosophers of rock.” As for female artists—glaringly absent from the book: “Insofar as the women,” he said, “just none of them were articulate enough on this intellectual level.” (He has since issued an apology.)
If he’s lucky, someone will do him a favor and take him to Circle in the Square to see Melissa Etheridge’s My Window. Then he can hear the smoky-voiced—and extremely articulate—singer-guitarist rip through songs such as the seductive “Like the Way I Do”; the R&B-soaked “Bring Me Some Water,” her first single; and the Grammy-winning anthem that gives the show its title, “Come to My Window.” Loneliness, longing, heartbreak, passion—if she’s not a philosopher of rock, then who is?
If you’re a diehard fan, you’ll likely know most everything about Etheridge’s background—growing up gay in Kansas, her high-profile relationships, her children, her struggle with breast cancer. But here she really takes us back to the beginning—to the day of her actual birth: The doctor was at lunch, so the nurses held her mom’s legs closed (!) until he returned. Etheridge came out black and blue. As a child, she got “music fever” from watching The Archies—the Archie Comics-inspired animated show starring Archie, Jughead, Reggie, Betty, and Veronica and, of course, their band—on Saturday mornings (remember their Monkees-style pop hit “Sugar Sugar”?), and begged, begged, begged for guitar lessons. She grew up playing in Leavenworth prisons and the local Knights of Columbus (at the Parents Without Partners dance, she sang “Stand by Your Man”); her dad shuttled her to every gig. She still has the macramé guitar strap he made for her decades ago. “Isn’t it great?” she asks, proudly showing it off.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
The first act, which runs from birth right up until she’s playing clubs in L.A. and lands her first record contract, is undeniably tighter than the second, moving swiftly through the decades and cities with the help of The Roadie (Kate Owens), a character charged with playing everything from Etheridge’s sullen 4-year-old sister to a Peruvian shaman. But Act 2 goes down a bumpier road, and moves in fits and starts: breakups; her father’s death from cancer; an extended cannabis-induced hallucination that ends with, of all things, the realization that “Cats are from the star system Sirius! They are here to observe us!” (okay, that’s kind of brilliant); her diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation; her journey with plant-based medicines and psychedelics; love and marriage to the woman she’s with now; and the drug-related death of her son, which began with a snowboarding accident and an opioid prescription, and ended with addiction and fear. It’s no wonder Etheridge cuts the lights before telling that story.
The best reason to see Etheridge on Broadway is the intimacy factor. Even if you manage to catch her in a smaller venue on the road—say, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium—you’re still talking about a couple thousand seats. Compare that with Circle in the Square’s 726. You’ll never be closer to hear her sing her standards “I Want to Come Over” and “I’m the Only One,” or her spectacular cover of “Piece of My Heart,” which you might remember from a 2005 Grammy Awards tribute to Janis Joplin. Etheridge isn’t necessarily known for her covers, but you can find a bunch on EtheridgeTV on YouTube, where she jams on multiple instruments in a groovy low-lit room papered with posters and album covers. Don’t miss Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” U2’s “The One,” and Tina Turner’s “The Best.”
You can also take home a small souvenir: A pre-show announcement gives you explicit permission to photograph and/or film—and presumably Instagram—the encore, “Come to My Window.” But please, don’t break out your cellphone and start recording the opening number. There’s always someone who has to ruin it.
Melissa Etheridge: My Window opened Sept. 23, 2023, at Circle in the Square and runs through Nov. 19. Tickets and information: melissaetheridge.com
