By Datta Khalsa, Broker
Our 10-year-old daughter is intent on being a Broadway actor when she grows up. And, as she continues to develop, my wife and I find ourselves increasingly drawn back to theater.
Of late, we have been diving into the classics, with the season wrapping up for Santa Cruz Shakespeare—and it’s been a good one, with 3 completely different types of plays, each wonderful in its own right, and each, in its own way, somehow reminiscent of an aspect of a real estate journey.
Twelfth Night is a comedic love triangle in which each of the protagonists vie for the affections of someone whose affections are cast upon another, in much the same way that multiple buyers may vie for a house which may not even be right for them, and whose current owners may fall for another Buyer’s offer, unrealistically seduced.
The Tempest is a tale of a shipwreck created by the works of a powerful trickster who weaves a web of enchantment over the other characters in order to satisfy their own needs. I have seen similar storylines play out in real estate where it is helpful to see through the manipulations of others, while also being cognizant of your own inner motives to help arrive at a better outcome for the common good than any one of the participants may have been pursuing.
The Formula is inspired from A Midsummer Night’s Dream where again, someone’s meddling to satisfy a personal desire for gain leads to unintended results, with comedic twists and turns that rival the complexities of a real estate transaction—where the sometimes sordid history of a character is discovered by its prospective new suitors. In the case of a property, such things often come to light with a diligent research and inspection process.
The festival interns also put on a madcap romp entitled Just Desserts structured around the Greek tale of Orestes and his run-ins with the Furies, culminating in a trial in which he was ultimately acquitted, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of any number of sticky situations which have ultimately been worked out with the help of the right experts to help unravel the often tangled web that parties can get themselves into.
Along similar lines, the current touring Broadway musical Hadestown dives even more deeply into Greek mythology with the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice as a reminder of the alternating cycles of hope and despair. Only in this version the playwright amends the classic tragedy with a twist at the end that encourages us to not abandon hope, even when events appear to have taken us on a path that has, in the past, led to downfall.
As viewers, we are continually struck by the relevance of these works written 400 years ago or more, around themes that continue to resonate today as we navigate through our ongoing cycles, in life and in real estate. And, so long as we learn from the messages that have been put there for us to receive, there is indeed still hope.
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