Alive and Kickin'
"The first 50 years are for learning; the second 50 are for LIVING!" That's the motto of a new show in Harlem with a cast of singers ages 55 and up
Vy Higginsen
CBS NEWS
The following script is from "Alive and Kickin'" which aired on Jan. 4, 2015. Lesley Stahl is the correspondent. Shari Finkelstein, producer.
A show opened in New York recently that didn't get a whole lot of attention, but it features some of the most powerful singing voices you've never heard. You haven't heard them because for most of the performers, this is their first time on the stage. They've been singing their whole lives -- in church, in amateur groups, in the shower -- but like so many who had dreams of making it big, life somehow got in the way.
The show was created by a theater producer and former disc jockey named Vy Higginsen, who has made it her mission to preserve a special part of American culture: African-American music, both gospel and popular music like soul and R&B. She found a pool of untapped talent, men and women in what she calls their "second half of life" just waiting for their chance to shine.
The show is called "Alive: 55+ and Kickin'," and while that certainly fits the men and women who fill this Harlem stage on Saturday afternoons, "Alive" also refers to the music, and that is just how Vy Higginsen wants it.
Vy Higginsen: The older people carry the music in their body, in their mind. If they die, then that sound may be gone forever.
Her idea was not just to celebrate the music. She also wanted to produce a show about the life experiences and struggles that created it. She figured she'd start by finding the voices -- then write stories for each character afterward. At least that was the plan over a year ago when she put out the call for auditions.
Vy Higginsen: We talked about it on the radio, auditions for 55 plus and they said, "This is a youth-oriented society. Nobody wants to hear about us." I want to hear about you!
"The older people carry the music in their body, in their mind. If they die, then that sound may be gone forever."
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