On Labor Day weekend I managed to score a seat at a deeply historic live Star Trek event – no, not the Bell Riots (thank goodness) – I was at the first fan-organized tribute performance of Subspace Rhapsody, the 9th episode from the 2nd season of the series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Subspace Rhapsody isn’t just any old Star Trek episode – it is a musical and this post will be about a tribute performance to that musical episode, so if you get the willies from people randomly breaking out into song, this is your opportunity to beam far, far away (that is nerdspeak for “unplug your stupid computer and go bury it in the back yard”).
If you have not yet seen the episode Subspace Rhapsody, there will be several spoilers ahead.
Episode Synopsis: Captain Pike and the whole cool Enterprise gang and all find themselves out in the middle of nowhere trying to patch up one of those pesky subspace anomalies when something goes kablooey and they end up singing their hearts out to save the universe, or whatever.
I wonder what your first experience was like watching this episode.
Man, it’s so loud in here
For me, it was a mix of excitement and confusion, like the time they fixed up the corner store like a disco.
Part of me thought “That opening sequence was just a fluke, they can’t possibly do an entire episode as a musical…” but then the theme song began, and the hair stood up on the back of my neck.
The normal instrumental theme had been replaced by a chorus of voices – it was astonishingly good and not the kind of thing that you just whip up in a half hour. I realized then and there that the producers had aimed their ship at the heart of the sun, they were fully committed.
Write this down: the historic first fan performance of Subspace Rhapsody took place on Friday, August 30, 2024 in the Ballroom East of the Atlanta Hilton at Dragon Con 2024. And I was dressed like a dime store Ferengi.
Those of us lucky enough to arrive early were invited into a queue in a neighboring air-conditioned gallery before being moved into the ballroom to find our seats.
It was about the most comfortable line I have ever been in – far better than The Fake Line of 2013 and The Other Fake Line of 2013, but maybe not as good as the time that Wade snuck me ahead of everybody into the Pirate Party, because there was rum at that one.
I pity the rest of you fools who thought about coming to see this performance but were unable to attend due to being stuck in a habitrail, or tangled in your sheets after partying too hard on Thursday night, or because of robots, or whatever.
Since you weren’t there, let me set the stage for you.
Mere moments after we had settled into our seats a frisson of excitement swept through the crowd as the cast members Anson Mount (Captain Pike), Ethan Peck (Spock), and Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh) emerged from backstage to greet the crowd. Read more about their appearance at Dragon Con 2024 on the Daily Dragon.
Now I have dropped Kevin Costner, bounced a grenade off of Daniel Baldwin’s head, enabled Jack Black to sing a dirty song on a rooftop, lost Reese Witherspoon’s wedding ring, and dayplayed on Vampire Diaries with Paul Wesley, but I couldn’t help but get excited when I saw these actors in person – not because they’re famous but because it was proof that this beloved franchise was still alive.
Each of the actors said something encouraging then quickly took their seats. I know that I wasn’t the only person in the audience wondering if they would stay for the entire performance (mostly because I heard someone behind me whisper that same question to their friend).
The Performance
The performance of Subspace Rhapsody was extra fun for me because I know two of the fans who performed in the tribute. Jessica played the part of Captain Christopher Pike and January played the part of Helmsman Erica Ortegas.
In previous conversations they had explained how much effort their team was putting into this tribute – they had lots of video conferences and at least one in-person rehearsal. Here’s an interview with Director Sarah Rose and her cast.
In the Dragon Con Trek Track group on Facebook someone described the live performance as essentially a “Star Trek version of Rocky Horror” which is reinforced by the cast listing of “Subspace Rhapsody Picture Show”:
The seating didn’t provide the best sightlines, but at a con the room you get is often just the luck of the draw.
I really wish that it had been held in an area with theater seating, because I was at least halfway back in the ballroom and there were a lot of big-brained people in front of me – my apologies to anyone stuck behind my own big fat ears.
Happily, we didn’t miss out on everything, because some of the fan cast moved up and down the center aisle.
During the opening credits a dancer dressed as the Enterprise whooshed all over the place!
A big big screen on the left of the stage aired the actual Subspace Rhapsody episode, complete with karaoke lyrics.
So we could sing along.
Emotional Impact
I wonder if the real Star Trek cast members experienced the event like the fans did.
After all, it’s just make believe – yet for me, it was a cathartic experience.
I was surprised at how emotional I felt in that room on that Saturday evening, singing along with other fans who loved the music and the show as much as I do.
I guess it was just one of those pure moments of fandom where people who have bonded over a common love are able to share their nerdy affections openly and without fear of scorn.
That is the essence of fandom.
A friend who works the Vendor Hall for Dragon Con told me how emotional he found himself at a live concert he and his wife attended a few weeks ago for an anime series that shepherded them both through the Covid lockdown. It was obvious how much that experience meant to him. This was the same, for me.
The young lady behind me at Subspace Rhapsody was off-key several times throughout the performance, but I only wanted her to sing louder because my voice was breaking and she was really beautifully on top of the entire soundtrack.
The music for the episode is flipping sourced – by which I mean that the songs weren’t just show tunes and jazz hands – most of them dove deeper into character exposition than any previous episode. If you didn’t pay attention to all the lyrics you were missing out.
I don’t know if it is possible for me to have a single favorite song from the soundtrack, but “Keep Us Connected” sung by Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura is up there.
The memory of the late actress Nichelle Nichols, was there in the room with us that night. Not only was she the first actress to play Uhura, she also made a number of appearances at Dragon Con. She would be so proud of where Celia has gone with the character and to hear the fans singing.
I still remember standing on the corner one rainy morning for one of the earliest Dragon Con parades when Nichelle rolled past. She was seated in the back of a minivan with the side door rolled back so we could see her. The parade crew did that to keep her dry, because it was sprinkling outside. So there she was, hunched over so she could peer out toward the crowds on the sidewalks, waving to us from the darkened interior as her driver whisked her along the course.
Stat Trek invevitably reminds me of my father, who hung original 1960s EMT Enterprise and Klingon D7 plastic models from the ceiling of my bedroom with monofilament line, long before I could even appreciate the show.
They hung there above me for years and I guess they still do, figuratively.
Dixie Trek
The onscreen chemistry of the Strange New Worlds cast reminds me of the old timers and of being a guest at Dixie Trek in the late 1980s. Riding down to the opening ceremonies in an elevator with actor Jimmy Doohan, trying to act cool and not to call it a turbolift – I failed ;)
Dad had been the first person to tell me about science fiction conventions, long before I ever made it to one. Born in 1931, he was born too late to really get into the con scene by the time they made it to Atlanta – but he paved the way for me, and I was able to take both mom and dad to Dixie Trek to meet “Scotty”. That was very satisfying.
Memories of the Dixie Trek when George Takei would spend as much time out in the lobby with fans as he did in the panels – and he invited guests to go jogging with him in the morning.
Dixie Trek was far less of a boozy party convention than Dragon Con, but the fans were classically out of shape nerds back then, so it had to have been a sight as they tried to keep up with Lt. Sulu as he jogged along the lanes and roadways surrounding the hotel.
And this was where it all led, 50 years later, on the Friday of Dragon Con 2024 with their son sitting surrounded by fans singing music from a Star Trek episode; all of those great memories of Star Trek welled up in me, lifted by the common experience of fans singing.
We love Star Trek, that’s why we’re singing!
For me, the music provided a genuine sense of happiness that good things can happen – that this fandom has survived for more than 50 years, growing and maturing, following the Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.
That it might live beyond us all.
No wonder there were a few times when I tried to sing and only managed a croak, very glad that I had a mask over my face (along with the bald cap, a fake nose, and giant ears).
And yes, for those who know this episode, the audience all had their cameras out, ready to catch the Klingons in the finale. Here’s my own blurry photo.
Jessica has told us that her head cannon is that Klingon Opera is Boy Band music, and once that image is in your head it’s tough to get out again ;)
In my 40-something years of observing fandom, not many traditions have survived, but to have this event happen a few more times at Dragon Con would certainly be awesome, especially for those who were not able to see it the first time – and maybe next year they can also throw a karaoke meetup to let everyone sing all the songs of the episode together?
And yeah, the cast stayed for the entire tribute.
According to Jessica: “When the performance ended he made a beeline straight for me on stage to give me a hug and tell me I made a pretty good him. It was incredibly sweet of him. Christina did the same for our La’an.”
They were the unbreakable, unshakeable, improbable, unstoppable, sensational, ovational, boldy explorational Crew of the Enterprise.
