Beneath the Surface of Bruce Springsteen

Beneath(bəˈnēTH) the Surface of Bruce Springsteen(ˈspriNGˌstēn)

For more than fifty years, he’s traveled deep into the heart of America. But with his new Netflix(i) special—a film of his intense(inˈtens), powerful one-man show on Broadway(ˈbrôdwā)—Bruce Springsteen reveals(riˈvēl) that his bravest(brāv) journey(ˈjərnē) has been wrestling(ˈres(ə)liNG) with his own mental(ˈmentl) health.

By Michael Haines(hins)

The first time I meet Bruce Springsteen is backstage at the Walter Kerr Theatre(ˈTHēədər) in New York, where he is in the homestretch(ˈhōmˈstreCH) of performing his one-man show, Springsteen on Broadway. It is a few weeks before I am supposed to sit with him for an interview, but his publicist(ˈpəbləsist) has asked me to come by before this performance so he can, I deduce(dəˈd(y)o͞os), check me out. I arrive(əˈrīv) at 7:00 and am directed to a small couch(kouCH) near the backstage bathroom(ˈbaTHˌro͞om). Finally, five minutes before curtain(ˈkərtn), I see, coming down the stairs(ste(ə)r) that lead to his dressing room, a pair of black work boots and black-legged(ˈleɡ(ə)d) jeans(jēnz). Springsteen ducks his head beneath(biˈnēTH) a low arch(ärCH) and walks toward me, extending his hand and saying, “I’m Bruce.” We shake hands, and then there is silence. He looks at me and I look at him, not sure what to say. At five-foot-ten, he’s taller(tôl) than you think he’ll be; somehow, he remains the runty(rənt)-scrawny(ˈskrônē) kid in the leather(ˈleT͟Hər) jacket(ˈjakit), possibly dwarfed(dwôrf) in our minds due to the years he spent leaning against Clarence(ˈklerəns) Clemons.

That evening, Springsteen is weeks from notching(näCH) his sixty-ninth birthday. And as we stand there, I find it impossible not to think that the journey he has undertaken in this decade of his life has been nothing short of miraculous(məˈrakyələs). He entered his sixties struggling to survive(sərˈvīv) a crippling(ˈkripəl) depression(diˈpreSHən), and now here he is approaching his seventies in triumph(ˈtrīəmf)—mostly thanks to the success of this powerful, intimate(ˈintəˌmāt) show, which is not a concert(ˈkänˌsərt) but an epic(ˈepik) dramatic(drəˈmatik) monologue(ˈmänlˌôg), punctuated(ˈpəNGkCHo͞oˌāt) with his songs. After a year of sold-out shows, he will close it out on December 15, the same night it will debut(dāˈbyo͞o) on Netflix as a film. He at last breaks the awkward(ˈôkwərd) silence by giving a small nod(näd) and saying to me—but more to himself, just as we all kind of say it to ourselves as we head out the door each day—“Well, I guess I better go to work.” And with that he ambles(ˈambəl) toward stage right.

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https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a25133821/bruce-springsteen-interview-netflix-broadway-2018/