A joyous return to the Gorton Community Center

In November 2019, a work-in-progress then titled “Left-Handed Pianist” screened in the state-of-the-art John & Nancy Hughes Theater at the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest.

A little over two years later, on Feb. 12, 2022, the completed and renamed “For the Left Hand” played the Hughes Theater to an enthusiastic audience.

Norman Malone, the film’s subject, ventured from his home on Chicago’s South Side to attend the North Shore event. After he entered the auditorium, he was surrounded by his ever-growing contingent of admirers. Later, the mere mention of his name from the stage drew a noisy ovation.

As the film unreeled, you could feel the audience in tune with Norman’s story. Viewers fell silent in intimate moments, laughed on cue and seemed to hold their breath during the suspenseful finale. When that scene peaked, the crowd burst into applause, as has happened in many other screenings across the country.

The panel discussion that followed generated many questions from the audience, including a pivotal one: Where did Norman find the resilience and strength to transcend what happened to him as a 10-year-old?

To answer, Norman retraced several challenges he faced after his father, who suffered from mental illness, attacked Norman and his two younger brothers. After rehab, Norman’s struggles continued.

“I’m a survivor,” Norman told the audience. “And I love music.”

Hence the film’s tag line: “Music is a way or surviving.”