Little Women

This past weekend, I was cast as Jo March in Little Women the Musical at Country Playhouse.  I’m VERY excited about this.  Since having a baby, I allow myself one show a year – and the show has got to be worth my time away from the hubby and the bugaboo.  Very few of these shows exist, but this is one of them.  The part is absolutely fantastic and it will be a major challenge.  Jo is in the entire show except for 2 scenes and she has a million songs.  I’m not worried, though.  The director and cast are truly remarkable and I will be surrounded by inspiration.

 

In case you might know people, the cast includes:

Louis Crespo, Lori Davis, John Dunn, Ilich Guardiola, Morgan MacInnes, Manny Mones, Monica Passley, Johanna Payton, Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one), and Holland Vavra.  It’s directed by O’Dell Hutchison and the musical director is Claudia Dyle.

 

Come out and see!  It runs April 3-April 18!!

There’s no business like show business

This week on Facebook, people have been posting quizzes and, I’ll admit, I’ve fallen for them.  I’ve filled them out, hoping to get a couple right, and then whining in frustration when I can no longer think about favorite songs from musicals or when I last saw somebody.  However, I still find myself going to Facebook and answering people’s “notes” and then posting them myself on my profile.  One that was posted asked questions about how we knew each other, when we last saw each other, what my middle name is, what music I listen to.  Most of the people who have answered put down “show tunes” under music.  I’ll admit, in my younger years, I was quite the musical theatre buff.  Friends would often turn to me for audition songs or to hear scoop on the latest and greatest show on Broadway.  I’ve since lost touch with that world.

 

At the age of 18, I moved to NY.  Why?  Well, I was supposed to.  I grew up knowing that I would do musical theatre for my career.  I loved musical theatre, had dreams of being Eva Peron or Eponine, and my music library consisted of everything from Annie Get Your Gun to The Wiz.  My poor brother had to endure countless hours drowning out me singing “And I Am Telling You” at the top of my lungs.  Everyone expected me to go to Broadway and make it big.  I was in a long distance relationship at the time – that was my first mistake.  I went up there only knowing 2 souls – that was my second mistake.  My third mistake?  I didn’t really want it.  There was absolutely no drive.  I realized that what I desired most was stability.  That might sound boring to you all, but I don’t like surprises or the unexpected.  I have a very difficult time dealing with that.  I like to know what’s going on, how it’s going on, and why it’s going on.  I like the steady paychecks.  I like owning a home and not renting an apartment.  I like a reasonable mortgage and not $1500 for a little studio where my family can’t stay with me.  You put all this together and NY is not the place for someone like me to be.

 

I came back home and did some community theatre around Houston.  I enjoyed it for a while, made great friends doing it, and then got tired of the politics.  It’s very disheartening to see that even in community theatre in Houston, Texas, there are politics and game-playing.  I’m very opinionated and didn’t put up with a lot of games, which immediately made me an outcast in the community.  That’s when I stopped doing theatre just to do theatre.  If I do a show now, it’s because I believe in the story, the director, and the cast.  I’m a wife and mother and don’t have time to deal with any nonsense.  If something is going to take me away from my family, it had better be good.

 

So, all these people putting down “show tunes” as my favorite music – I’m sorry to disappoint.  I’m no longer musical theatre’s biggest fan.  In fact, my favorite shows are all old: Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Aspects of Love.

 

What’s my favorite type of music?  Well, right now it’s holiday music. 

Back from holiday

We got back from San Antonio this past Sunday.  We had a really nice time!  On Friday, we started driving at about 3:45 and got there around 6:30.  We gave Emma a bath and then hoped she’d sleep on Mema’s bed while we ate, but no such luck.  The little one stayed up until 10 pm!!  That is LATE for her!  That night, Adam was looking at her gums and noticed that her first tooth was REALLY CLOSE to poking through.  It happened on Saturday!  We woke up, ate breakfast with Mema, did a little shopping, came back for lunch and there it was: my baby’s first tooth!  Everything in our house is a celebration, so the party ensued.  Saturday night, we met my uncle and cousins for dinner at Pappasito’s.  Scrumdiddly…  On Sunday, we had lunch at Dempsey’s country club and then went home.  We dropped Emma off with her grandpa and Adam and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  My review will be posted later, but I’ll tell you now – I LOVED IT!  Anyway, Emma is pretty miserable right now since she’s teething so much.  I think her other front bottom tooth is about to poke through – PAINFUL!  Yesterday, we did a lot of shopping and walking around and hung out w/ the little one.  She went to bed early – I guess she was just exhausted from the weekend!

 

Emma was pretty bored at Mema’s, but that’s our fault – we didn’t bring her jumperoo.  So, Adam and I had to make it fun for her.  One thing we did was put her on the bed and then jump on the bed and make her bounce.  She loved it.  I’ll post some pics later. 

 

Tonight, I’m going to CPH to watch the bare rehearsal.  If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you need to.  This show is going to be amazing!  It’s at CPH from June 6-June 21, I think.

 

How was your weekend?

More on duets

So, Holland and I pretty much figured out our song list, but a few songs might get tweeked.  We’re currently looking for the venue.  I’ve put in emails to a lot of theatres across town and will hopefully hear something back soon.  It looks like we’re going to shoot for the end of July or August.  That’ll give us plenty of time to get something together and feel comfortable.

 

I said yesterday that I don’t like doing theatre anymore.  That’s not entirely true.  I LOVE doing cabarets.  I LOVE doing shows I’m passionate about.  And I love working with directors who are competent and passionate as well.  I just did Dog Sees God at CPH and it was a wonderful experience.  The cast was incredible, O’Dell directed it, and it is a very well-written show.  I had the best time.  Now, I only choose shows that I love.  I no longer do a show just to be in a show.  I wish I lived closer to College of the Mainland.  I absolutely love their stuff.

 

Anyway, back to duets.  Holland introduced me to an amazing song writer named Scott Alan.  We’ll be singing a few of his stuff.  He’s the new Jason Robert Brown.  If you haven’t heard him, you must. 

 

Oh, and I’ll give you a taste of a COUPLE of songs you might hear at the show: 9 to 5, Astonishing, I’ll Stand By You, Who Will Love Me As I Am…  There are many more, but it’s not completely finalized yet, so HANG ON!

Duets

I’ve been tossing around doing a duet show with somebody for years now.  I have tons of REALLY talented friends and it’s brought up every few months.  Well, I’m finally doing it.  My friend Holland and I will be doing a duets show this summer.  Our voices are similar, but there are major differences.  She can do all the soprano stuff that I can’t.  I mean, I can get up high and start wailing, but that doesn’t sound good on things from, say, Secret Garden.  Am I right?  I don’t mean “wailing” in a bragging sense – I’m just really loud.  Adam says I’m piercing.  In fact, yesterday I was singing to Emma, I got up high, and Emma made a face like, “Come on, man, open some windows at least!”  That’s when I realized Adam’s been telling the truth all these years…

 

Anyway, we’ve got a lot of songs picked out, but I’d love some suggestions!  We’re not limiting it in any way.  We’ll do guy songs, musical songs, non-musical songs – ANYTHING!  Start suggesting…

CPH Gala 2008

On August 9th, 2008, Country Playhouse is holding a gala.  I’m in charge of entertainment.  I’ve been gathering music and people together and so far, I’m having some success (knock on wood).  I think it’s going to be a great show!  However, we need to raise money.  Ideas?

The weekend update

So, this weekend was pretty hectic.  On Friday, I got Emma and we went to visit Adam up at work.  He took her home while I worked box office.  Susanna and Will (at CPH) didn’t do so well w/ ticket sales.  There were maybe 20 people there on Friday.  I don’t know what it is, but it seems that all of O’Dell’s shows – whether they’re on the main stage or in the black box – end up selling out.  And they can be really obscure shows, but that doesn’t matter.  I think that says a lot.  However, I did hear that S&W was very good and it’s a shame people didn’t see it.  That night, I went to Bull and the Bear on Kirkwood and Westheimer.  I sang my first song “What’s Up?”  John sang, Kelly sang, Steve sang…  We were having a really nice DSG reunion and then DRAMA!!!  Someone stole Kelly and Jessica’s purses.  This was huge b/c the guy did it RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!  We saw the video footage and he practically had to bump into Kelly on the way out!  It was incredible and the man has cajones!!!  Anyway, the cops came, we were all searching the bar, and then they called me up to sing my second song “Alone.”  I normally wouldn’t have done it, but the karaoke master scares me and I didn’t want to piss him off.  So, I sang and felt VERY awkward.  Then they called up John and he sang (out of fear as well).  Then we were all done… 

 

On Saturday, I had that retreat at the Houston Racquet Club.  The only good thing about it was hanging out w/ Manny, O’Dell, and John.  The rest was frustrating and time wasting, honestly.  Not that valid points weren’t raised, but we did not stick to the agenda (really) and went off on so many paths that I was completely lost.  I thought the facilitator was awful.  Aren’t they supposed to keep you on topic?  People were talking over each other and talking about crap that doesn’t matter.  VERY frustrating.  After that, I worked box office again.  Saturday night sold out.  I guess people kept putting it off and finally, it was now or never.  Patton came up to visit me, so it was nice to have some company. 

 

On Sunday, I did laundry, hung out w/ Emma while Adam mowed, visited w/ Dad, Cathy came over – it was a nice day.  I needed to get a bunch of stuff done and I’d had no other spare minutes over the weekend!  Last night, we watched The Tudors on Showtime.  GREAT show.  I am not a huge Jonathan Rhys-Meyers fan, but he’s a great Henry VIII.  And I like Ann Boleyn, but there’s something a little off about her.  I can’t put my finger on it…

 

Today, I will be quite busy at work, so I don’t know if I’ll be posting again.  I’m sure I will, though, b/c I’ll need a break.

Going around in circles…

Sometimes, there are situations we come up against where we are clear on the answer, but no one else is on the same page.  And everyone sits around you and talks and talks and just keeps going in circles to the point of you asking, “Where am I and what are we talking about?”  I experienced this today.  It was not a great way to spend your beautiful Saturday.  Luckily, I hear tomorrow will be even more beautiful, so Adam, Emma and I will be taking advantage of that.

The headshots…

So, in an earlier post, I said I needed new headshots.  Well, ain’t that the truth!  I took my last headshots over 10 years ago in New York City.  Beth Kelley was the photographer.  They’re great pictures, but I was 19 years old.  Yes, it was on my 19th birthday.  Let me tell you about that sad, sad day…

 

I graduated high school in 1997, the same year I moved to NY.  I knew 2 people up there – one at NYU who went to my high school and one out in Jersey City who I did a show with when I was 12.  I moved into a residency hotel down the street from a ballet school and this place was full of anorexic ballerinas.  I was a size 2 then and I felt fat next to those girls!  I paid about $800 a month for a room that was about the size of my bathroom now.  There were two beds, a small closet, and a bathroom.  There was a cafeteria downstairs and the food was free if you lived there.  However, the food was crap.  I moved on September 7th.  My mom came with me and we did our best to make my room a home.  She left on September 10th.  My birthday was September 11th.  Mom left at about 4 in the morning and I cried that entire day.  I felt so incredibly alone.  My boyfriend was miles away in Austin, all my friends were at schools, and there I was, in NY, with no one.  It was quite depressing.  The night before my headshots, I cried and cried to my boyfriend.  It was AWFUL!  I slept with a cold rag on my eyes because I didn’t want to have bags under them for the headshots.

 

The next morning, I packed all my clothes to go take the pictures.  I had no idea where I was going, but I knew it was on 30th St.  I was living on 13th.  I walked.  And walked.  And then I went down the wrong avenue.  And I walked some more.  I arrived just in time, got my make up done, and took my pictures.  Afterwards, I walked back home (obviously I had no idea about how to get around the subways) and stopped at Krispy Kreme.  They had just gotten popular because Rosie O’Donnell talked about them on her show.  I bought a dozen and went home and waited for phone calls with well-wishes for my birthday.  Ugh, I’ve never been more depressed.

 

That time makes me look at my life with a newfound appreciation.  It was HORRIBLE!  Whenever I look at those pictures, it reminds me of how far I’ve come.

 

And don’t worry – my birthday wasn’t a complete disaster.  The next weekend, my friend Josh came up from Philly and took me out for a day and night on the town – it was great. 

 

I will scan the headshots and post them here later.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and… American Idol?

So, I read a couple of days ago that Andrew Lloyd Webber will be the mentor at next week’s American Idol.  Um, what?  I’m assuming they’re singing ALW songs.  What on earth could these people possibly sing???  Here’s my thought:

 

David Archuleta: Love Changes Everything or Seeing is Believing

David Cook: Jesus Christ Superstar

Jason Castro: Close Every Door or Any Dream Will Do (that would actually be better)

Carly Smithson: I Don’t Know How to Love Him or Unexpected Song

Brooke White: Don’t Cry for Me Argentina or Another Suitcase in Another Hall (that would be perfect)

Syesha Mercado: Memory

 

Of course, all of these would be stupid choices.  Well, except for Cook’s and Carly’s.  I could actually see them doing good jobs on those.  I know ALW was on some show in Britain – something about finding the next Maria in Sound of Music.  However, that was FOR a musical.  This is American Idol!  And Broadway night has always sucked on AI.  Must we forget Bo Bice singing “Corner of the Sky?”  Dreadful!

I really have no idea how this will shape up.  Thoughts?