Drowsy Chaperone

Yesterday, one of my dear old friends sent me a message and said, “I know it’s last minute, but I was wondering if you wanted to see ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ tomorrow?”  Who am I to turn down an invite to a musical???  YES, of course, I wanted to go.  (Lesson prep can wait, right?)

Oh my gosh, this has to be one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen!  And it is such a brilliant comic tribute to musicals in general (in much the same way as “Shrek” was such a brilliant comic tribute to nursery rhymes and movies).  I started laughing within the first few minutes of “The Drowsy Chaperone”, and several times, laughed so hard that I had tears streaming down my face.  The kids doing this performance (who are high school and college students) did a fantastic job with it, hitting every note of the comedy with perfection.

When I got home, I immediately started looking for other productions of this musical.  I know at least two people who MUST see it, and today was closing day for that production.  Thankfully, it is being performed by the Birmingham Village Players in September, and by the UM Flint Theatre and Dance school in October and November.  So, there will be other opportunities…and hopefully I can tag along and see it again. 

Ragtime

I could say it again and again…nothing beats live theater!  And musical theater?  Oh my gosh — the music and the dancing!

My Mom and I saw “Ragtime” on stage tonight, performed by university students.  Neither of us knew what the story of the show is, but we’ve never met a musical we didn’t enjoy so I was glad that I was able to get tickets (the shows were all sold out quickly).  Ragtime is the story of the early part of the 20th century, complete with immigrants and racial tensions and the world’s introduction to ragtime music.  They focus on three family’s stories that end up intertwined in sometimes wonderful and sometimes tragic ways.

The performance was wonderful — the dancing made me grin ear to ear (oh how I love ragtime music — when people ask what I like to play on piano, I say, “Chopin…and ragtime!” and that always draws curious looks!).  It’s easy to forget from one performance to the next how emotions can turn in musical theater, and one minute, you’re laughing, and the next, you’re on the verge of tears.  That was certainly true in this show too.  The cast earned a standing (and long!) ovation, with loudest cheers for the youngest performers and for the male lead (who was so brilliant!).

A wonderful night of theater.

Most Happy Fella

A number of years ago, my Mom and I went to see a musical called “Most Happy Fella,” performed by university students (who do a fabulous job in their yearly musicals!).  Neither of us really knew anything about the story of the musical, but a couple of the songs were familiar (including the “Standing on a corner, watching all the girls go by…” song).

We both absolutely loved it!  The story has some dark moments, but it is one of the most musical musicals (ha!) that I’ve ever seen.  The story is told almost entirely in the music, with only piano accompaniment.  That lends itself to a more intimate kind of story telling.  Shortly after we saw the musical, I got the CD of the music and it’s been a constant part of my CD rotation over the many years since then.

Last night, I finally finished up a lot of work and business at 10 p.m.  I hadn’t had the TV on all day and didn’t want to turn it on at that point (I do try to have TV-free days regularly).  I wasn’t in the mood to read or to write a letter, and I thought, oh hey, I’ll just put the Most Happy Fella music on and sit in my rocker-recliner and just listen to it.

That was such an awesome use of an hour!  Usually, I’m listening to that CD while I’m washing dishes or cleaning or doing something else productive.  To sit and just listen, with eyes closed, was like listening to it fresh again and it felt like I was transported back to the days of radio drama.  What a wonderfully calming way to end a busy weekend!

Drama class, last day *sniffles*

Today was the last day of my drama class for this session.  With any luck, another session will start in late January, but for now, we are finished.

We finished up the session with a very dramatic, difficult play called “Ruined.”  It is set in the Congo, with a great deal of violence surrounding the main characters (reflecting real situations in that country for the last many decades).  Each of us in the class had to play several roles — one main character and then a couple of minor characters.  So I was Salima as my main role, and then also played soldiers and a diamond salesman.

We were reading along, amazed and saddened by the story, and then all of a sudden, Salima died!  My character!  Dead!  We all gasped and sat silent for a moment, hardly able to continue.

It seemed fitting, somehow, to end the session with that dramatic twist.  Through these two sessions, I’ve been a flighty Gwendolen in “The Importance of Being Earnest” and angry brother Tom in “The Glass Menegerie.”  I played the lead in “Proof” and a stiff biology professor in “Virginia Woolf.”  And now, I’ve played a character who dies surrounded by violence and fear in the Congo.

It’s been a wonderful escape to be all these characters, to explore emotions and scenarios outloud that are rarely so visible in my own life.  I have loved every minute!

Drama class, Day 10

I am sick again *cough, cough* and considered not going to my drama class, especially when I realized I was losing my voice!  Can’t read a play very well if you can’t speak!  But I went, and I’m so glad I did.

We read “Doubt” today.  *insert endless smile here!*

I am in love with “Doubt” — it is challenging subject matter but in really interesting ways, and the story is very tightly woven and the characters all have flaws and layers.  I was excited to play two roles in the play (we were short a person today).  I got to be Sister James (the younger nun) and Mrs. Muller (whose son is central to the story with the priest).  Excellent parts, and just such a treat to read the play.

I LOVE DRAMA!

Drama class, Day 9

We read a two-person romantic comedy (Talley’s Folly) at my drama class tonight.  I don’t like reading the plays with fewer parts than we have people in the class because we have to switch parts, and it’s just not as fun as everyone being involved through the whole play.  It was a cute play though!  Some funny lines that I had to laugh through again!

Two of my classmates from the summer drama class will be performing in “Arsenic and Old Lace” this weekend.  I’m so excited to see them on stage!  My buddies! 

Drama class, Day 8

Could I please just live at my Drama class?  We have so much fun!  Every bit as fun as all my dancing classes were, and with more time to connect with each other and with emotions.  I love it!

We finished up Virginia Woolf tonight, with continued crazy drunken dialogue (“oh, nobody wunk at you” – not winked, but wunk! *laughs*) and the death of an imaginary son.  After we finished reading it, we had good discussions about whether there is hope or love in that play.  We were divided on whether there is hope, but we agreed there is love.  Crazy, dysfunctional, wounding love.

Drama class, Day 7

The second session of my drama class got started today, mostly with the same people, so we have a nice rapport already and the one new person fit in right away.  We read “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” tonight.  Not a pretty story, but I have to say that it is ridiculously fun to read drunken dialogue!  Little did you know that I would enjoy being a drunk, 30 year old male professor of biology!  (I played Nick.)   I had to read lines that included the mis-spoken phrase “gangle of geese” and I started laughing so hard at that point that I had to stop for a minute, which got all my classmates laughing too!  We have too much fun in that class!

I’m thrilled to have this class to provide fun and balance in an otherwise busy time of the semester.

Drama class, Day 6

Last day of the summer session of drama class.   But, the fall session starts Sept 30th. 

We finished up “Rabbit Hole” (heart wrenching play, but great to read/perform) and then did a quick but dramatic one act called “Trifles.”  We’ll be reading “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?” and “The Lion in Winter” in the fall session.  Fun!

It’s been fabulous to fall in love with drama all over again!

Drama class, Day 5

Another good day in Drama class!  We started reading “Rabbit Hole,” a very modern play about a family dealing with deep grief.  I played Izzy, who is basically the comic relief in the play, which was a fun part!  We will finish this play up next week, then do a quick one act play, and that will be it.

Our drama teacher had to move unexpectedly, so we got a new teacher (who works at one of the theaters here), and she wants to teach the class in the fall with a whole other group of plays.  Everyone in my class wants to continue, which says a lot about us, how much we are enjoying this, and how much we are enjoying each other!  If there’s a way that can work around my school schedule, I’d definitely love to continue!  And my dance class starts up with a new teacher on Sept 21st!  So it will be a busy fall, but these extra classes are just pure joy for me (and no homework!), and it helps keep some balance in my life.

Balance is good.