Thursday Thirteen - Shows I've Been In

I have been involved in theatre ever since my freshman year of high school. Up to that point, I played sports. But the mentality in high school is TOTALLY different then the mentality in grade school, so basically I wimped out. After I quit sports, I was looking for something to do and noticed an audition notice at school and figured "Why the hell not?" The rest, they say, is history. Here are 13 shows that I have been involved in (either backstage or onstage) over the years.

1. King Arthur's Calamity - I'm listing this one first because it was the worst theatre experience of my life. One of the actors actually called me a word that rhymes with witch in the middle of rehearsal because I "stole his light". Seriously? I came home every night in tears and Dave kept telling me to quit, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I regret ever having done that show. Ugh.


2. Guys and Dolls - Without a doubt, one of my favorite musicals of all time. I would literally give my right arm to play Adelaide. Holy crap, that's a good role. We have the soundtrack with the 1992 US Revival cast and I get goose bumps every time I hear Faith Prince and Josie de Guzman sing "Marry the Man Today"


3. Our Town - Rebecca Gibbs was the first part I ever had that had lines. I didn't do all that great, but it remains one of my favorite non-musicals. I cannot think of one aspect of that show that I don't like. The sets (or lack of) are awesome and the Stage Manager is a really great role.


4. South Pathetic Pacific - My first show. Ever. I wish it weren't. I really don't like the show, but I was young and naive. It's boring and the music's bad. Makes you want to run out and rent it, doesn't it? But now that I think of it, John Kerr (the actor who played Joe Cable) is kinda hot in the movie so go ahead and rent it.


5. Once Upon a Mattress - This one was actually kind of funny. It wasn't the greatest but there was one song that I sing to this day...despite the fact that I can only remember 3 words of it. And then who can forget the princess' name. "With and "F" and an "R" and an "E" and a "D" And an "F-R-E-D" Fred! Yeah!"


6. Bye Bye Birdie - This one cracks me up because my friend from high school played Conrad Birdie and my mom (who did the majority of the costumes for the shows) made him a gold lam`e suit. It was awesome.


7. Grease - Who doesn't love this musical? Well, the movie is better than the stage show, I think. But still, it's pretty darn good. And this one has a special place in my heart because it was during this production that I met my future husband. The girl who was playing Patty Simcox (and Dave's dance partner) broke her foot 2 weeks before the show so I got moved up out of the chorus to play the part and danced my way into Dave's heart. LOL! Really, I just tried not to step on his toes. It was also the first show I did out of high school, 5 long years after I had graduated.


8. You're a Good Man Charlie Brown - This one was just downright fun. It's a small cast musical and we just had a blast. Dave directed it and I got to play Sally Brown. She remains one of my favorite characters I've ever played.


9. Moon Over Buffalo - Kind of a forgettable show. The big dilemma in this one was that I had to have a make-out session with one of my best friends. We were playing lovers in the show, but he and his wife were our best friends off stage. Yeah. Awkward.


10. Music Man - "He's a what? He's a what? He's a music man" The opening scene of this musical, when all the salesman were on the train, is one of my favorite scenes in musical theatre. When done correctly (with people who can keep tempo), it just has a really neat effect. I came dangerously close to dressing as a man for this scene when one of the actors kept missing rehearsal. Thankfully, he showed up in the end. Dave and I played "boyfriend/girlfriend" in this show and people always tell us that the kiss on the cheek at the end of "Shipoopi" got loner and longer every night... All I'm saying is that he was kissing me. I just sat there.


11. Smoke on the Mountain - This is another one of those casts that just clicked. We got compliments from audience members saying that we were better than some professional productions they had seen. Not too bad for a little church troupe. I played the part of June, and I do mean played. She is the only non-singing member of a musical family so she plays all the percussion instruments. I think I played maybe 10 instruments in that show. Also, her thing is "I don't sing, I sign". I had to come up with "sign language" for a good majority of the songs. Some of my "signs" were so over the top the director told me I had to scale back because I was nearly hitting the other actors on stage by accident. That part was so fun. It was tough though because the actors never leave stage, except for intermission. That can be tough.


12. Honk! - The entire cast was animals and I played a moorhen in this one. And I happened to be 7 1/2 months pregnant with Emma at the time. I remember just breaking down and crying after the show closed because I was so exhausted. Good Lord, I was tired. And my feet hurt. But at least I looked good in my knee high fire engine red leather boots.


13. Godspell - This was my directorial debut. And I'm never doing it again. I just don't have the patience for it. Godspell has some really great music ("By My Side" brings me to tears every time) and the kind of ending that gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I also got to play the "tramp" in this one and flirt with a pastor. Good times. Once again, never left the stage.

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