Sunday, December 30, 2012

Gems From a Bona Fide (Awesomely Well Deserved) Diva

I heard many stories of Francesca before she arrived. Especially coming from musical theatre, I was really excited and slightly worried of some opera diva-ness. But she's really chill and just right (and I love the scarves. Werk!). She doesn't sugarcoat and has great things to say. Plus she's keeping making me laugh. Here are some of my favorite Francesca gems. "You're an actor. Fix it." "It's like a symphony of Uggs." "It's an active song. Not a flaccid song." "Let me tell you how I feel about blackouts-I have never used blackouts in my entire career!" I'm sure more gems will occur (and have occurred when I was hopping up and down in a different room). I'm just glad I get to hear as many as I do. And I think I might rock one of my grandmother's scarves tom ala Zambello. Perhaps the leopard print one?

Sunday, December 23, 2012

My Tribe And Caitlin's Christmas Shiner

I have been really lucky to be where I am right now. HGO was wonderful about giving me time off, and then all the wonderful folks involved with both Showboat and the company made coming back to week amazing. My fellow swing got my back, and worked up the most amazing condolence card from cast. And there are some heavy hitting names with wonderful personal messages on that card. Lots of hugs and good thoughts. (Though Morris wins the hug contest. He's our Joe and you can't beat a hug big black manwith a delightfully low voice and a heart bigger than his body) (Though all the hugs were amazing, and I appreciated every one of them) I got thoughts from lots of folks from previous jobs. As Patrick used to say in his philosophical moments at Westchester theatre folk are a tribe. It was beyond lovely to feel supported by my tribe when I needed it. On another note, I got my first experience swinging in yesterday. A whoopsies in a lift left poor Caitlin with a Christmas shiner. I got one time to rough it through, a few notes from the marvelous, talented, and supersweet Michele Lynch, and it was off to show it to Francesca (who is a quite a character in a marvelous way. More about her later). Francesca hadn't seen the number yet. It's a new one that wasn't done in Chicago, so there was a lot riding on us. Smile and Charleston! It went well and it felt great to get in there and dance. It also felt good to roll my hamstrings out after some surprise face kicking. Happy baking everyone and stay away from the mall if you can! Kisses!

Friday, December 21, 2012

To My Grammy

It's been a rough week for me. Monday morning, my folks got a call at three in the morning. My Grammy, who has been in and out of the hospital for the last six years, was dying. Ensue mad rush, long hours in the hospital, and an early morning Catholic blessing. Soon enough,I was back home to rush thru the shower and get to the second half of work. Thankfully Tues was just a short evening rehearsal, so I was able to sleep in and work on music for the funeral mass. At first I was averse to the idea of singing at the funeral, but I soon realized it wasn't something for me. It was something I could do for her and my family. It was tough, but I'm glad I did it.The funeral was yesterday. I wore a pair of her old evening shoes from the fifties. Green satin covered in fishnets with a rhinestones where the fishnet meets. There was an arctic front so my mom wore her mink coat. I'm sure Grammy was smiling down on us. There was plenty of desert, lots of people, and lots of cute shoes. All things that mattered to her. After we buried her, we toasted to her with a bottle of 16 year old Bushmills I had picked up. It was a good way to say goodbye to a life well lived with lots of love. Slainte. To microwaves. To high heels. To cookies in your purse. To a woman with more character and love than anyone I know. To my Grammy.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Beginning at the Opera!

I've been remiss in writing. Folsom was an experience. There were lots of ups and downs, and now onto Showboat! Just finished day two of Showboat rehearsal. The staff is all super sweet, the dancers and singers are great, and I really love the choreographer Michele Lynch. Her choreo just feels really good in my body (plus it's super cute. Life upon the supercute stage). She's really chill and I love the way she works. The biggest challenge has been the building. Putting together my swing notebook of death is so much easier!For all of us new to HGO, navigating their studios in their Wortham is a little challenging at first. There are chorus girls plans to investigate the tunnels. I shall write soon my own Phantom of the Opera! Or Phantom of the Opry. Knowing my life.....