IT'S A HARD-KNOCK LIFE!!!



so this saturday i was invited by a friend to see ANNIE, the musical. it is currently playing at THE OPERA HOUSE and these were great seats my friends... 6th row from the orchestra, right on the aisle.

now if it were just me, i would never have purchased these tickets. nothing against ANNIE really, but i think i overdosed as a kid and so i have been taking "a break." plus, as an adult, i always get scared watching "over-actor" kids get up there and "ACT." but, the ticket was free and i always enjoy going to the theater... so ANNIE here i come!

there i was, sitting in my cushy seat with my package of starburts thumbing through the who's who in my program and reading about where these actors came from and what shows they did and i immediately start comparing myself to them... you know: "oh, i've done that show too." or "oh, she once played Lady Macbeth... she must be brilliant." then the lights dim and the orchestra begins playing the overture; they start slow with "maybe far away or maybe real near by..." and i settle in. at this point my emotions were still ambiguous. then all of a sudden a strong down beat and the tempo pushes us into an intensified "it's a hard-knock life...bum bum...da da dum da de... da.. dum." all of a sudden, i was 10 again, sitting next to my parents in the "promised valley playhouse" in salt lake city, utah, watching my very first production of ANNIE.

i sit up. i begin watching everything, from the top of the conductors arm as she passionately takes us from one hit song to another, to the little heads of my co-audience (most of who's ages didn't exceed 12), to the way the lighting hits the curtain. and i imagine myself backstage... like i always do when i see a play, the stage manager has just called places and i calmly walk to my place on the stage. i can hear the music from behind the heavy curtain and can feel the energy from the audience. the way the costume smells or the paint on the set will always stay with me and i begin to focus... because in 30 more seconds i will no longer be me... i will morph into this other person who thinks and acts in their own way. she can say things i wouldn't ever dare to say and somehow it's okay for her to sing her way through life and have everyone join in. the applause will let me know that i am still a part of the "real world" and it will fill my soul with something very powerful that has often been described as addictive.

gosh, sometimes i forget why i love doing theater... how is that even possible??? but to see it through the eyes of my inner-child a few days ago has compelled me to take a different look. i was itching to get up there and join rooster and the gang sing "easy street" or to dance along with the cast to "you're never fully dressed without a smile."

the cast was great and the kids weren't so obnoxious that i had to look away... so that was good. "MS HANNAGAN" was brilliant... actually the entire cast shined. not a single casting mis-step... which is hard to do!!! i loved the choreography and only wished that they had done more of it. what a great show. i would love to see it again!

so now i'm back to singing the tunes in my head and wishing i were that little red-haired orphan.