Show 27 of 2018: Al-leluia - Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, Durant, OK

My second 4 Guys Named Al musical

Saturday night my mom and I traveled to Durant, Oklahoma (about an hour east of home) to see the fifth installment of 4 Guys Named Al: Al-lelluia.

This was a benefit show for the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival in Durant and their kick off to the season. Over the last few years I have made friends with several people in Durant so OSF has become a regular part of my summer.

The 4 Guys Named Al are original musicals which incorporate old standards into a fun show which seems to always involve some sort of disaster (last year was a snowstorm at a telethon, this year a bus of gospel singers going off a cliff and into 'glory' before a gospel jubilee).

These four guys have been working together for quite some time and all have ties to Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant. My friend Corey is an 'Al' as is our director for the summer, Dell. Dell writes all the shows and all four show up to put on a show that involves much laughter as well as some tender moments and a ridiculous amount of talent.

I always enjoy my theatre experience when we head over Lake Texhoma to Durant and this was no different. I am always amazed at the amount of talent that these little towns in the middle of the country produce, yet I'm always so glad because it gives people the opportunity to see quality theatre in their backyard without having to travel to New York or London.

Moral of the story: go support your local theatres! You'd be amazed at what you may find!

The 72nd Annual Tony Awards

Having the official Playbill in Oklahoma is the same as being at the show, right?

More than once I have declared the second Sunday of June my Christmas. If you don't know what the real holiday that befalls this date is, well, I'm not really sure why you're reading this blog!

It's the Tonys! Officially named the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, this awards ceremony celebrates the best and brightest on Broadway.

For many years I had a love/hate relationship with the Tonys. I loved it because Broadway, but hated it because I would see all these clips from shows and know that I wasn't there. In 2011 I wrote on Facebook how I needed to figure out how to go to New York quarterly just to see shows.

Then I did. I figured out the three 'cheaps': flights, hotel, and tickets, and boom I'm in NYC pretty much whenever I want to be.

Now, I watch it much more critically because I've either seen all the shows or I have read up on them. Last year I saw all the Tony nominated musicals before the awards show. This year, I didn't. It wasn't that I couldn't have, it was purely out of choice. The Best Musical nominees were: Spongebob, Mean Girls, Frozen, and The Band's Visit (the one I did see) and my heart just wasn't into three out of the four. I will see one or two of them on my July Broadway trip, but seeing before the show just wasn't necessary this year. Now, I did PLAN to see Spongebob in April on my way back from London, but I had flight issues and so it didn't happen.

For the third year in a row I called Best Musical long before seeing the show. I think it was last August when I walked by the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and was pretty certain it would win (I was also sad because I thought teaching would cut my NYC trips, which it has restricted them, but not cut them entirely, though I have to be more careful about them).

When I saw Once On This Island in February I knew it would win Best Revival of a Musical, though during the awards I was thinking My Fair Lady (which I will hopefully see in July) might have nailed it.

In the coming weeks I'll go back and give commentary on the shows that I've seen. I think I just got so far behind (from the beginning) and got overwhelmed and that's why the writing stopped abruptly. Now things may not be linear (which will make me slightly crazy), but they'll still happen!

Back to the Tonys. One of my favorite things about this awards show is the speeches and this year did not disappoint. Broadway has become a place for such diversity, especially over the last few years, and the speeches touched on this time and time again. From Lindsay Mendez speaking about how people told her to change her name to Matthews in order to get jobs to Ari'el Stachel talking about avoiding events because he was Middle Eastern to being in a show which celebrated the fact, the speeches were amazing.

One of the highlights of the night was Melody Herzfeld, drama teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, winning the Excellence in Theatre Education Award after hiding 65 students during the February 14 shooting. Her students then came on stage to sing Seasons of Love from Rent. It was beautiful.

In the end The Band's Visit swept, winning eleven Tonys. Spongebob actually won a few. Mean Girls did not. Neither did Frozen. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child swept the technical awards on the play side (I'm SUPER excited to have tickets to that in July!) which Angels in America (which, sadly, I will miss) cleaned up on the acting side.

Overall, it was a good show, though as much as I love Josh Groban I didn't really LOVE he and Sara Bareilles hosting...they were okay, but I'm kind of an NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) snob and I thoroughly enjoyed discussing the winners and losers all night with some of my favorite people. Until next year...

Crazy For Tapping

My first dance recital photo (age 6)

A little less than two years ago I discovered an adult tap class in Ada (about an hour from my house) and started to spend my Thursday nights (usually after driving all over creation for work) at the Chickasaw Nation Dance Studio tapping my little heart out again. I had danced as a child and always loved tap the most. After I stopped taking classes as a freshman in high school I would still paradiddle in front of the microwave or in an elevator.

One week I mentioned I would miss class the next week because I would be in New York. He suggested that I take my shoes and take a class there and he'd get me all the information. He didn't, however I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone, looked up drop in dance studios (just like in Center Stage) and found myself in a tap class on 45th street in the heart of Manhattan.

I loved every minute of it. It was exhausting and my legs felt like jelly at the end, but it was amazing.

After that whenever I would travel I would throw in the shoes and some dance clothes and pick up a class.

I wasn't able to take at the studio this year because of stage managing Little Women, but I've kept up classes when I travel (except London, because I was there for such a short period of time).

Crazy For You is not only a dance-ical it is a tap-ical. There is so much tap. And it makes my heart very happy. Being friends with the choreographer and assistant choreographer they both told me to tap in the show which I thanked them no because dancing in a show and stage managing is awful (yes I've done it before) and because I have ZERO desire to wear a showgirl costume!

However, I did decide that I would learn the choreography along with them, just for fun. I had planned to do this when I stage managed Mary Poppins (we had one tap number in that one), but we did the show with tracks instead of a live orchestra so I was confined to the sound booth running music. Thanks to our beautiful accompanist Michelle I am tapping my little heart out!

We've had three choreography rehearsals so far and I'm thrilled to keep up with the 'real' dancers (although I decided the kicks and booty walking on the floor was beyond my current abilities!). I think it's also been helpful because we've had people with conflicts so I've just stepped into their places (kind of like a swing performer) so the girls (and boy!) are still getting the idea of their formations.

Thus, I have declared myself the stage managing rehearsal dance swing...

Crazy For Stage Managing

Audition forms ready to go!

At the beginning of May I had plans for my summer: take lots of trips, spend lazy days in a coffee shop working on lesson plans, do a lot of reading...normal stuff for a teacher.

Then I got a text message.

I was asked if I would be willing to stage manage our summer musical, Crazy For You. I didn't say no, but I tried really hard to have them to say no to me (right down to having to miss a performance...). However, the fates aligned and I have found myself working on a musical.

We have a crazy big directing team for this one: the director, Dell; the musical director, David; the choreographer, Shannon; the assistant choreographer, Kelsey; the stage manager, me; and I requested an assistant stage manager, Riley, because of my conflicts (plus new blood in the theatre is a good thing!).

I read the show about a week before auditions and it seemed as though every other sentence was 'dance break.' I LOVE my community theatre people, but serious dancers most of them are not and when I watched the Papermill Playhouse production I saw that serious dancing this was! However, I knew if anyone could pull off this level of dancing it was Shannon. And if anyone could pull off these complex Gershwin tunes it was David. And if anyone could tie all of this together and involve a bunch of people who are eager to be on stage it was Dell.

I'd be lying if I said I was excited for the first night of auditions. I was nervous and anxious and, frankly, terrified of casting the show.

But the talent of Ardmore once again blew my mind.

By the end of night one we felt in a really good place to cast the show.

Night two was even better.

After a brief meeting we had a cast list! I think it took longer to type the cast list than it did to cast the show!

And once again we were off to the races on a show that will undoubtedly leave its mark on Ardmore, Oklahoma...