Instead of prancing about in daisy dukes and skintight tank, I spent my Pride weekend sweating it out in a theater detail-painting a trolley car. Which, when you think about it, is pretty gay, too. Most of the set for Meet Me In St. Louis, this year’s high school show for our Conservatory kids, is already completed. We’ve decided to try and minimize our late nights at the theater this summer and actually pre-build the set. Thankfully, there’s not much major construction for this one, unlike that behemoth Les Mis barricade. Who’d have thought a pile of junk would be so difficult to construct?
We start rehearsing MMSL today, but sadly, I will not be able to join the cast for today’s 95-degree scorcher in the un-air-conditioned CDC theater. Am I disappointed? As Whitney circa 2000 would mutter while wiping the crack sweat from her brow - hells to the no! Instead, I will be luxuriating in the cool comfort of my 36th floor desk overlooking Times Square. Ah, the corporate life. But come July 12, my fat ass - or as we assistants have affectionately termed it, “banker butt” - will be sweating with the youngsters for three weeks of “Banjo”-ing (perhaps one of the stupidest songs ever written for a musical - up there with the “Garlic” song from Dance of the Vampires).
I mean, it’s not even a real historical dance. And let me tell you, I’ve researched the dances of the period to get some choreographic inspiration and they are not exactly musical theater friendly. The cake-walk? The two-step? They all look rather silly. We’re going to have to push to the more exciting, though historically inaccurate, Jitterbug / Charleston. Oh well, it’s high school summer theater, so I’m not going to kill myself over it. I’m already forced to include a Waltz and a Square Dance. Have you ever tried to teach 14-year-old boys how to Waltz? Not pretty.
Coming up - our second annual July 4th weekend in DC at the lovely Omni Shoreham. Frozen drinks and fried food poolside, here I come!
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