Well, dear readers, those who’ve been reading these here notes for a while know that I am pretty much a sucker for high school musicals. No, they are frequently not well done, but what they lack in production they gain in heart and I just get very moved when watching a bunch of kids giving it their all. And funnily, where these things occasionally fail big time is not in the raw and green kids’ performances – it’s in the adults – the musical directors, the director, the choreographer – people who should be giving these kids the experience of a lifetime, but who frequently are simply not up to the task. I have worked with young people for a long, long time. When I do shows at LACC, I am given a lot of people who’ve never done a musical before and at the end of the day, they’ve come through like complete pros and have a great experience – that is because I know what I’m doing. It’s not tooting my own horn, it’s just that these kids deserve to have someone who knows what they’re doing, to guide them – and there are plenty of people who DO know. Kay Cole directs stuff at a high school. THOSE kids are getting a healthy dose of creativity and what it’s like in the real world. Does she have to be tough? Of course. Do I occasionally have to be tough? Of course. And I know other pros who are teaching and directing in high schools who also know what they’re doing and have that kind of ethic, which is so important.
All this by way of saying I saw A Chorus Line last night. Now, we can, of course, ask the question why on Earth would a high school choose that show? A show that is dependent on great dancing, and the ability of its cast to not only be great dancers but who also must sing and act equally well, not to mention the adult nature of a lot of the show. This is a show about Broadway dancers auditioning for a very exacting choreographer/director. So, high schools that don’t have at least a proficient level of dancers are, of course, at a disadvantage right out the gate. But again, it’s very heartening and touching to see these kids giving it their all. They are not the problem. The problem is that the people who are helming the ship are not giving these kids the lessons they so desperately need and probably so desperately want.
It might be helpful to understand what the show is actually about. How do you make the decision to have Zach not be a disembodied voice but rather someone who is either interacting with his auditioning people onstage or sitting just off near the front row? It’s kind of the most wrong-headed decision you could make with A Chorus Line and it shows a profound lack of understanding that material. The whole point is that he’s a voice in the dark and the power of the moment when he FINALLY comes back onstage after Paul’s monologue is completely lost when you have him up there the whole time. Then there’s the choreographer, who is kind of trying to recreate the Bennett choreography (as she should be) but not quite recreating it, and in certain cases, completely subverting it. Again, if you’re going to do it, DO it. Yes, it’s hard stuff, but DO it. I’ve seen this show several times in high schools – the best of them was at my alma mater, Hamilton High, where they really did recreate every step and the kids, while not perfect, did it all. And isn’t it also someone’s job to teach that dancing is not just about steps and doing what people tell you. It’s about soul and joy and heart and purpose and intention and character. I shan’t go on about it, but it made me just wish that these kids, these hard-working kids, had better folks to guide them and help them and nurture them. I won’t even mention the sleazy synth tracks used – sometimes they do have an orchestra, but this wasn’t one of those times. And one thing that is always off-putting to me at any of these high school shows THESE days are the parents and friends in the audience. In my day, when we did school plays we had respectful audiences. They didn’t bray like insane people, they sat, they listened, they appreciated, and then gave us nice applause that was earned. Here we had screaming, whooping, hollering people, who had to scream and shout every time someone did the opening combination – not what the show is about, folks – and that continued at every step. What message, I wonder, does it send to the hard-working kids. That all they have to do is open their mouths or move their feet and everyone is going to scream full throttle? Because in the real world that won’t be happening.
Of course, I attended because our very own Sami Staitman was in it, playing Maggie, the role created by our very own Kay Cole. Having had not an iota of help from anyone, she did very well as did the gal playing Morales. The Cassie was a good dancer, too. We’ve worked really hard over the last two years with Sami, bringing her along, making her focus, making her grow – it’s not been all that easy, but it’s been very rewarding because she HAS learned and grown, and in a selfish way, I wish she weren’t doing these school musicals because she’s at a different level and I want her to keep going forward and not take backwards steps. But I know she’s enjoyed doing them, but she understands that she’s not going to get any help. We’re about to begin in earnest with this new project, which would be daunting for an adult let alone a kid who’s barely fifteen – to carry an entire evening on her shoulders, an evening involving endless yakking, a lot of comedy, a lot of singing, and holding an audience for eighty straight minutes. If she meets this challenge, she will be entering a whole other universe. In any case, kudos to these kids, and not so much to their betters, who I wish were better for the kids’ sakes. Sami didn’t know I was coming – she didn’t want me to come, but I’m glad I did and I think deep down she was glad I did. She’s a wonderful kid.
Prior to that, I’d only gotten about six hours of sleep, then got up, answered e-mails and then had a very easy and quick work session with our musical director. Also, one of our singers asked if she could join us so she could have an extra rehearsal, and that we were happy to do. After that, I went and had a meeting with the gentleman who runs the theater where we did Inside Out. That was both interesting and interesting. Then I picked up no packages, and then it was time to make the drive to Thousand Oaks or Oak Park or something with oak in it. I met Sami’s mom at Marmalade and we supped. I had a small Caesar salad, some mac-and-cheese (excellent) and then some fruit for dessert. I’m still full.
Today, I will hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep. I will then do absolutely nothing but relax. At five or so, I’ll go attend Sandy’s open house – I won’t stay too long, and then I’ll come home and relax some more.
Tomorrow we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal, then the rest of the week is meetings and meals and shipping our latest CD and having a big production meeting for the ALS show in the morning on Thursday, after which I have to rush home for our second Kritzerland rehearsal, I think we’ll have a little work session for Sami’s show (I still have about six more monologues to write and I get my ideas for these just by lunching and grilling her about what goes on at school and in her life – not always with her, but her friends and also people she doesn’t care for. Out of those lunches I come up with the material. Right now we have eleven songs, and I’ll probably end up doing another couple. Saturday is our stumble-through and Sunday is Easter, sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, attend a party, relax, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, having ruminated on high school musicals.