Sharing in Laughter and Love: The Making of a Musical, Part 1

If you've ever been a part of the cast, orchestra, crew, or production team of a musical, you know what a huge undertaking it can be. The amount of detail and work that goes into the final product is something most people are unaware of--and I guess that is the point. You go out wanting to present a show that people get lost in, if only for a few hours. You want them to be drawn in and to feel like a part of the story. That, as simple as it may sound, is a hard thing to achieve. It's challenging because it means everyone has to be on their game. Actors must know their parts so well, it's second nature. The orchestra has to have polished the accompaniment music--which often consists of 10 or more parts. The technical elements of lighting, sound, and scenic transition have to be on time and in sync with what is going on with the dialogue and music. It can be a logistical nightmare if you aren't organized and it can all fall apart at the drop of a hat if even one thing is off--especially in an amateur production where there often isn't the level of experience needed to "keep on keeping on" when something doesn't go as rehearsed.

So, with all this in mind, you can get a little bit of an idea of how overwhelming and sometimes stressful it can be to be the person at the reigns of a production. This is where my mom has found herself now for 4 years in a row with our local high school. She isn't alone though, my brother, Jacob, is a huge asset (sometimes you can take that "et" off and he's that too...ha) to her. As a theater major, he brings a great deal of relief and insight for my mom as he takes care of things like scenic design, lighting, and even music. They are a great team. Occasionally my sister and I are there to input our ideas and thoughts, but for the most part, it's Mom and Jacob's show.

The last three years have been pretty successful for them and the students. Their first show was The Sound of Music. Honestly, I don't think it could have been any better received by the community. It was the first show in the school's brand new theater and the experience of doing a show with bigger and better resources in our back pocket really made a huge difference. For the first time, we could have big sets, more sophisticated lighting, an orchestra pit for the musicians, and use backdrops. Not to mention, audiences could sit in comfortable seats and not metal folding chairs and there were no 100 year old oversized fans blowing aggressively in anyone's face and drowning out the sound--air conditioning is a beautiful thing. It was the makings for a great first production and it certainly didn't disappoint. The following year they did Grease. It was another big name show, and so it was an easy sell. I loved this show. The choreography was some of the best we'd seen from a high school production at that point in time and thanks to our newfound space, we could use an actual car for the scenes revolving around the ever-famous "Grease Lightening". Last year we did Thoroughly Modern Millie. We had the perfect cast for it and they did such a great job. I've seen Millie many times--this was one of my favorites. The cast just owned their performances and the choreography was top notch. Another impressive element of this production in particular was the costuming. My mom has such an eye for it, and you couldn't help but notice the bright colors on stage--it added so much depth and interest (proof of how important good costuming is).

This year...this year we are pulling out all the stops. The chosen show has been on our back burner since Mom took over the musical. We tried for 2 years to get it and were denied the rights because a certain former gymnast and her cast were touring in this production at the time...meaning no one else could get their hands on it. It is a show that is going to appeal to young and old alike because it's a story we all grew up with. The characters are as familiar to us as old friends and the fantasy of it is something we've all dreamt of at one point or another. When we found out we got the rights, we almost didn't know where to start or what to do next--it was so unexpected and we were off-our-rockers excited. The first order of business was to announce it to the students. Here's their first glimpse of what was coming their way:

2014 Musical Announcement

So, just in case you couldn't get the video to work, I guess I can go ahead and let you know that the musical we are doing this year is none other than Peter Pan! And, in case you were scratching your head about my previous references to the gymnast who was touring in Peter Pan, it was Cathy Rigby. She's been performing the title role in this musical for years. We had the privilege of seeing her perform it and she's fabulous. She made us fall in love with this show--and now we're so thrilled to be bringing it to our hometown. This musical is so huge because it has the added technical element of FLYING. Yes, you have to have actual flying (or at least the illusion of flying) in order to do this show justice. The scary element of that factor is that we don't add the flying until the very end. Everything has to be ready to go weeks in advance and then a flying company (for us, it's the same company that did Cathy Rigby's flying--so it's safe to say they probably know what they're doing) comes in to help us choreograph, set-up, and rehearse the flying scenes. It's a huge undertaking--not to mention expensive! However, the flying is what adds the element of "magical" to this show. That first glimpse of Peter Pan flying up and through the Darling's nursery window is such an exciting moment in the show. You hear an audible gasp of excitement every time and it sets up the anticipation of what is to come. I can't wait to see it unfold in our production.

Right now, we're busy staging and learning dialogue and music (set construction has also recently begun). Auditions were in November (oh, the stories I could share about auditions--most of them involve Mom, Jacob, Lindsey and I fighting and bickering about casting) and they started choreography in December. As per usual, the choreography is fabulous. We have some incredibly talented dancers in this show--our Tiger Lily is captivating to watch already. Audiences are going to LOVE her. I'm already impressed with the progress. It isn't clean or ready for public viewing by any means, but I can see past the lack of polish to what it is going to be in the end--and I can't wait for others to get to see that. One of my favorite aspects is getting to see each student become their character. They come into rehearsal as Adam, Katey, Elizabeth, Isaac, Mason, Jordin, etc. But once they step onstage for rehearsal they are Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, Peter Pan, the Crocodile, John and Wendy. They take their part in this production seriously. They know they're an important piece of the puzzle and that without them doing their job, the final picture will be incomplete.

So here's to 2 1/2 more months of hard work. I plan to update as we go along and I'll share some photos (maybe some video snippets) so you can see what goes on behind the closed doors of the theater.

For now, some rehearsal pics.