Rehearsals for CAROLINE OR CHANGE are going well. I am having Brain Bumps. I am having difficulty with the lyrics which are more sung dialogue than lyrics. Made me wish for Rogers and Hart, Lerner & Lowe, Gershwn ,,,Berlin...and on..
But this piece is extraordinary and worth the difficulty I am wading through.
The other performers are superb and gorgeous vocalists.
I think David Schweizer the Director cast this piece beautifully and has a wonderful vision and handle on it.
Carole Schweid is playing Grandma Gellman to a turn. Full of all the Jewish nooks and crannies. My ear alerts to her knowledge of the culture and expressive acumen. She is a terrific musician and excellent performer. We knew each other through the New York Broadway years and I was so pleased to see her and at last be able to work with her. She and John Ramsey as Grandpa Gellman do grand justice to the roles.
Her involvement in A CHORUS LINE is of course a high point and, needless to say, it meant a lot to all of us in the theatre at that time and resonates even today. She must be rightfully proud.
I am very taken with the outstanding voices of the black performers in the company.
Libya Pugh, April Nixon, Renn Woods, Ta'rea Campbell , Danielle Lee Graves, Kelly McCreary, Milton Craig Nealy, and the Ultra Amazing E. Faye Butler as Caroline. Their vocal sounds are so full, rich and grounded in soul.
Tesori wrote music for those characters that express the culture and the texture of the plight they were suffering both personally and socially and these performers are blossoming in their melodies.
It is fascinating to listen to.
The two young boys alternating the role of NOAH as also amazing. Both Bradley Bowers and Matthew Demetrides already had the songs down and were way ahead of all of us on day one. They are both fun to work with and have terrific voices.
The girl playing Rose, my daughter, Trisha Rapier, has a terrific voice and was also already very familiar with the score. She is a hoot and fun and I have a great time working with her.
Joe Hickey as Stuart plays the Clarinet like budding Benny Goodman. He is a perfect foil for the stumbling and unsure father and husband.
I have done many shows of very important cultural and social commentary..EVITA , SWEENEY TODD and CABARET among them, but this piece has profound and deep meaning for our present political atmosphere.
Civil rights for minorities is a very important and poignant issue.
This piece cries with passion for these rights and what denial of them creates within the many strata of social structure.
Black & White, South and North, Jews and Gentiles and the palpable struggle of the poor to manage daily with their meager portions in life.
I am so curious to see how the Baltimore audiences will respond to the many levels within this show. With such a large Black population here I hope it soars into the psyche of the community and is a big hit. It can be a wonderful sounding board for all those in need of a voice against the many wrong doings of the political and social power structure that elevate some and denies others.
My character Gandpa Stopnick is a political activist and most loud, vocal and insitant about the injustices he sees. It is a role I am very proud to inhabit.
With President Obama about to take the highest office in the land in January there is much to celebrate. But the road that took him to the White House (Ironic a Black Man in the White House)...had the Bumps and Bruises that Caroline and many in her realm have endured.
We should all be proud that with this election we have overcome a prejudice, but we have other prejudices that must be explored and put away and sealed in a place that kills those hateful human tendencies forever.
I hope we see this happen in my lifetime. Meantime we have CAROLINE OR CHANGE to shake her fist and raise her voice for us all.
Have a great THANKSGIVING and a Giddy Gobble..
I spent my day off making a Stuffing that took 3 hours to prepare..Someday I will share the recipe.
It is my own concoction and better that it sits a while to meld the many flavors.
MMMM
Keybored
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