Friday, March 7, 2008

Ever Feel Like Something in Your Life has Come Full Circle?

I felt like that last night.

Last night my friend Rebecca and I took our two oldest kids (Zack and Olivia) to see a musical that Buchanan HS put on. It was opening night. My main reason for going was that two of my voice students were in it, and a few more LDS kids that I know from our stake as well.

What was the musical? Pirates of Penzance.

I was in the musical (well, it's really an operetta) Pirates of Penzance during my Freshman year at Dixie College, playing the part of one of the daughters. I made and deepened friendships throughout the rehearsals and performance of this show. I believe that this show was a very significant part of my life.

Why? When we did Pirates of Penzance, it was FRAUGHT with disaster. Rehearsals were fine and wonderful, the cast was superb...then on opening night, during a sword fight scene, someone made a mistake and the Pirate King (My great friend Jody) was stabbed near his eye. Being the professional that he was and is, he actually FINISHED the scene (bleeding!) before being carted off to the hospital. We muddled through the rest of the show. It turned out that he was unable to finish the run of the show, and we were all devastated. (Especially Jody - he was PERFECT for this part.) Another one of the cast stepped up and took over his part for the rest of the run. BUT that wasn't all! The second to last night of the show, our Mabel (the lead female part) was throwing up backstage between scenes. Lovely. The final night, she was too sick to go on, so another fabulous friend of mine, Lanette, stepped up and took over her role, and made the BEST comedic Mabel I have ever seen or will ever see in my life. Ever heard the old saying, "the show must go on"? This show exemplified that perfectly. Needless to say, of all the shows I have participated in, this one really made an impact. I think it probably shortened Dr. Andersen's life by a few years - the poor man!

Sitting there in the theatre last night, I was amazed at how well I remembered a lot of the songs, 19 years (yes, I said 19 years) later. I was especially pleased with my two students, Cade (he played the Police Sergeant) and Tiffany (she played the part of one of the daughters). It was very gratifying to me as their vocal coach to see them there on the stage, performing in a show that I did so long ago, and that perhaps I had a small part in helping them get there.

Cade and Tiffany were fantastic. Rebecca, Zack, Olivia and I really enjoyed it. My past and present experience with this show is unforgettable.

Long live Pirates of Penzance.

2 comments:

Amanda P. said...

Anderson...hmm I think I had him when I went to dixie. I liked him :)

Nicole said...

That's right! I remember you telling me you had him. He was great. He's retired now and living up in Roy, I think.