- Jan 9, 2001
- 7,572
- 2
- 76
A few months ago I was hired to be the rehearsal pianist (as I've mentioned in the past, that's kinda what I seem to be doing for money lately) for a theatre company putting on "The Secret Garden", the original Broadway show.
Now, I know what you're all thinking, cause I thought the same thing when I was approached with this gig: this show must be corny as hell. But I'll be damned if it's not the best darn show I've ever been involved with, not only with the show itself but also with the people who are putting it on. I've never worked with such a talented cast-granted I've only put on about 10 shows in my short "career" of this, but wow. I'm still in awe at some rehearsals at what these people can do.
And, surprisingly, the writing is excellent as well. It's funny how sometimes these composers you've never heard of (Lucy Simon? Who the hell is that?) can really produce some incredible music. It's a very dramatic show in many aspects, any of you who have read the original novel know, this is one dark story we're talking about here. This ain't no Disney-ized version.
A girl comes from her home in India after witnessing both her parents die, to live with her uncle in England, who's world has collapsed due to his loss of his wife who died giving birth to his only son who is now dying of cholera. And it goes on and on, heh.
I wasn't dragged into this gig kicking and screaming or anything, but yeah, I wasn't looking forward to it all that much. Rehearsals are long, numerous, and stressful. And yes, I'm glad that things will be done fairly soon, but things couldn't have worked out better given the circumstances.
If you're at all into this kind of music, I'd suggest trying "Lily's Eyes", "Race You to the Top of the Morning", "A Bit of Earth", or "Where in the World". It really is an excellent show, and these people I'm working with send chills down my spine when they get going lol.
In a fortunate/unfortunate circumstance, I will be involved in the actual performances of the production as it turns out, while there's no piano in the part in the pit, they've suckered me into covering the Oboe/English Horn part with the pit orchestra. So, I will be there for the actual performances, which is nice except for it SUCKS because of the time it takes. But oh well.
So yeah, that's where a lot of my time, energy, etc has been going for the last few months. Opening night is two weeks from tonight. Just thought I'd post my surprise at how good the original broadway version of this show actually is.
Now, I know what you're all thinking, cause I thought the same thing when I was approached with this gig: this show must be corny as hell. But I'll be damned if it's not the best darn show I've ever been involved with, not only with the show itself but also with the people who are putting it on. I've never worked with such a talented cast-granted I've only put on about 10 shows in my short "career" of this, but wow. I'm still in awe at some rehearsals at what these people can do.
And, surprisingly, the writing is excellent as well. It's funny how sometimes these composers you've never heard of (Lucy Simon? Who the hell is that?) can really produce some incredible music. It's a very dramatic show in many aspects, any of you who have read the original novel know, this is one dark story we're talking about here. This ain't no Disney-ized version.
A girl comes from her home in India after witnessing both her parents die, to live with her uncle in England, who's world has collapsed due to his loss of his wife who died giving birth to his only son who is now dying of cholera. And it goes on and on, heh.I wasn't dragged into this gig kicking and screaming or anything, but yeah, I wasn't looking forward to it all that much. Rehearsals are long, numerous, and stressful. And yes, I'm glad that things will be done fairly soon, but things couldn't have worked out better given the circumstances.
If you're at all into this kind of music, I'd suggest trying "Lily's Eyes", "Race You to the Top of the Morning", "A Bit of Earth", or "Where in the World". It really is an excellent show, and these people I'm working with send chills down my spine when they get going lol.
In a fortunate/unfortunate circumstance, I will be involved in the actual performances of the production as it turns out, while there's no piano in the part in the pit, they've suckered me into covering the Oboe/English Horn part with the pit orchestra. So, I will be there for the actual performances, which is nice except for it SUCKS because of the time it takes. But oh well.
So yeah, that's where a lot of my time, energy, etc has been going for the last few months. Opening night is two weeks from tonight. Just thought I'd post my surprise at how good the original broadway version of this show actually is.
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