One Week Down...

So rehearsals started on Monday, and yesterday was my birthday, I'm 25. Guess what I got for my bday? An upper respiratory infection!! Yay!!! It's been interesting....

Monday night went really well, the ensemble sounds great. Its nice to finally hear this material live after listening to a recording for weeks and weeks.

Tuesday night after rehearsal I started feeling sick, and then by Wednesday I was all messed up. On my birthday, I ended up at the doctor, then to rehearsal where I managed to get out a few notes, then I was off the to the Whitfield School Thespian Banquet. I choreographed Beauty and the Beast for Whitfield last month and was invited to speak at their annual banquet. It was actually really cool to be there because I was never part of any of that when I was in high school. It was great to see all the kids again, and I think they're all planning on coming to see the show.

Today I do feel better, but I have no voice. I sound like a squeaky toy, it's kind of funny. I'm not trying to whine about it, I just think its funny that I've been so concerned about taking care of my voice for the show and trying to drop some bad habits, and then I get this infection. But hey, better to deal with it now than the week of the show, right?

A few general thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head lately:

Before I got a recording of the show, I would go on Youtube to try to listen to the songs to get an idea of what the material was like. I don't know why, but I always read the comments for Youtube videos. Does anyone else do that? Sometimes people get into really intense arguments about the video and they're pretty comical. I always think "why are you so upset, its just a Youtube video..."

I found something very interesting as I was searching through Evita clips. Someone always ends up making a comment about Patti Lupone, and it's generally comparing whoever is in the video to Patti. It's always something like "well, this person did an ok job, but it's not just not Patti." Well no shit it's not Patti. The video description even said "Me playing Evita at a local theater company in 2006" Read the description! If you only want to hear Patti Lupone sing Evita, then buy a recording with her on it and shut up about it already! I don't know why that bothers me so much, but it does. Yes, I agree, Patti Lupone is amazing, but why are people always comparing women who play Evita to her? Obviously there is only one Patti Lupone. I don't want to be compared to her because I'm not her. Its not just Evita, though. I see that all over. People always compare singers to whoever originated the role and I just don't understand it. It's as if the original person's interpretation is the only way to perform the role. With that logic, why even perform the show anymore once the original cast quits?

What I also find interesting is that the first recording of Evita actually came out in '76 and it was a concept album. It was made before the show was even staged. Evita was played by Julie Covington, and I happen to think she was awesome. On top of that, Evita opened in London a full year before Patti did it on Broadway with Elaine Paige as Eva. I'm just saying...

I suppose I've rambled long enough. I had some thoughts to share about the role of Eva, but I'll save that for next time.

Taylor