Annie and Elyse are in a show together! This hasn’t happened since the Broadway Kids came into town in 1998 and put on “Kids for Kids” and the locals got to participate. And by participate we mean stand behind all the Broadway Kids while they sang “I Go to Rio.” So now we finally have the opportunity to be in a show together again. We’re playing two of the courtesans in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Dogwood Dell. Good thing it’s at the Dell because with our crazy-proud parents so happy that their two kids are onstage together, there's going to need to be a large house. Only an outdoor ampitheatre would accommodate.
Rehearsals started the other night and we learned our dance, choreographed by the incomparable Amy Farley. Elyse walks around in elevator shoes and a whip. And Annie is thrown around by Jason Marks. They do a crazy animal-inspired swing dance that is incredible. Jason is such a good dancer! He’s doing steps that no one in our family could get down back when all four of us took swing dance together. Seriously. Mom, Dad, and the two of us all took swing dance classes. Why doesn’t our family have a reality show?
It’s really interesting seeing how we act at rehearsals because everyone has a “rehearsal personality”. And generally it’s different from how the personalities are in everyday life. So here’s what we learned about each other. Elyse is surprisingly really loud and makes jokes as often as possible, but every time she says a joke she has to keep eye contact with Annie for security. Like she knows that Annie will always laugh at her joke. Annie is the most attention-grabbing person at rehearsal. The two of us were sitting with our backs to the mirror while some other people were working stuff with Amy. Elyse was sitting there calmly, and Annie promptly turns so she’s facing the mirror, puts her hair in a crazy hairdo and watches herself bop around with her hairdo.
Stick around for more stories about the rehearsal process that will probably include eunuchs stacking on top of each other, a local re-enactor, Robert Redford’s twin brother playing a pimp, and Blanton Bradley standing there with his hands on top of the piano and a note mysteriously being played...
Also stick around for our thoughts on Summer of '42 and our attempts at being athletic.
4 comments:
You know, I'm fimilar with Elyse's "rehearsal self" and I quite agree. She is a joke maker. I'd love to see Annie...because if she's anything like Miss Annie with the clipboard at Elyse's birthday party all those years ago, it will be worth it.
Oh dear, how can Forum ever hope to surpass the Broadway kids thing? I mean that split that Annie did at the end of her ballad... pure theatre magic! And I don't mean to be mysterious and anonymous - I just can't remember my Blogger log in. That's right, I have a blog but THAT will remain a mystery...
(It's Amy)
Dear girls ... REALLY? You think the Dell will be big enough to accommodate the crowds we'll be bringing?? ... and five shows just won't be enough! FINALLY Richmond will get to see the "sex"tuple threat that is "The Steingold Sisters!"
Look forward to seeing you girls - it's a really fun show to be in.
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