Sharing the Stage with a Monkey

Tonight was my first recital EVER and the first time I have been on a stage since I graced the halls of Baskerville Hall WAAAAAAAAY back in October. Last Thursday, K was not sure where in the program of 12 students she wanted to put CC and I. When I arrived at the Little Theatre, I found out that we would be last! “Who would want to follow you?” she asked. WOW!

I have always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wanted to perform the showstopping “Master of the House” from Les Miserables and I am so glad that it was the piece I chose to do. Not to worry, plenty of other things I want to do, too. In the context of a recital, the song lends itself beautifully to a bit of audience participation. I needed two “Monsieurs” to come in at various times during the song. One was a fellow student (named Davy Jones) who was more than willing to fill the bill. The other was a little (or more so) hesitant about the bit since he had no advance knowledge. But happily, he played along. Thanks justj! I do think the guillotine in my old age would be the way to go.

If I had one critique, it is the size of the stage we performed on. The other 11 participants were all seated upstage and all the equipment limited the amount of movement I could do. I could always do more with the song no matter the size of the stage… so not really complaining!

The end result was EXTRAORDINARY! An audience member said that I was “the best Thenardier” she had ever seen. I’m not sure how the other 11 did but they sounded good. CC and I were in the green room until it was our turn. Kind of a grand introduction if you will. Either that or she did not want a slovenly innkeeper and his wife slopping up the stage the entire time 😉

Thank you CC, justj, Monkeyman, and K for making my first recital super! And in all the excitement prior to heading for the theatre, I forgot to take my rat poison but did take it before typing the post.