March Forth- irrelevant.
Much more important things to focus on at the 3/4/12 gathering of the Ghost Light After Party crowd.
Hold on- someone is trying to "sext" with me on facebook. One moment.
Ok. Back. Brutal honesty will nip some sexting in the bud like nobody's business.
Where was I? Ah.
Let's see. Scene: Sunday night, March 4, 2012. I am stuffing tubes of bread filled with cheese into my mouth and periodically running onstage at the Firehouse to sing about Russian prostitutes and appetizers.
Between these feel-good little ditties, I scamper backstage, where Joe Inscoe is telling me a story. And that's really all you need to know. Hence the scampering.
I begin receiving text messages from one Adam Dorland that say things like, "The Debra couldn't wait. She's singing "Back to Before," and "your brother and Anna are learning a blues song together." All of these texts inspiring towering fits of rage among the cast of "Hearts Online." We were missing The Debra. Items were thrown.
Curtain call. I am out the door before I am finished bowing.
I arrive at the Ghost Light in a blind fever.
Ben pours me a glass of wine that is slightly taller than the bar.
I quickly scout out the situation. Someone is singing. Well, that's good, it's a piano bar. Evan Nasteff is already there, so clearly it is later than I thought, but he's not singing "Baby One More Time" yet, so the evening is still in progress.
More importantly- sorry Evan, I haven't eaten lobster at your house and you also haven't filled the Empire stage with fog for me- Wendy Vandergrift is up in the house, yo. Thrilled. Had no idea she was going to be there. Is SUCH a good idea for her to be there.
I then make to scamper right up onstage to help Sandy with the page turning, as Matt Shofner is up there giving it a bully effort, but has so many other things to do he may as well be trying to put noodles through his ear hole. Before I can manage, Maggie Roop clotheslines me and hisses, "wait! i want to introduce you."
Side note- Matt- you don't even have an ear hole, do you? I mean besides the one you were born with. Is my imagination manipulating reality for the sake of an amusing simile.
So. I wait to be "introduced." Maggie introduces me, announces that I will be singing straightaway and I look at her and say, "singing what?" and she opens Binder #367 to "Gimme Gimme" from "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Now- it should be noted that "Gimme Gimme" is something I sing with great frequency and passion. When I am in locations like my bedroom and deep in the sewer. But apparently I am to sing it front of people. Like, right now. So I just think, "Well, this will be good for me."
And I sing it. And I discover, whilst singing it, that 1. I adore singing even more than I thought I did before, and 2. when one screws up ones face and eyes as though someone has just coated one's eyeballs with cottage cheese ala Lea Michele in "Glee," one is capable of hitting notes previously unconsidered and holding said notes for unprecedented amounts of time. Oh- you also have to partially squat to get the full effect.
This is me teaching audition class.
Anyway.
Scott Honaker (that's my brother) and Anna Hewett (see two posts prior) have sequestered themselves in the dressing room to learn/compose? a song. They will remain there for hours.
Suddenly, word reaches me that Simba and Nala from the production of "The Lion King" that's currently in town are in da house. So naturally my entire inside lights on fire and I am wildly excited. I demonstrate this by casually glancing into the back of the house to see what I can see. They are sure there. Which is awesome.
Jelani and Syndee (which turns out to be their names) take sweetly to the stage to perform "A Whole New World." And perform it they do- there is elegant blocking and choreography made up on the spot- there are searching, hopeful glances out into the audience as they sing- everyone is riveted, eyes glazed, drooling. They are GOOD. As the well loved ballad soars to it's apex, the effect is thrilling and immediately squashed by me flailing my hand at them and squawking "HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD ON. You guys changed keys and our music didn't. I'm going to need you to back it up and take it down." Or something equally courteous. But they do. And it continues to be lovely and no one stones me for interrupting, so that's good.
In related news- Bill Patton once had a pet monkey that got stoned to death.
So by this point in the evening, everyone's having a ball, The Debra has performed a mad-lib to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (word has it that there may be video of this soon available on the Ghost Light After Party facebook page), Adam has punched me in the back, Matts Shofner and Doss have executed a reportedly brilliant rendition of "Light My Candle" from "Rent," and Scott and Anna have done nothing as they are still locked in the dressing room.
But they finally emerge. And take the stage. And proceed to strum and sing and enchant. Scott has had a list submitted to him of songs that various parties would like for him to learn on the guitar so he may accompany them at the next Ghost Light After Party. If you want to sing to guitar accompaniment, he's your man.
Anna then performs something in French. Cause why not. Further enchantment.
Brittany Simmons and the rest of the "Hearts Online" cast arrive. Brittany wails out a song from the show- accompanied by composer Paul Bartsch.
Joe Inscoe arrives. Everyone's heart flutters.
And that's really all I remember about this serving of the Ghost Light After Party because really, after I got to sing "Lily's Eyes" in my staunchest baritone with Simba, I was a little distracted.
See you all at the next event- April 1!
