Catching up

I've been absent too long--and I thank those kind folks who wrote to inquire after my health.

Given the economic times we are in, I am not going to complain about an abundance of work. Rather, I'll just say that it is that abundance which has kept me from here. I'm doing a lot of writing these days and have spent what little free time I've had with family.

But a couple of random theater things I would have loved to work up into full blog entries (and maybe still will--but no promises):

• My favorite number in Fiddler on the Roof remains "Do You Love Me?". While the plot seems to revolve around the daughters and their marriages, it is the love story of Golde and Tevye that has always struck me as the central story. Perhaps it is because there are relatively few musicals that focus on longstanding, solid marriages. When I was in high school, someone asked me to define what I thought marital love would be. I referred to the song "Do You Love Me?" My friend took that to mean that I thought doing dishes and housework for someone was true love (in which case Richard would have reason to worry!). But that wasn't it. To me, the song captured the ideal that a couple doesn't "feel" in love, they choose to learn to love. Then they stick with it for the rest of their lives, experiencing the ups and downs together regardless of how they might feel at any given moment. When you choose to love, the next step is choosing to be happy. Both are an incredibly freeing thing--to realize that you have the choice and it isn't simply happenstance or coincidence.
• Seeing "The Glass Menagerie" on Mother's Day was a real treat. I loved the subtleties in this production.
• Dominic is in "The Rothschilds" at Riverwalk. It's not a musical I'd heard of before this year, but I've been having fun singing the songs with Dom at home. They're really quite catchy. I've also been impressed with Jane Falion and her ability to stay calm while surrounded by a huge cast.
• I can't wait to see "Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet" again--this time from the audience. It is one of my favorite scripts of all time.
• I had some fun interviews over the past week with three women who were from Lansing but who are now all three performing in various Broadway shows in New York. I'll post a link to that article when it runs.
  
• For those who have asked--yes, there will be Thespie Awards this year. We're waiting until after everything in the regular season has opened.

See you at the theater!