Einstein and the Roosevelts

Well, a lot has happened since summer theatre.  The girl stayed busy working several jobs over the summer in between her lead role in Footloose and her dancing/singing role in Singing in the Rain, including several types of paid work: 

Head writer, artisitic director, actress in a film, housekeeper (my mom did the same thing her last year in high school in the same town-circa 1929-30), alterations, petsitting.  The petsitting was especially grueling as she rode her bike about 9 miles sometimes twice a day to the country to feed a horse, 2 dogs and a few cats and a bit of plant watering thrown in.  Throw an occasional babysitting gig in here and there and she was able to build up a bankroll for her move to New York. 

It was fortuitous and timely that DePauw alumni and Broadway team Gretchen Cryer and Nancy Ford decided to bring their new musical Einstein and the Roosevelts to Greencastle to test it out.  What a wonderful place to show off their work.  The fact that the newly renovated facility had not produced a musical during the girl’s senior year due to the disruption of tearing down and rebuilding the east wing of the building was kind of sad.  That was offset with the fact that it hosted a new musical to the scene and gave sissy a good reason to stay and save some money.  Of course, the best part is that these two ladies got their start right on the same stage back in the 50’s.

The play. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that much from this show.  I assumed that it would be a work in progress.  Well, it has been a work in progress over a period of about 20 years.  I was pleasantly surprised as to how put together the show was.  I literally smiled from ear to ear during all five of the productions.    After the first show, I went home and researched the historical characters as it had been awhile since I even thought about them.  Gretchen did a fantastic job of weaving the story together and pulling quotes from historical documents and scholarly reviews of the time.  As to Nancy’s music, I find myself humming the tunes to several of the songs, even weeks later.  Gretchen said the next step is to get the show produced on a legitimate stage.  It has great potential for success and longevity, in my opinion.

Britters developed the role of Lucille Mercer, secretary to Eleanor and purported lover and/or at least life long friend to Franklin.  Friends with benefits, for you younguns. (What rhymes with benefits?  I need to add that to my work in progress, Lucy’s Song.  More on that later.) Andrew, the director, took a very difficult to pull together show and made it run seamlessly.  There is so much packed into the show and the pacing was just right.  He always does a great job casting and setting the tone for a show.  It is never difficult to find great singers for shows at DePauw since they have such a great classical training for opera department.  But Andrew found singers who can act, which is not always all that easy.  The chorus was extremely deep in talent and each one had a fun part to show off and they did. 

My girl has a presence on stage that draws eyes to her.  It ain’t just mom watching.  President Casey said she was “captivating” . Other comments came from her choir teacher who told her her singing was beautiful.  He and she have had a love/hate relationship over the past couple of years, so for him to call her up to tell her that, really meant a lot to her.  He went on to compliment her on how she had developed the bridge between the great high voice and great low voice that he always recognized.  Well, Gabe, that is what the music lessons at your fine school was for, that and maturing vocal chords.  My kiddo has never been known to peak too early.  She works and works and works for what she wants.  As a freshman in high school, her voice was so soft, one could hardly hear her at contest time, earning her silver.  The next three years, she earned the honor of All State Choir.  One thing about Britters, she is coachable.  The nicest comment came from one mom (of Jon Cryer, star of Two and a Half Men ie, Gretchen) to another, ie moi.  When I introduced myself to her, she perked up said I had a “good girl there”.  Yup yup, I sure do.