One of the perks of working is that I spend 25 minutes each morning and each evening alone in my car. So that means I can listen to MY music instead of Green Day, Barney, or whatever movie the kids want to watch on the VCR. I know, I know... when I was home all day, I had access to a radio... the problem with that is that I was constantly changing rooms, and it's aggravating to be trying to listen to music and it be too far away. And besides, I would have to stop it to watch Regis and Kelly, All My Children , and Oprah, anyway.
So I'm driving in my car yesterday morning, and I was in the mood for singing. Not "Country" singing or "Rock" singing... REAL singing. "Show Tune" singing!!
So I thumb through my CD holder while dodging oncoming traffic, and I finally find Chorus Line! I haven't listened to it in months! Perfect! So I pop it in the player...I didn't get past "5...6...7..8!" before I began sobbing...
I got hit with a flood of memories so hard it felt like a wall fell on me.My mother, who passed away in '93, was the biggest creative influence in my life. She introduced me to theater, sewing, creating crafty things with my hands, music, dance... and I am immensely greatful to her for it. When I was probably around 8 or 9, and we lived in Puerto Rico, she used to take us (Janis and I) into San Juan once a year with my friend Michelle (who took ballet with me) and her mother. We would go see "The Nutcracker" and then we would go out for desserts afterwards. I always got chocolate mousse. Our favorite part then was when Mrs. Gingerbread would come out on stage with all the little kids under her hoop skirt. ("She" - because I can assure you it was a man under that make-up - was on stilts and in a HUGE dress). It was fun to see kids our own age up on that big stage.
She took me to see countless plays over the years, including Chorus Line. When I was a teenager, she found out from a friend, Mrs. Shea, that the Fox (here in Atlanta) took volunteers as ushers for their performances, and so we would volunteer and get to see the plays for free. I saw Tyne Daily in Gypsy that way. She entered the theater from the back during the opening scene, and she actually came and sat about three seats from where I was standing while she was waiting to enter. I also saw Phantom that way. I will never forget it.
But of all the plays we saw, I think Chorus Line was my mom's favorite. She used to tease us because we would play the CD over and over in the car, and she told us we only did it because it allowed us to cuss in front of her (plenty of foul language going on in that play! LOL!). But that wasn't it... I truly loved listening to it and singing to it. And I told myself that one day, I was going to be in it.
I still tell myself that. I'm 33 with three kids, but my life is no where near over. And as my mother used to say, you can tell when a performer is singing a song they can relate to, and it looks stupid when you have an 18 year old who hasn't experienced life yet singing a song meant for a 40 year old. Well, there is already a lot about that play and the music that I can relate to. Put 7 more years on me, and I know that there will be a lot more. I am no where near done with my theater life yet... I may have taken a break for my family, but there's still lot of performing to do. "Give me somebody to dance for!"
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