The day I’m posting this (November 25th) is the 11th birthday of my lovely niece Lorelai. In honor of that occasion, I thought it would be fun to share this fun moment from my 2013 faculty voice recital – when Lorelai took the stage to begin the second half of the program with “Popular” from Wicked. It was a complete surprise to her parents and to the audience as well.
By the way, there’s a moment early in the song when the audience really breaks out in laughter- and it’s because Lorelai (as Glinda) has just sung to me (as Elpheba) that if I accept her help, I’ll become popular …. “It’s all about popular. I’ll teach you the proper ploys when you talk to boys….Little ways to flirt and flounce …. I’ll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix you hair- everything that really counts to be popular.” It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how ‘interesting’ those words sounded in this context, with my niece singing them to me- and I broke out in a big grin- and the audience howled with laughter- which I think left Lorelai wondering what was so funny. You’ll hear me then say good-naturedly to her over the laughter “keep going” – which got people laughing even harder. Anyway, she showed great poise – and you can tell from the ovation afterwards what a huge hit she was.
After that, I sang a duet with my father-in-law/Kathy’s dad/Lorelai’s grandpa, Bob Gall. He and I don’t get to sing duets together all that often, and each and every opportunity I have to do so is a very special treat for me. Enjoy!
(The photo at the top, by the way, is from a long long time ago – but it certainly captures Lorelai’s love of life. She’s pictured with her beloved Aunt Linda.)