Life has been something of a three-ring circus for me this week, and I’m happy to have reached Friday without having fallen from the high wire or been trampled by any irritated elephants. In fact, it’s been an incredibly fun and satisfying week, even with a bump or two along the way, and I feel like pausing for a second to reflect on some highlights, in no particular order…
WILLY WONKA TRIUMPHS (& AN OOMPA LOOMPA THROWS UP) . . . Tonight is opening night for the Racine Theater Guild’s spectacular production of the musical “Willy Wonka” and somehow all of the myriad complications (or nearly all) have been resolved…. which in my book qualifies as nothing less than a full-blown miracle. Just a few days ago, it felt like there were little problems in every single scene, punctuated with some very big problems- like characters failing to appear onstage when they needed to be there, important props forgotten, or fog machine nozzles pointed towards the backstage area instead of outward to the stage itself. But Doug Instenes, the director of the production, has this amazing capacity to keep his cool when a lot of other directors would go absolutely berzerk or ballistic or both. Not that he doesn’t know how to express his displeasure when need be- but he has this uncanny way of containing his frustration and maintaining a sense of poise and confidence that all of this is going to come together somehow. And once again it has. The first performances were actually yesterday with a couple of daytime matinees for school kids, and our niece Lorelai was in the audience for one of the shows and LOVED it. And this is someone who has seen some amazing things onstage (like Mary Poppins on Broadway or Finding Nemo at Disney World) so for her to have been so impressed meant a lot. Of course, not all was perfect – and the worst thing was that one of our young Oompa Loompa’s was throwing up backstage and finally had to be sent home. But the show must go on, and it did- to rousing standing ovations. And I predict more of the same as public performances begin tonight. And as much as the audiences will enjoy and appreciate what they’re seeing, it’s only those of us who know how far things have come in the last week who can fully appreciate the magic that will unfold on that stage tonight.
CHRISTMAS, TREMPER STYLE . . . In some ways, the big undertaking of the week that felt the least in doubt to me was the choir concert at Tremper High School Wednesday night, for which I played piano – because director Polly Amborn (my sister-in-law) always does an incredibly fine job of getting her singers ready. But actually this time there were a couple of curves thrown. Because the concert fell during the same week as final rehearsals for the Carthage Christmas Festival, my availability for a dress rehearsal was sharply curtailed, and it had to be shorter than normal. And then there was some sort of communication miscue the night of the concert which essentially put all of the final warm ups and last minute run through’s behind schedule by ten minutes. In a more typical scenario, with choirs just barely prepared, that could have perhaps spelled disaster, but in this case it just made things a little more interesting. As it so happens, each and every choir came through with wonderful performances – including her top choir’s truly lovely rendition of my song “Pace,” which is one of the next pieces I want to send out to would-be publishers. And the evening was yet another reminder for all concerned that when you work hard- I mean really hard- that’s what allows you then to truly enjoy performing a concert. But when there’s been a bit too much messing around, then the concert is sure to be a tense affair where you’re constantly perched on the precipice, one serious misstep away from catastrophe. The choir kids at Tremper are so fortunate to have only experienced the former and never the latter. They are in such loving and capable hands.
SING YE HEAVENS – TELL THE STORY . . . Tonight, while Willy and Charlie are flying and the Oompa Loompa’s are charming the socks off of the RTG opening night audience, I will be here at Carthage for the first of three performances of the Carthage Christmas Festival. It really is an amazing thing to see this presentation take shape over the course of this week. The first mass rehearsal on Monday is totally devoid of music, so all of the focus can be on traffic- sorting out who has to be where and when they have to be there. It’s such a good idea to begin the week that way, but it also feels so incredibly odd to spend all that time in Siebert and not sing or play a note of music. At Tuesday’s rehearsal we reinforce the entrances, exits and traffic patterns – but each choir gets to at least start a piece or two, so there is this tantalizing reminder of why we’re there. Wednesday, at long last, each group gets to sing or play its music in its entirety – and it feels SO good! But because there is so much to think about, there are things that go wrong – which is why it’s always such a relief to know that there is still Thursday to try and achieve something close to perfection. It all unfolds so nicely- like a crescendo- and when we suddenly have an audience of more than a thousand people there, that’s when it becomes truly thrilling. My hat goes off to Dr. Peter Dennee, chair of the music department, for shepherding all of us through this week with such gracious- ness.
I have so appreciated the chance to be more a part of the Festival than I have been in recent years. I am back conducting the Lincoln Chamber Singers (at least for this year) and they are doing a truly lovely job with three carols I’ve arranged for them. And much to my delight, “Great and Glorious Light” is being performed by the Carthage Choir- and I cannot get over how much precious rehearsal time conductor Eduardo Garcia-Novelli has lavished on the piece, to give the choir’s performance of it so much more nuance and polish. As the composer I could not ask for more. And by the way, in a week full of lovely moments, perhaps my favorite moment happened just now when two members of the band stopped me in the hall to tell me how much they like Great and Glorious Light. I may be a crusty 51-year-old, but those words of affirmation still mean the world to me…. and when a piece of choral music moves a couple of tough band guys, you’ve done something right!
Bumps along the way? You bet. I especially regret that my wife threw out her back early in the week while moving a table at school – and I was truly frightened that if it proved to be serious, I would find it all but impossible in the midst of this wild three-ring circus to be any kind of helpmate for her. But fortunately she recovered amazingly well and seems to be going full-steam ahead. So I’m feeling grateful for all kinds of things tonight…. but maybe most grateful for all the reminders I’ve been given this week of the seemingly impossible becoming possible somehow.
pictured above: A moment from the Christmas Festival dress rehearsal.