Sing to Me!

Ok, I’m about to become very unpopular. As I have mentioned recently I don’t go on Facebook much anymore. A big part of that is that I have to scroll through 20 ads before I even see anything posted from someone I know, and even then, their post is 3 days old, but I digress. At any rate, I was scrolling through my feed the other night, and I came across 3 friends almost one right after the other who had posted the duet of Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors sung by the cast in the most recent production at The Pasadena Playhouse. Now, let me start by saying that I love Little Shop. I have seen at least 4 different productions, and both of my daughters have played Audrey, and all I have to do is hear the beginning strains of Somewhere That’s Green, and I will tear up. Each production was different, and for the most part I enjoyed them all. This is not a commentary on Little Shop. This is a commentary on Musical theatre singing in general. Let me say here that this is an opinion, my opinion, because this is my blog. You may disagree with me. In fact, I’m sure the majority of you will, and that’s fine, but don’t read anything into this that is not there. I am no stranger to Musical Theatre. I have been singing since I was 3, and I did my first professional musical at the age of 10. Over the last 46 years I have been in the chorus or featured in 22 musicals, and I have seen countless others, not bad statistics for research. I do not understand the obsession over vocal power. Now here’s the part where everyone starts hating on me. I pulled up the recording of Suddenly Seymour as everyone was commenting how amazing it was. I listened. I didn’t like it. There I said it. ANNOUNCEMENT: Please do not accuse me of not liking the duet because Audrey is being played by a transgender actor! I did not even know that when I listened to the recording!!! And this opinion has nothing to do with that! What I did not like was all the belting and riffing. Now, they are not the first cast to sing the duet like that. In fact, most do try to belt their faces off. I am also not opposed to belting a song. There are certain songs that need to be belted, When You’re Good to Mama and All That Jazz from Chicago, Everything’s Coming Up Roses from Gypsy, Poor Unfortunate Souls from The Little Mermaid and lots of others. I, myself, can belt. My first high school show was Godspell, and my father said I got the role singing Turn Back, O Man because I “blew the doors off of the back of the auditorium.” People with a good belt are impressive, it’s true, but just because you can belt doesn’t mean you should on every song you sing. Riffing is a blog entry all on its own. Short and Sweet: I’m not a fan, and it’s way over used! Back when I was auditioning for Godspell in 1978, there were no body mics. We had to project and belt to be heard at the back of the theater or the top of the balcony, but today we have this cool stuff called technology and you can whisper on stage and the cheap seats can hear you because everything that’s heard by the audience is coming through a speaker. This technology has been a great help to the actor and I’m sure saved countless voices. Yes, even with body mics, there are still songs that need to be belted, but only if the song or character suits that style. No, I do not want to hear Feed Me from Little Shop in a lyric tenor voice, but so many songs now become screaming matches between the actors. We get it, you can sing loud. You have power, but let me use the Suddenly Seymour duet as an example. Audrey is broken and sad. Life has beaten her down. That song can grow in power as she realizes that Seymour gives her the respect she deserves. She can be someone with Seymour. The song can end powerfully, but power doesn’t have to come from a belt. Too many times I just feel like the actors are yelling at me, and I just want to turn it off. I have been listening to Michael Caine read his book Blow the Bloody Doors Off. He talks about when he first got into film after being a stage actor for many years and projecting so the balcony could hear him that he had to retrain himself to act for the camera. I experienced the same thing when I was shooting my one and only film, and I was so frustrated because I was used to being loud and booming, but there was no need when the camera is 6 inches from your face, and a boom mic is literally right above your head. Remember that thing called technology? By the end of the 2-week filming I began to appreciate the camera because I could embrace nuance and subtlety. That’s’ what I miss with listening to musical theatre stars of today. Where is the nuance, where are the subtle, almost breathless tones sometimes? I want to see that in singing as well as dialogue. Stop yelling at me! Sing to me. Emote the song. It can be much more powerful than just being loud. When you whisper, you draw people in. Make the song about the song, not about how loud it can be! Rant over!

And Flights of Angels

I said goodbye to a friend today. I first knew Sherry Jeffords Brandmahl as the "cool older girl" in our folk group. We were both raised in the same church, Westhampton United Methodist. Sherry's mother, Beth Jeffords, was my very first choir director, Cherub Choir, I was 3. You had to be in Middle School to be in the folk group, and I was thrilled when I got to sing with the "big kids." I remember thinking how pretty Sherry was, long blond hair and these huge dark eyes and a voice like an angel. Sherry was older than me, so I didn't really hang around with her. I was too little. I did not know at the time, but years later we would meet again and embark on a journey filled with lots of highs and a few lows but a great friendship. I met up with Sherry again in my 20's. We were, again, attending the same church, Discovery United Methodist Church. My husband at the time was the music director, and Sherry was in the choir. The church had 3 services back to back. I always felt like the 8:30 service got cheated on music, so I started a group called "The 8:30 Girls." It was a quartet. I was singing Soprano along with another friend, Janet, and two ladies needed to sing the lower alto parts. I knew I wanted to ask Sherry. She was always a great alto. She agreed, and the group was formed, Me, Janet, Debbie and Sherry. We started practicing, and soon we had quite a repertoire. One Sunday came, and "The 8:30 Girls" were singing at an outdoor service. It was a bright, sunny morning, and all of us wore sunglasses. From that morning on we were known as Shades of Faith. Something special happens when you sing with a group of people. You are creating a sound together. We had rehearsals sometimes where we laughed more than we sang. I loved those days! I was lucky enough to be in two groups with Sherry. In addition to Shades, we were both in a group called Messenger. My Ex was the lead singer, Sherry's brother, Billy, played drums, our associate pastor, Dan, played keyboards and guitar, and 3 ladies sang tight, back-up harmony. Sherry was, you guessed it, our alto. If there was ever a group that could have gone somewhere, it was Messenger. As it often does, life had other plans. At the height of Messenger's journey my husband left me and the church, and just like that, it was over. That brings me to one of my favorite memories of Sherry. My marriage didn't break up in the most amicable way. I came home to an empty house, and I was reeling. I called Dan, and he called Sherry and Bill to come to church so we could break the news. Sherry and Bill came right over. They were right there for me, and Sherry continued to be there for me. She helped me through some of the toughest years of my life. We had long talks. I always knew she was on my side. The last time I saw Sherry was a couple of years ago. She had come with her parents and sister to see a show I was in. I saw them after the show, and Sherry hadn't changed a bit, just as beautiful as ever. Cancer took Sherry away from us last Friday, and today I attended her Standing Room Only funeral. Obviously Sherry touched many lives besides mine. I listened as a good friend of ours, Sandra Bottoms, led a beautiful service. I listened to our dear friend, Donald Coles, sing a song Sherry requested when she knew her path was taking its final turn. It was a comforting song. Just like Sherry to try to comfort me even in her passing. Good bye, sweet friend.

Savage Taxidermy in Onancock

I became a single working mother, quite unexpectedly, when my youngest was 2 years old. Needless to say, because of work schedules and re-entering the work force in a brand new job, I didn't have a lot of vacation time. Later when I started working for the school system, I had my summers off, but that left no personal time during the school year to do parent things like being room mother, or yearbook coordinator or chaperoning field trips. 14 years have gone by since then, and I have earned enough vacation time that I was able to take a day this past weekend to chaperon a school trip for my daughter. The last time I chaperoned anything for her was 2nd grade and their field trip to the theatre. I have written about my baby before, and most of you know she is a singer. Music is extremely important in her life. She is a member of her school's Honors Choir and she is also a member of their Beauty Shop quartet. For those who don't know, Beauty Shop is the female counterpart to Barber Shop. This is her second year participating in that group. She auditioned as a freshman and got the baritone voice part. This year she auditioned and was switched to lead. She is also the only one of all 8 singers, men and women, who is returning for the 2012/2013 school year. All the others were seniors this past year and have graduated. All of this meant that both groups were brand new. As the veteran, my daughter asked if I would chaperon. I said yes, and last Thursday we all embarked on our voyage to Salisbury, MD to Harmony College for 3 days of BARBERSHOP! Harmony College is a program that is sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Barbershop Harmony Society and brings High School and College quartets from around the country together for their Youth in Harmony program. The weekend is definitely about singing but so much more. The students have the chance to bond with each other in dorm living and spend 3 days pretty much functioning as a unit. There is very little time to do anything else but attend classes, coaching sessions, and practicing what they've learned to use for their performance on Saturday night.
 The drive took about 5 hours with tunnel traffic, and there were 5 of us ladies in a Toyota Camry. Thank God my brother-in-law let me borrow his car because mine is a Yaris. The girls quartet was formed 3 weeks ago. In 3 weeks, along with final exams, they had to learn a song in barbershop harmony [which, let me tell you, is not easy, my friends], teach 4 new voices to blend together, shop for outfits and shoes, and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Our route to Maryland was via Route 13 through the Eastern Shore. Not really a mecca of activity. The drive was dotted with Walmarts and Antique Stores and the ever popular Savage Taxidermy in Onancock, VA. We all got a giggle out of that one. We finally arrived around 10PM and got our keys and headed to our dorms. I was rooming with the mom chaperoning the boys, and we ended up talking until 1 AM, not the brightest idea, since we had to be up at 6AM, but we became fast friends, or as my daughter called us, "besties". I attended a few of the coaching sessions with the girls, and I watched as each one of the girls came into their own. By the time they performed on Saturday night they embodied their name, Perfect Fit. I was so proud. The boys were amazing as well and we rocked the house! I was so thrilled to be able to share that experience with my daughter! We left for home on Sunday a different group than we had started. 4 girls and guys who knew each other before are now friends, and I have 7 new children! I can't wait to see what the year holds for them!

SING OUT, Louise!

Music has always been an important part of my life. I grew up surrounded by music. Both of my grandparents sang in the church choir, and I cannot ever remember a time that I have not sung. From age 3, I started in our church's cherub choir. My grandfather taught me all of the songs from The Sound of Music before I ever began school, and I sang my first solo, Away in a Manger, as a kindergarten student at St. Catherine's. I love music, and I love singing, and luckily, I have been told I have a talent for it. This statement must be true because I have actually been paid to sing on several occasions. The point is, music, and specifically singing is a huge part of me. All parents secretly hope that their children will like what they like, follow in their footsteps, so to speak. When my children were very small I wondered if they would possess this same talent and love for singing. Their father is also a very talented singer, and I imagined how awful it would be if they were not good at singing. All their lives they would be asked, "Can you sing like your mom or your dad?" and they would have to answer, "No" Fortunately both of them can answer that question in the affirmative. They both love to sing, and they CAN. My youngest, however, has a passion for it that one rarely sees in someone her age. In the words of her older sister, "She sings like an angel." I have blogged about her voice before when she had the opportunity to sing O Holy Night at the Christmas Eve service this past December. She has an amazing ear, and can pick up harmony in a snap. I had to know she was going to be a passionate singer because when she was very little, just shy of 3, and just starting to go to the bathroom on her own, I could hear her in there singing, never a recognizable song, just something she made up. To the delight of everyone whose heard her, she decided to expand her venue beyond the bathroom. As a 4th grader she was asked to sing at the dedication of her school's auditorium, she had two major roles in musicals before she ever left elementary school, and as a freshman in high school earned the highest score in the District as a second soprano. As she began high school this past year, she only wanted two things, to make the honors group in the school, Madrigals and to make the school's female Barbershop group, Beauty Shop. She accomplished both, and that's pretty rare for a Freshman to do. She is off on her first adventure today to attend Harmony College, a Mid-Atlantic conference for 4 days that brings together all things Barber Shop, with her other three Beauty Shop members. She will perform for the first time with the group on Saturday, and I wish I could be there, but I know that she will have an amazing time and I can't wait to see what other doors open for her. So "Sing out, Louise! Mama's rootin' for ya!"