Hannukah Came to Chelm!

My musical, 'Hanukkah in Chelm,' finally premiered at the Peretz Centre in Vancouver on Sunday. There were roughly 265 people in the audience - and they were not all my friends! They laughed, they applauded - and I'd have been surprised if they hadn't, because the cast was amazing. A truly talented group. The dancing was Broadway calibre - thanks to both the choreographers and the dancers - there was some pretty perfect comic timing, and I'm sure the audience won't forget the songs in a hurry. The kids, of course, stole the show. They were very good at rehearsals, but on The Big Day they shone, they sparkled, they lit up the stage. The directors (one of whom is my brilliant husband) did a perfect job and the stage manager was the best I've worked with, and I've worked with a lot of stage managers. And this one is only 19 - well, she'll be 20 in about three weeks, but still ...
I hope we can do it again next year - perhaps with some new songs added.
And now it's all over for this year I have no excuses to avoid all the unfinished manuscripts lying around my office - not to mention the boxes of stories in my garage!
What? You mean a garage is for cars? Don't be silly.

Butterflies (or some other unidentifiable fluttery object) in my tum. 'Hanukkah in Chelm' is almost here.

The set looks amazing, thanks to my husband and his contacts. HANUKKAH IN CHELM is almost ready! I'm singing my song in my sleep - and so is Tom! And he doesn't even sing. One of the actors, Joyce, says she sings everyone else's songs, including mine, and I too find that I'm singing her song as I walk down the street. Once you start rehearsing songs it's difficult to leave them during your daily life. Only about three more rehearsals and it's a SHOW! There's also a gala event at the producer's house and I still don't know how we'll all cram into her basement rehearsal room to do an abbreviated version of the show. I've been trying to write another song for next year, but having no luck. If I relax it will come to me.
Relax ... relax ....

Show MUST go on!

There's still no business like show business. However, there's also good news and bad news - isn't that usually the case? Bad news: Hanukkah in Chelm won't be staged at Waterfront Theatre this year after all. We hope to mount it there next year. Good news: Hanukkah in Chelm WILL be performed at The Peretz Centre on November 28th at 2pm. Tomorrow MY song gets tweaked and then choreographed. Oh yes, I don't just stand there and belt it out like Ethel Merman and hope the drinking glasses don't break. I do that, of course, but so much more. The kids are all great, we adults are catching up, and the set is almost ready. I needed a stick broom for one of the actors, and of course Halloween was the perfect time to find one. I also found some character shoes that actually fit without pinching my toes. I needed them for the part where I pretend to tap dance.
See you there? I hope so.
Writers - I hope you are hard at work scribbling dialogue exercises. Find a friend to read them out loud with.
Cheers.