I'd heard awhile back that Cheryl was going to be putting on a production of Guys and Dolls for the Snowline Players, and so was semi-prepared when the auditions were announced. I'm specifically saying that I was semi-prepared because as has been happening, I'm auditioning for plays that I'd never heard of before. I'm really beginning to realize what an advantage people have when trying out for roles they're familiar with. It just makes sense. If you are the sort of person who really enjoys theater and musicals there's a good chance that you'll have grown up in their influence. When a play comes along, chances are you've already got the soundtrack on your iPod and have posters of the Broadway production tacked to your wall at home.
Not the case with me. Not by a long shot. Sure, I'm mostly familiar with the NAMES of the plays that we're doing, but that's about as far as it goes. As for actually knowing the plot and storyline, that's another thing altogether. Recognizing the major characters? No. Hasn't happened once. Sure, Pirates of Penzance was something that I could have done in my sleep. But that's going to be the exception for me I'm afraid. Unless there is a sudden great call for Shakespeare to be performed in the High Desert, I'm going to have to content myself with doing research online with YouTube to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.
Not a great solution, but so far it's been working pretty well.
Getting back to Guys and Dolls, I saw the movie online and was ready to go. Yeah, I'd known the showstopping number "Luck Be A Lady", but only enough to hate it. It knew it was Sinatra, which alone should have banished it to the depths of musak. Sinatra doesn't do it for me. Ever. Happily, it appears that Sinatra's rendition of the song came out after the Broadway production so his insipid voice isn't singing the song. I suddenly got more interested in the play than I'd planned.
Lots of singing and dancing later, and I landed the role of Harry the Horse. Hey, I'm happy. This means that I get some stage time and will probably be back stage moving set pieces around during the numbers. It keeps me busy, and that's what I like most of all.
