Musical Autumn

I can't even tell you how happy it makes me to be back in the swing of Marlena's musical life this autumn. Here she is with her Allegro Voice Company, part of the pre-professional division at her arts center. This is her first year with the group, and I love hearing about the talented, fun kids she's meeting there. It's at the same arts school where she takes tap and ballet.

We were all sad when her community theater group imploded, and she decided to not audition for any shows this fall. She is stage managing her school play, and having a fantastic time with that. We've also attended a few shows, and been really into musical theater soundtracks lately. I will admit that on our evening walks, she usually sings at least one Broadway number, sometimes with choreography. I'm sure our neighbors think we are insane, but it's harmless fun.

A couple weeks ago, we saw the musical Heathers with our longtime family friends. The photo above is the Broadway cast, but the community production we saw was fantastic! It was one of the first regional productions of the show, with a tiny budget, but featured fantastic singing actors. Even the ensemble was completely tight. The musical version was a bit less dark than the movie, although still not appropriate for 8th graders, but we all enjoyed it a lot. My girlfriend and I laughingly gave ourselves Bad Parent awards for this choice.

Then last week, we went with the same friends to see a high school production of Shrek The Musical. Marlena's Allegro friend played Fiona, and she did a fantastic job. It was the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the community theater we're used to. I cannot imagine the budget for this production: the costumes looked like the Broadway costumes, and every set change made my jaw drop. It actually made me really sad for the state of the arts budget at our public school.

And lastly, I am now completely addicted to the Hamilton soundtrack. Have you heard it? Wow, it's amazing! I won't even try to describe it, but I will share the review that led me to first listen to the soundtrack: Jamie Lee Curtis Hamilton review. Seriously, it's on Spotify - listen to at least the first seven numbers (through Jonathan Groff's brilliant King George number) and tell me what you think!