Dutchess Divas A Success

On Friday April 24th, Half Moon Theatre presented “Dutchess Divas”, their first fundraiser, at the Dutchess Golf Club in Poughkeepsie. I am proud and honored to say that I was one of the Divas.

I was asked a long time ago to participate and was super excited but when the time closed in I was told that we had to keep the show around 50 minutes and there may not be as much time as they had thought and I might not have a solo. This performance was to showcase local professional talent and while I have been paid to sing professionally, I do not put myself in the same category as most of the women I was on stage with.

Staying positive, I asked my cousin Jennifer Hughes, a Broadway performer, to help me pick out a few things so that I could present my ideas to the director, Michael Schiralli. She gave me a great list with many songs I wasn’t familiar with. Well, my cousin has amazing insight because Michael had a couple of the songs on his list for me as well – which shows his insight as well because he had never heard me sing a note!

I met with Donald Sosin, the Musical Director, at Molly Katz’s house and practiced “Murder, He Said” for the first time having only become familiar with it through a Betty Hutton performance I found on YouTube.

I got positive feedback and it was looking promising that I would be able to solo in the show.

Over Easter weekend, I was in Baltimore with my family for my mother’s birthday and saw an email from Molly (via my crackberry) with the rehearsal schedule for the coming week. Not only did I have a solo, I was slated to sing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” with 2 other women and the 2 group numbers – “Big Spender” (a shout out to doners) and “Dream Girls” (adjusted as the intro and reprise for the show “We’re your Divas, Divas of Dutchess County”).

I was really nervous because I have always been passionate about singing and performing but have never dipped my toe all the way into the “professional singer” pool and was among the best of the best in the local Hudson Valley (and in lots of other places too I might add). At one point “Boogie Woogie” was in jeopardy of being cut because the rehearsal schedule was so tight but Courtenay Budd Caramico, Susan O’Dea and I worked hard to ensure that would not happen and it was worth it!

During the rehearsal process I got to know Donald Sosin and Michael Schiralli best because I worked most closely with them. Donald is an amazing pianist and musician. He can speed read music on first sight, transpose in his head and can play the perfect song back as the answer to any comment or question. It doesn’t surprise me that his credits are so vast and include Broadway (“The First”, “Annie”, “Evita”, “A Day in Hollywood”, “Candide”).

Michael blew me away. I had rehearsed my solo number extensively by myself because Donald and Michael live a fair distance away and so our rehearsals with them were minimal. In about 45 minutes, Michael gave me exact direction that helped me take the song from good to a comic belting masterpiece. I received so much positive feedback – a couple of people in the audience even whispered that I was their favorite – and it was Michael’s direction that helped me get it to that level. I am not surprised to note in his bio that he has worked with Kristin Chenowith, Mary Testa and Michael Starobin, Jackie Hoffman and Varla Jean Merman.

While preparing for “Boogie Woogie”, I got to work with Susan O’Dea and Courtenay Budd Caramico a lot. Susan’s professionalism amazed me – while Courtenay and I were still learning the song she had it memorized cold. This will help her greatly as she begins working in NYC. Courtenay was so fun and spunky and her operatic voice blows me away, controlled and beautiful. I so enjoyed working with them both on that number and we got rave reviews – We even remembered all the words and choreography for the performance (that may have been the first time!).

Because I was in the group numbers, I really got to work with everyone in the show and feel like I made some fun new Diva friends. I would work with anyone in the show again. All the ladies are fun, talented and professional.

Maria Hickey is a local legend and her reputation is deserved. She is sweet, funny and has a beautiful voice. She has worked extensively with County Players and Trinity Players and can be seen wherever the Michael Dell Orchestra is playing.

My very good friend Molly Katz never ceases to amaze me. She is a mom, the Producing Director of HMT and a Diva in her own right. She has performed on Broadway, at the Kennedy Center and on the small and big screen. The Dutchess Divas was her vision and it was so much more than I could ever have imagined it. Plus, this was the first time I had ever heard her “really” sing and I was blown away. Amazing. Love her!

Barbara Rankin did the first number after the Dutchess Divas opening and she was so funny and good. I didn’t get to work with her too much but can tell from our brief interaction that she is a class act and a lot of fun!

Shona Tucker is a fairly new addition to the Vassar College staff and she has one of those amazing voices that you rarely get to hear in person. Her rendition of “Route 66” was so filled with soul and fun – I really enjoyed it every time I heard it in rehearsal and at the performance.

The week of the performance was exciting, stressful and filled with anticipation. I was staying as quiet as possible to save my voice but still had much work to do. As a self-employed business owner I have become “the mouth” for my business and didn’t have the luxury of taking the week off (soon but not yet). I did some training, some presentations, some appraisals and some networking – all in a day’s work.

We rehearsed at Vassar College’s Martell Theater and Cuneen Hackett Theatre in Poughkeepsie and didn’t see the actual space at Dutchess Golf Club until 3pm the day of the performance. That was also the first time we went through the show in order. We were frantically running the words and choreography for “Boogie Woogie” and I was figuring out how to get the upper part of my range back for “Murder, He Said” after singing such a low part. We were practicing entrances and exits, walking on a short and thin catwalk stage and working with our Diva Escorts, George Corso and Ryan Katzer, and the band (Donald Sosin, Ken Lauber, Joe Bouchard, Ivan the trumpet player) for the first time. The lights were also being set and finalized by Sean Fedigan (“Jersey Boys”, “Sweet Charity”, “Little Women”, “Survivor” Season Finale, NFL 75th Anniversary”, “VH1 Hardrock Live”…well this blog entry will be an extra page if I list all of his credits…let’s just say we were very lucky to have him).

Speaking of lucky, Craig Cassidy did our sound design and I’m not sure how but he managed to keep 10 performers and 6 mics straight. I guess his 25 year sound design experience made it possible. What a gift to know that the sound will just work and when we start to sing, people will just hear us. Sound is one of those things you only notice when it doesn’t work and NO one noticed the sound last night.

We finished the run through at about 6 (doors opened at 630) and I ran home to change into an outfit I had purchased earlier that day. I didn’t get a haircut; I didn’t get my nails done but I loved my outfit and that was more important. Hair products and clear nail polish can fix that other stuff!

My mom helped me get ready and made sure my hair looked good from the front and the back (good thing too because she said you could see the back of my hair from the tables at the side of the stage!!) We had a lot of fun getting ready together. I used the new Motives makeup and Royal Spa hair products.

When I got back to the Dutchess Golf Club, I walked in on the red carpet and then walked through the entrance, which had been transformed to this ethereal and beautiful gauzy and softly lit walk, thanks to Megan Ingalls and her amazing eye for beauty and ability to capture any mood. The Divas and I hung out “backstage” in the women’s locker room and ate grapes and drank champagne (very Diva like, if I do say so myself!).

We were called up when Charlie North started the auction and introduced and then did our first number. It went great. I had a solo line and I did it exactly like in rehearsal – no voice cracking or flat notes that can sneak up in a live performance. Then the 3rd song was “Boogie Woogie”, which as I said when great – it was tight, fun and fast paced. And it was over before I knew it! On to the next. I ran back to the locker room so I could do vocal warm ups and get back to the higher range of my voice.

And now waiting – at least the music was good while I waited! – and then before I knew it – MY TURN. Solo time. I did the piece as though it was a conversation with a friend. So I sort of sauntered on stage as though I was walking through a room. I reset the mic (Susan is MUCH taller than I am!) and then began…”Finally found a fella”. The run through was a bit off with the percussion but Donny had assured me not to worry and he was right. We all adjusted to each other and the beat was fine. I even remembered all the words. I was comical. I was belty. I was exactly what the song called for. Yay!

Next was “Big Spender”. Janine Lamanna did the verses and we came in with the chorus. Something happened and we came out late and left Janine alone onstage – not great. But she covered well and the song was a hit. We brought Tim Dowd of North American Partners in Anesthesia up and sang to him as the largest donor of HMT. He was a good sport and it was great.

I got to enjoy the rest of the show until the reprise with the pressure of performance off my shoulders. The final number was sung by Janine Lamanna. She did “Blues in the Night” and what came to mind….Ella Fitzgerald. It doesn’t surprise me that she received the Drama Desk nomination for Gertrude McFuzz in “Seussical”. She has spent lots of time on Broadway in “Sweet Charity”, “Lock of Love”, “Kiss Me Kate”, “Seussical”, “Ragtime” and “Swing”. She has also spent time on Film and TV in “Two Weeks Notice”, “Where in Time is Carmen San Diego” and performed with the New York Philharmonic in “Candide”.

After the show was over we got to spend time with the over 200 people that came for the event. Everyone is hoping it will be an annual event (can Molly’s heart take it??) The amazing thing is that although it was the first of its kind and there are things we can improve on in coming years, it was AWESOME AND AMAZING the first time and blew me away. My expectations were exceeded 10 fold. Laurie Milano, Brooke Fedigan and the committee as well as Kristy Grimes and Molly’s tireless efforts were not in vain. I had so much fun working with everyone on this project and am so glad I was able to make a positive impact on the local community in this way. Thank you Molly, Geoff and HMT for allowing me to have this experience. I can’t wait to do it again!