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 She
told me to tell the director that since
the director didn’t want me to do MM,
then, as my husband also said, “Just
do it as you.”
So, I went to my first rehearsal with my next leading
man and even came a little early, did a monologue for
her as me doing Maggie and she said, “Wonderful!”
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So, I think, She didn’t want Marilyn Monroe--one of my
very best friends and my husband says I am Marilyn
Monroe in my personality make-up--I come to rehearsal
and I am me and she now ends up with what she didn’t
want...Marilyn Monroe. I know I am missing something
here but I am accepting it.
Rehearsals
were exhausting and gratifying at the same time. I got
to record “Love Me or Leave Me.” Wow!! What a great
number. It’s from a heavy duty
DORIS DAY/JAMES CAGNEY flick
titled the same name and was a huge hit in the fifties
where this takes place. As I mentioned our director knew
what she wanted and after recording it the first time,
her comment was “Too much piano” and I redid the
whole thing.
Listen
to Annie Singing, “Love Me or Leave Me:”
So,
my life during this time was trying to please our
director
ANNE KRAFT. The
original Maggie played by
BARBRA LODEN must
have tried the same thing, she ended up marrying the
director--ELIA KAZEN--and
gave him two babies. I mean that is really trying to
please. Well, that’s not gonna happen here but you get
the picture. This role wears you down and you want so
hard to fulfill the directors’s vision. I started
looking towards her for her “nod of approval” and
when she gave it...I felt so gratified!! What can I tell
you?
| Dear Annie,
Thank you for your fabulous participation in AFTER THE FALL. Your dedication to not only the project, but to your role, was amazing and the results were, I hope, fulfilling for you. A role like this doesn't come along every day for an actress with your talent. The audience reaction to your performance was justifiably amazed...you wowed
'em!
On a personal level, I enjoyed working with you and appreciated your willingness to trust me. I do hope there will be other opportunities in the future!
Fondly,
Anne
|
THE
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY went
on strike just before the opening of MUSIC
MAN. Luckily during that unexpected six month
break I was invited to do TURANDOT
with THE
ORLANDO OPERA.
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Dancing
the Temptress Dance around Carlos.
(I'm the one on the left--the only way I knew it
was me
was because the elastic of my ballet slippers
crisscrossed in front.)
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It
was their big 50th, and it was HUGE...two hundred in the cast. When Act 1
- Scene 1 opens it looked like the ancient city of Shanghai come to life.
How would I know Act 1 - Scene 1 looked like that? B-e-c-a-u-s-e my big
dance number wasn’t until Act Three.
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You
know when they say "Life is short...Opera is
long" it never had a truer meaning then being
backstage thru two acts with two intermissions.... If I
warmed up before curtain...I had to warm-up all over
again because we went on so much later. So I started
timing it...and I got pretty good at it.
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Since
I couldn’t go out and watch anymore...I waited to hear
"Places" and since I didn’t have any place to go...I ambled
over to make-up ....it takes awhile to make someone look oriental when
that is not their true calling. Then
came the first intermission.
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When
everyone but the dancers went onstage for Act 2, I leisurely
preceded to hair and that took quite awhile because as you can see that’s
a lot of hair...with a flower in the center placed on top of my head and
it had to balanced perfectly for the dance...and since my wardrobe
consisted of a nude leotard and a pair of pink ballet slippers with a gold
see thru gauze robe over it...I leisurely put the gold robe on during the
intermission of Act 2 ...then warmed up a bit and FINALLY made it out
there....so stage fright never entered into the picture.
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It
took 4 people to me ready each and every night.
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The
great ANTON COPPOLA
who I had the pleasure of working with in a
production of Aida was our conductor....I love
this man.....he’s tiny but powerful and he
thinks I am 6 ft tall....for those of you who
have seen the original Godfather he looks just
like LEE STRASBERG
who portrayed MEYER
LANSKY.
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He
really gives the chorus and principals hell to get the emotion and stature
he sometimes feels lacking....in fact at curtain when he trots out onstage
he got the biggest hand of all...I would look down at the pit and the
violinists are tapping their bows against their violins....the orchestra
just loves him.
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The
Temptresses and the Temptresses with choreographer Troy
Davis
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The
ORLANDO-SENTINEL--the daily newspaper--gave
this production a review that didn’t really give it the glory that it
deserved, so I went to the Maestros dressing room to find him in his tux
with his baton on the makeup table and nothing else.....I said......while
standing...because and I hate to use this word again ..it was such a
little dressing room....but hey, I was dressing in between transparent
curtains in the green room....that was my dressing area....so, I asked ANTON
what he thought of the review...and he said...and I quote ...This Operas
too good for ORLANDO"......that just
said it all.
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As
you can see on the left we are dancing around
our lead CARLO SCIBELLI--who
two of the chorus dancers hope never to work
with again. Some of the things he came out
with.....Here’s a quote and you can guess what
it was about, "Are they real???" And
the attitude he gave respected director AMY
HUTCHINSON...if she had been a male
director he never would have done some of the
stuff he pulled.
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On
opening when he came out for his curtain call...and did
almost every mannerism known to GRAND
OL' OPRY to get the audience to give him an
ovation. What he got was not what he anticipated. He
then turned to us with his back to the audience and with
small children right their--we were all lined up in our
tableau--he uttered the word "S-t" with such
venom, it visibly upset a couple of them. "Adios,
Carlos.....we bid you adieu."
Well, I finally got to do
THE MUSIC MAN...and...it was definitely
worth the wait.... The JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY
went on strike two days before opening but six months later we were up and
running
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With
the Pickalittle Ladies
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Ooh!
THE MUSIC MAN was
such a blast. their we were in the PHILHARMONIC
HALL designed for THE
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY exclusively and we
performed right in front of them. It was a first
for them.
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If
I wasn't balancing wigs in Turandot,
I was balancing hats in Music Man
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With
Roy Alan our Harold Hill. This is my fave
photo of the show -- his face is priceless.
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Dancing
Shrpoopi with my Marcellus (Juan Unaueta)
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I
felt like I was at LINCOLN CENTER
on a PBS Special.....our director TOD
BOOTH staged and choreographed the entire
production and he was SO MUCH FUN ...our MUSIC
MAN ...well, if RAY BOLGER
(google him for those of you not in the know) and DONALD
O'CONNER had a son...this would have been this
guy.
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With
the Pickalittle Ladies
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Singing
"Wells Farogo Wagon"
with Sue Rausch & Marianne Murray
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| I
stood backstage watching him doing MARION
THE LIBRARIAN and THE
SADDER BUT WISER GIRL each and every
show.....a joy to watch....not a diva in the
cast and after "AFTER
THE FALL" it was a joy to smile
again. |
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