OBC Dreams
I'm so excited to be in my first OBC this Broadway season! Ah, the opening! The glamour! The first audiences! The cast album! It's been my ultimate dream to be in the Original Broadway Cast of a show since I memorized all the lyrics to the RENT Original Broadway Cast album in 7th grade. That glorious double CD. Sitting in the passenger seat of my Mom's Town and Country mini van, belting about sex and AIDS! Bless my Mom. But what I didn't know then, was that the best part about being in an original show is getting to be involved in the creative process. Making choices and having choreography set on you that will ultimately be replicated by anyone who comes after you is an extremely rewarding experience. I would love to only do new shows forevermore!
I truly could not be more excited for the coming months. I've been with this show for almost 6 months already, first doing the out of town tryout at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego this past fall. It has been a journey to get to this point. We didn't find out that we would be going to Broadway until the end of our run in San Diego, and every time they called us for a company meeting we thought they were going to announce that we were going to Broadway.... it was the long running joke of the company. Luckily, it all ultimately worked out, most of the cast continued for the Broadway run, and it's exciting to be on this journey with a group of people, (mostly comprised of incredible, strong, inspiring women), who already feel like family.
It's a special experience to go out of town with a show. Since we're all taken away from our normal lives and put into a situation where we only have each other, and we all live in the same place, it creates a family like atmosphere. We are all we have for that time, and then we get back to the city with a bond that could never be formed at home. Out of town gigs are some of my favorite times. Thrown into a situation where you have no choice but to bond with your cast. There is nothing better than being surrounded by super inspiring creative minds!
That brings me to this incredible cast. It is a show of mostly women, as we all play both women and men in the show. It was a deliberate choice by the creative team to create an androgynous ensemble. It's female empowerment that is reminiscent of the 1970's and Donna Summer's journey, that is also very topical to our world today. I play mostly men in the show, and I love it. It challenges me, its different, and it's so fun. It's fluid and I love the strength and groundedness that I'm finding within myself. It adds an element to the show that's really different from what's been done in the past, and takes the show into an interesting reality that is both literal and abstract.
This experience continues to expand my mind and my heart. I look at the women around me and I see the future of this business. I love being surrounded by strong, smart women full of ideas and excitement. We honestly lift each other up and support each other through it all.
We have one more week in the studio, and then we move into our new home, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on 46th Street! Hopefully we'll be able to make ourselves comfy there for a while. Come visit us and see what we're all about! Toot toot, beep beep!
