Betsy's Blog on Children's Theater | BaileyKidsMusicals.com - BaileyKidsMusicals.com

Starting Them Young

9/26/2024

My daughter's middle school is mounting a production of "The Addams Family" this Fall. I knew nothing about the show, so she and her little 4-year-old daughter sang and danced me one of the songs, "When You're an Addams." Since C.J. has to come with her mom to all of the rehearsals, they are letting her be in at least this production number. The Addams clan is in the graveyard talking about their favorite things - DEATH being at the top of the list. Anyway, after the first part, they call upon all of the newly dead in the graveyard to be part of the dance.

The part that C.J. is in begins with a Line dance, then the Macarena, the Twist, and some other fun dances, and suddenly RIGOR MORTIS sets in and all the dancers stiffen into odd poses and the music stops. When the music resumes, everybody starts dancing again. However, the RIGOR MORTIS part is what C.J. loves the most. She thinks it is so funny.

This little girl has been in several shows in her brief life, mostly because she was at every rehearsal with her mother who was the choreographer or assistant director. There was no way to keep her off the stage, so why not teach her a little part?

Last year we let her have a part in "Stone Soup." I just loved the expression of pure joy during rehearsal that we caught in a candid picture when we told her she could run through the archway during a dance.

She mainly followed the other kids around on stage singing and dancing her heart out. I was amazed that a 3 year old could do as well as she did!

Then this summer, we gave her a real part with other little Princesses where they all got to say a line and sing and dance a special song. CJ did very well as a 4 year old in "The Frog Prince."

I can't wait to see how she does in a bigger show on a large stage!

When a Song Just Doesn't Fit the Show

8/26/2024

Editing... it can be hard to take.

While on my flight last Thursday, I had a stimulating conversation with the guy on my row. After the opening niceties, he explained why he was having trouble with his hand movements. He said that he was recovering from an accident and a stroke.

Of course, I was interested in letting him tell his story --- at least all he wanted to tell. When he said that he was also trying to recover his singing voice, I mentioned how that was something I could relate to. I had also had an accident and was trying to retrain my voice. That was just the opener to other things that we found we had in common.

Come to find out, he had been working in Los Angeles in the film industry. But he was having trouble getting back up to speed after his accident, so he changed the subject and asked me what projects I was working on. I told him I was in the process of writing a children's picture book. I said that I had sketches with me, but they were in no state to be shown to people. However, I happened to have a copy of the book I finished last year. He said he'd love to see it.

Justin carefully studied each page and gave me meaningful comments about what was good or could be better on each page. The most encouraging critique he gave was that he could see everything in the storybook CINEMATICALLY. He praised my storytelling and said how he thought he would really have liked my aunt "Janie Thompson: The Girl from Nowhere Who Went Everywhere."

Most of what he told me was positive, but he did have a few criticisms that were a little tough to hear. It sure would have been nice to have a good editor to help me create that book in the first place.

Cruel Stepmother and Ugly Stepsisters

When I arrived at my daughter's house in Washington, it was time to go see the show she was performing in. The local community theater was doing Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella." Carolyn was playing the cruel stepmother. (She did a marvelous job, too, I may say.)

I had never seen this particular production. It had many additions to the script that I was unfamiliar with. It also included some songs that kind of threw me. It seemed that they didn't really fit.

One of those songs was "Boys and Girls Like You and Me." This song had been written years ago for the precursor show that became "Oklahoma." It was pulled from that show because it just didn't fit. Then it was sold to be used in the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis." It was cut from that show, too. Apparently it had been tried in several more shows including "State Fair," and was cut from them too. (I guess a lot of brutal editing goes into the professional productions, too.)

Finally, for one of the several rewritten scripts for the Rodgers and Hammerstein "Cinderella," they jerry-rigged a scene where it could possibly fit. It is a scene written for the King and Queen in their dressing room. This song is supposed to show their tender romantic relationship.

It was still awkward. No wonder that song/scene is really only included in a couple of the currently available "Cinderella" scripts. I had never seen it before.

Criticism and editing can be hard to take as a writer. I understand how a song can be as special as one of your own beloved children. This cast did the best they could with the song, but if it doesn't fit, it ought to go.

Remembering Things from Youth

7/22/2024

Bonnie Lee age 3

My sister was telling me about her first memories from when she was very little. She remembered when she was 20 months old, sick in the hospital for days and days stuck inside a crib with jail-like bars. She could also describe in detail the bedspread fabric on my parent's bed in Texas, as well as playing with dolls in a sea of pillows inside our bedroom closet. Being 12 years older, I could validate those memories for her.

It is funny though how memories can be so clear from childhood, when as we age, it can be hard to remember what happened yesterday.

Bonnie also told me her memories of watching a favorite movie when she was little, "Lost Horizon." She loved to dance around the house to the music which was written by a pop composer of the time, Burt Bacharach. That got me thinking. Suddenly I was remembering tunes and lyrics from the score. I could remember entire songs that I hadn't sung or even thought about in decades.

Then I thought about how when I watched "Brigadoon" recently, I remembered not only the songs, but most of the dialogue. I had been in that show in High School, but that was ages ago. Nowadays I have trouble remembering the most recent show I not only wrote but also directed. So why was I getting words and scenes mixed up when I had been thinking about all of the aspects of that show for months!

You'd think that the most recent memories would be the freshest and clearest. But I guess not...

There was one cute girl in the cast of my summer camp this year that was always first to remember the next line or who should deliver it. She was sharp as a tack, but not a know-it-all or obnoxious about it. She reminded me of me at that age. Whenever I was doing a show back then, the lines and lyrics came easily to me. I simply could remember them. Oh, to be nine years old again.

This is actually a testament to me about how important it is to put lots of good things into the memory banks of our children when they are young. That's the best hope for them having those good things popping up again and again, intact, at various times throughout their lives!

"On a Once Upon a Time" from "The Frog Prince" - guide vocals sung by three of my granddaughters.

Playing Second Fiddle

7/17/2024

"Playing second fiddle" is an expression that means to have a subordinate or less prominent role. In an orchestra, the person or section that plays the second violin part is usually not as celebrated as the concert master or first violins. He or they literally play a supporting role so that those first violins can soar on the highest or most prominent parts that most everyone can hear and follow. The second violins are not second rate. They are very important. They usually just play a harmonic role that audience members don't or can't follow.

The same thing happens in the theater world. There are the lead characters whose plights the plot is built around. Then there are secondary characters who may or may not play a crucial role in moving the plot along, but do many other important things. For a stage production, a scene or song for one of these secondary characters might provide time for a needed costume change for other characters, or a set change, or most often the comic relief. Some stories that have lead characters who get themselves into terrible trouble or bad things just happen to, well it's good to have comic relief to cut the tension.

While I was in High School, our choral teacher loved Lerner and Lowe musicals. We did "My Fair Lady" and "Brigadoon" in the early 1970s. Both shows have gorgeous music and clever scripts. "My Fair Lady" was more difficult to pull off because the few lead characters had so much to do, and everyone else got to spend most of their time playing cards backstage while waiting between their very few scenes. "Brigadoon" was a little different. It had more for the ensemble and secondary characters to do.

I was cast as Meg Brockie, definitely a second fiddle character, and a sort of floozy charmer that had no redeeming features. However, she gets to sing two very funny songs. She was indeed the comic relief. "Brigadoon" is a fantasy fairy tale that if played too seriously can be very hard to swallow indeed. Meg's character helps keep the show lighthearted and funny.

The 1954 movie "Brigadoon" starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, and Van Johnson in some respects is quite depressing. Van Johnson's character is rather jaded and cynical and Gene Kelly's character is trying to run away from his intense New York City life. Cyd Charisse' character is bemoaning the fact that her younger sister is getting married, but she is not. And there are other characters that are dangerously angry. Pretty grim when you think about it.

As one would expect, the dancing plays a supremely important role in this movie version of the storytelling. And being a movie, there was no need for certain songs and scenes to cover for set changes or costume changes. But they really could have used Meg's songs for comic relief. Because the story-line of the movie is quite sad, I really missed "The Real Love of My Life" and "My Mother's Weddin' Day" (Meg's songs that were not included in the movie).

This is an example of how a "second fiddle" character was nearly completely removed so that the lead characters would get more time to expand their dancing roles. However, in my opinion, the storytelling in the movie "Brigadoon" suffered for it.

Let's hear it for the second fiddles who really play a first rate part and should be celebrated NOT CUT!

Be Your Own Hero Dance Recital

4/2/2024

Some Dance Studio Recital directors are quite clever. I attended a recent recital for my sister's young granddaughter last Saturday that came about in an interesting way. The studio director stood up at the beginning and announced that this year's show was built around having a special guest actor. When she was on a Disney cruise last year, she got talking with one of the performers. She happened to have a private conversation with him where she asked this actor if he ever agreed to do work outside of Disney venues. She told him about her idea to build her recital around him if he would agree to come. He did, and so she had her idea for the show.

In past years they have built their studio recitals on doing a Musical like "The Wizard of Oz." The featured characters that act out the story were auditioned from the older students and were able to do entire scenes and songs that suited their talents. Each class did a dance using one of the songs. So there may have been 30 little scarecrows dancing along with the Scarecrow to "If I Only Had a Brain." My little niece at age 5 was one of 30 little lions who danced with the Lion to "If I Were King of the Forest." And so forth.

Another year the studio did a recital taking a "Tour through Disneyland." The dances were pulled from songs representing the different rides or characters in the various lands of Disneyland. An original script was written to provide a plot for the main characters to act out. It was a cute idea and worked very well.

This year's show had not only an original script featuring the guest Disney actor as the Dad to his daughters having a sleepover party, but also had a few original songs about "being the hero in your life." (These songs were mostly sung by the professional actor, and he was really good.) Other songs provided the dances for the various classes all pulled from famous children's books. That was handy since many of the books were turned into Broadway Musicals and have their own songs. There were dances from "Seussical the Musical," "Matilda," "Newsies," and others, as well as Nursery Rhymes like "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." My little niece was a cow in that number.

This was a fun idea for a dance recital and kept the show moving along. I have been to so many dance recitals that had 2+ hours worth of unrelated music, and dancing of only so-so quality. I never wanted to sit through the entire thing ... but I had no trouble sitting through this recital. And the music was projected at an appropriate volume level --- not too loud. Good job everybody!

Cousin friends at Elizabeth's recital. (She's in the cow costume)

Standard Elements of a Broadway Musical

3/23/2024

Last Thursday I attended a Musical Review at a local elementary school. The 70 or so children in the cast worked so hard to perform well. They loved the music, that was obvious. They showed that they enjoyed singing and dancing to the best of their abilities. The show presented examples of some of the best music Broadway has to offer, and most of the songs were very familiar and famous. The show should have been very enjoyable for the audience.

The problem was that not all of the songs they sang were arranged to fit children's voices. The ranges were too wide and the busy-ness of the recorded accompaniments very LOUDLY overpowered their singing.

Another problem was that it did not flow like a musical. There was loud music playing for a long time as the audience came in, but it was not related to the show. (Just random popular upbeat songs played excruciatingly loud.) This was unnecessary because it defeats the purpose of having an Overture. Yet, at the opening, there was no Overture. Then, when they needed to change sets, there was no INCIDENTAL MUSIC to cover that business and keep the audience engaged and looking ahead to the next act.

It is so awkward for the audience and performers to have DEAD spaces.

The enjoyment factor for the audience could have been boosted immensely by using the standard parts of a Broadway Musical. In addition to great songs and a good script, having TRANSITIONAL bits of music can really help the flow of the presentation. The OVERTURE helps settle the audience and get them focused on and ready to sit back and enjoy the show. Then INCIDENTAL MUSIC helps cover set changes while stitching the different scenes together. A great FINALE helps reiterate the message of the tale and ties up any loose ends. (It basically allows the performers leave to beg for applause.) Then, you need music for the BOWS and of course, EXIT MUSIC that puts a catchy melody (melodies) in the minds of the audience members and compels them to go out singing the songs. There are good reasons why these elements have become STANDARD.

Sadly, at the end, the Drama teacher explained to the audience that this was the last show of its kind in the school because funding was being cut. Did that mean that there would be no more after school Musicals or that all Arts related classes or activities were being cut? No art? No Drama? No Chorus? No General Music classes? No Band or Orchestra? If that is the case, what a shame!

Nevertheless, it is clear that the families in this school value Arts Education. 70 kids and many parent volunteers made the effort to support this program. Besides helping these kids develop talents and give them a chance to perform, it likely provided a reason to keep these children wanting to come to school.

What a shame to loose their funding!

Writing a Stand Alone Song

1/10/2024

Last night I went to see the new movie "Wonka." I loved the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie musical since it came out in 1971. I must have gone to the theater to see it 10 or more times that summer. (This was way before video or streaming.) I LOVED the songs and music by Leslie Bricusse. Hearing bits and pieces of the music from the first film reused in "Wonka" made my heart happy. I was especially pleased to hear them use almost all of the original song "Pure Imagination." That song was undoubtedly the most popular "stand alone" song from the first movie. It is often used in concerts and quoted in other situations.

So, what would be classified as a "stand alone" song from a musical show? Well, first thing, songs are written for shows to fit a particular mood, to develop a character, or to move the plot along. They may work very well in the context of the show, but most would not be considered as concert material. After a time, though, some songs get a life of their own because the words and music can fit in other situations away from their places in the show.

The songs in this new movie "Wonka" were clever, and were staged in engaging ways. However, it remains to be seen which, if any, songs will gain a life force of their own and become "stand alone" songs. Who can say what the fickle public will latch onto. One of the funniest points in the new "Wonka" movie was when the actor Hugh Grant sang and danced the "Oompa Loompa" song from the first movie (different lyrics) calling it the most catchy and annoying song and that he can't stop singing it.

It is probably every composer's goal to write a score with at least one "stand alone" song in the mix. I know that has been a goal for me. Some people say that creating a "stand alone" song is just a matter of luck. It's probably much more than that, but I admit that luck must play a part. The composer's (and other collaborators') genius in recognizing and arranging the right elements of a song to fit just the right place in the storyline probably plays the biggest part.

"Over the Briny Sea" featuring Dick Whittington, the Captain, and the First Mate

One of my scores I am particularly pleased with because it has a few "stand alone" songs. The children's musical "The Adventures of Dick Whittington" includes "Off to Seek My Fortune," "Over the Briny Sea," and "Let Kindness Begin with Me" that have been used in concerts and auditions and sung just for fun.

Working with Talented Collaborators

12/29/2023

Marvin Hamlisch, famed composer and conductor, told of the importance of happy collaborations in a documentary of his life that I watched on American Masters the other day. This was an exceptionally gifted musician who could seemingly do it all. He could make up and perform songs on the spot. As a pianist/performer he could change his piano playing styles instantly from pop to Broadway to Bach to Beethoven. He could write beautiful lyrical ballads as well as complex, sophisticated film scores. He heard music all around him, in everything and underscoring the workings of the day. And yet, he understood that his best work could only come about through happy collaborations with other gifted artists. He knew that the sum of each of their contributions made a much greater product when added together.

He regretted that his early success with "A Chorus Line" when he was just 29 years old was not repeated over and over again. His collaborators on that project died soon afterwards and were not around to collaborate on any future projects. Hamlisch never found quite the same team to work with ever again. Still, he went on to garner three Oscars, four Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Tony Award as well as a Pulitzer Prize. He was one of just eleven other artists to earn awards in all four categories (EGOT).

His great love was Broadway music. In the early 1970's, Broadway was dying. With the success of "A Chorus Line" (1975-1990), Hamlisch was part of the resurgence of the Broadway Musical. That show led the way. The public wanted to see more shows with quality music and appealing stories. Broadway shows became popular again and the area was cleaned up. In fact many theaters even started catering to families with children. Producers learned that they had better "grow their audience" by making shows accessible to the future generations.

Marvin Hamlisch spent his later years devoting himself to making sure that the great music of the Broadway stage was not forgotten. As the Pops conductor of eight different concert orchestras around the country, he promoted the works of greats such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Frank Loesser and others. He made great contributions to our collective memory of our American Songbook comprised of the best of the great Broadway and Pop composers, old and new.

I went to see some Broadway shows in the early 1970's and remember how run-down and seedy the show district was then. The shows we saw were nothing great either. They were not the calibre I had expected to see from all the stories I had heard from people who had been to see Broadway shows in the glory days. What a difference when I went back to see some Broadway shows in the late 1990's and early 2000's. The marquee's were bright with titles of new shows and revivals of wonderful old shows. Many of these shows were family friendly, as well.

How refreshing to see that the producers were taking thought for the rising generation. I saw busloads of school children being dropped off to see matinee performances of "The Lion King" and "Wicked." In the early 1970's, I would never have allowed my children anywhere near 42nd Street. Thank you, Marvin Hamlisch for helping the Broadway Musical make a comeback.

So many creative people are needed to make a successful Musical Theater Show, no matter the level, all the way from Broadway down to local Children's Theater. Writers, composers, producers, directors, actors, singers, dancers, choreographers, scenic designers, builders, costumers, tech crews, musicians, marketing teams, publishers, even those who run the theater -- it takes so many people to make the magic happen! I have also been grateful to have wonderful collaborators to help make my visions a reality. There really is nothing better than to have happy collaborations!

To the Pure, All Things are Pure

6/1/2023

Carolyn Thompson Lee 1929-2011

My mother was a guileless person. She could look at people and situations and just see the good. Academics might label her as gullible or clueless, or so shallow she could not see the deeper meanings in things. I prefer to think of her as a pure soul, and to her, everyone else had good in them, too.

People were just drawn to her. She collected friends from everywhere she lived, even random people off the street. She was the only person I knew who could walk into a room of strangers and within a few minutes know each of their names, life stories, and even get invitations to stay at their homes if she was ever in their areas. She was particularly good at parties where she could sit playing the piano and still carry on six conversations at the same time. She really never met any strangers.

While on my recent trip to Germany, I kept wondering how my mother would have reacted to the deeper explanations of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. I can imagine she would have found no use for the ugliness. For a person so filled with light, she would never have embraced such darkness.

I kept thinking that my mother would have sung her way through Germany entertaining everyone around her. And she would have actually remembered the lyrics to the German lied she sang in college (that I didn't). So when people asked her if she knew any German songs, she would have happily proved it. With the force of her sunny personality, she would have dispelled darkness wherever she went. I am absolutely sure that's why people were so drawn to her.

I tried to channel energy from my mother's example to help me enjoy my trip and only take in the beautiful things. That must be why our tour director commented that whenever I opened my mouth, singing came out. That's not so bad, is it?

So when my tour group asked me to entertain them with singing, I could only think of one song. I sang the song my mother often sang in situations like this, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Here is a recording of her singing it in 1970, for her parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary show. She was 41.

Live Theater Presented on TV

1/23/2023

The other night our television was on the fritz, so I decided to watch a movie on my phone. One of the choices that popped up was Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1957 version of "Cinderella." I was curious because last summer I went to see a less than satisfactory production of "Cinderella," and I wanted to compare scripts.

"Cinderella" has been told and retold in so many ways for so many years that who knows what the original story truly was. All I know is that I expected particular Rodgers and Hammerstein songs and a story that included a girl that has been reduced to being a servant in her own home, a wicked step-mother, two awful step sisters, a handsome prince who is hosting a ball, a fairy godmother, some magic, and two glass slippers. What I got last summer was some of the stuff on that list, but also a lot of extraneous stuff that made the story more complicated and politically charged than it needed to be. The 1957 made for TV production was very different from what I expected, but it did keep most of the elements on that list.

The 1957 "Cinderella" was made directly for television. It starred Julie Andrews (who was currently in a little Broadway show that was another "Cinderella" story: "My Fair Lady"). And although the Julie Andrews "Cinderella" was produced for television, it looked like they just filmed a stage show with some interesting camera angles. The sound stage had one basic set that was turned different ways and dressed different ways to represent different scenes. That's how a stage production would be produced. And for early television, the show was in black and white. Possibly, it was presented live, I don't know for sure.

Television was a new medium in those days. I think the producers and directors didn't know exactly how to present this show for the small screen. Apparently, they opted for keeping things simple. They kept all of the scenes confined to a single sound stage. There were no sweeping outdoor vistas. There were barely any full crowd scenes. Most of the camera angles framed just a few of actors. There were some changes in camera angles such as from the top of the stairs looking down, or from the bottom of the staircase looking up. The most dramatic camera work happened showing the trying on of the glass slipper to "all" of the eligible maidens in the land with one short clip following another short clip, then another, then another in very quick succession.

The script was very different from the show I saw last summer. It was very different from the other versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein "Cinderella" that I have seen before. In fact, every version that I've seen has been quite unique. Each separate production even borrowed extra songs from other Rodgers and Hammerstein shows, and not the same ones from the previous show. I am beginning to think that there may be several different licensed scripts for "Cinderella."

And then again, live theater has a reputation of of allowing a certain amount of "artistic" license for interpretation. I'm just glad that some big improvements have been made in how theater is presented on television.

I think I like movies, or live theater, but not stage shows filmed for television.

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