Elise's Middle School Stage Debut!

This weekend Elise performed in her middle school's production of "The Mix,"a "salute to Broadway" show that included songs and short scenes from a number of well-known musicals like West Side Story, Wicked, Annie Get Your Gun, Grease, and The Lion King. The students did a great job and I was impressed with all the hard work and energy that all those 6th to 8th grade kids put into pulling off the show.

I was particularly proud of Elise (of course!). Not only did she have the courage to tackle a solo in "Annie Get Your Gun" -- not every kid had a solo, and she did great -- but she even overcame a small snafu on opening night with aplomb. Elise's number, "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun, came right after the big opening number, so Elise and her gang had to make a super-quick costume change involving a plaid shirt. The director had mentioned that the kids might want to button the two bottom buttons of the shirt and then pull it over their heads, but Elise's shirt was pretty tight and it got stuck! So as all the kids for her scene walked out, Elise was still backstage wrestling with her shirt, which would put even a seasoned pro into panic mode.  I admit I was a little nervous for her too as I sat in the audience thinking, "Where's Elise!?!?"  But then she walked in with a smile on her face and picked up with a line that made total sense for the scene; although she missed saying a few lines, nobody in the audience was one bit the wiser. It seemed like it was all meant to be that way.  And even though she was a little out of breath, she found her footing in her song pretty quickly and did a great job.  I was so proud!

Here's a video of Elise's solo performance. The other snafu was mom-related (or technology-related): the minute I started videoing the "memory card full" message started flashing (arrghh!) so I missed the first few lines and the opening of Elise's solo as I switched from the video camera to my cell phone camera. The video and audio quality isn't the greatest, either, since it was filmed on my phone. But I captured enough to at least give you a taste:



I thought I'd let you see one of the big group numbers, too. This is "One Short Day" from Wicked. Elise is the tall one. :-)



And here are some photos taken during "parent photo night"-- a couple of nights before the actual performance, Moms and Dads could come and take all the pictures they wanted while the kids held poses and ran through some of the numbers. A great idea! That way the parents can sit back and enjoy the actual show instead of worrying about taking pictures, and the performers aren't distracted by photography flashes:

Officer Krupke

"Please Officer Krupke!"

Perfecting the look of adolescent angst

Elise as Annie and her Frank Butler

They can shoot a sparrow, with a bow and arrow

The battle of the sexes.

One short day . . . in the emmmerallld city!

The mothers of River City

Elise and the other brainiacs, jocks, and skaters encouraging the students at East High to "Stick to the Status Quo"

And the final group shot!

It was so much fun to see Elise perform and I look forward to lots of musicals in our future. Great job, hon!