Sunday, July 20, 2008

Monuments and Icons

This has been a week of monuments and icons for me. Let's start with the icon. Thursday night,  our producers were invited to an evening of music by Idina Menzel, the internationally acclaimed actress and singer who originated the Broadway role of Maureen Johnson in "RENT", and Elphaba in "WICKED". She certainly has one of the most amazing voices I've ever heard. her range is endless, and the power of her belt is overwhelming. The performance had a rough start when problems with her in-ear monitors forced her audio engineer to come on stage twice during the first two songs. She was obviously rattled and had trouble regaining focus (by her own admission). However, she eventually pulled it together and totally captured the audience's heart and admiration by the fifth song into the show. She performed a fun medley of songs from her early days as a singer with a wedding band in New Jersey. This was in contrast to most of the other soaring pop power ballads from her new album "I Stand". Her stage persona was endearing, although I was a little put off by her unnecessary use of profanity throughout the show (especially the f-"bomb"...and that was definitely the way it hit the audience when she used it for the first time!).  Her singing was amazing on nearly every song, but I found myself wishing for a higher level of production support from audio and lighting, especially during the encore performance of "Defying Gravity". Overall, it was a great night, though! It's not often that you get to see a true Broadway icon.

Now on to "monuments". I spent the last two days in Washington, DC, shooting a series of videos for the National Association of Electrical Distributors. While there, Jonathan Yeaworth and I spent a few hours hurriedly walking through the museums and monuments around the Mall. It was the first time I had visited the WWII Memorial. I had heard it was a moving experience, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. The majestic fountains and huge winged eagles seemed the perfect tribute to the countless men and women who served this nation and the world during the second world war. The monument is framed by the Washington Monument on one side, and the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial on the other. We were there just as the sun sat over the mall, and the lighting made the scene even more inspiring. This is a "must see" if you've not been there before.

The new cast of the Celebrity SUMMIT starts tomorrow. We will then have the JADE, SPIRIT, and SUMMIT rehearsing simultaneously with "Only Make Believe", a new musical tour about to mount September 1.  These next few weeks will be a challenge, but that's what we love best! Have a great week everyone!