Tess - The Musical
When doing the last revue at Hofstra - Cole Porter in Concert - Annie told me that she was asking for one more musician for her musical, based on Tess of the D’Ubervilles. About a month ago, I e-mailed her wondering if she did indeed need me. And her wish was granted - she was given the budget for one more musician. I was honored and flattered that she wanted me to play for her musical. I mean, we’re talking about her magnum opus here, this musical that she had been working on for 10 years. Plus, I’d be the first ever to play the cello part. Ever. How often do you get a chance like that? So I was nervous, excited, exhilerated and so flattered and honored.

So I’ve just completed the first weekend of shows. It was not an easy week. We started rehearsals last Sunday and went straight through opening on Friday. Rehearsals were long - I wasn’t getting home until well after 11:00 p.m. each night. And getting up for work the next day was challenging.

But the music. What a beautiful cello part. I was swooning on the inside playing it. It’s so lyrical. And challenging. There’s one song where it’s just me and an actor on stage playing guitar. It reminds me of the video I saw of Harry Chapin doing “Cat’s in the Cradle” with the cello soloist. It’s like I’m getting a chance to do something akin to that 5 times a weekend. And it’s so so cool and so nerve-wracking at the same time.

Wednesday’s rehearsal, our musical director was working, so Annie filled in on piano. Of course we were running late, so Annie went into full musical-chick mode and started playing a bevy of crazy tunes, including the music from the original Mario Bros. Nintendo game, music from the Price is Right and the Dating Game. It was hysterical. Somehow this led to us all quoting from the movie, “Help!” and other assorted musical nerdiness. I love it. I love that I’m around other people who think almost just like I do. I love that we all giggle and carry on about tunes we remember from when we were younger. I’m just having so much fun with this show. These are the shows that just make me relish being a musician.

**Info on Tess here.