Singin' in the Opera

Saturday was Opening Night. The glitz, the glamour, the inevitable mishaps that comes when putting on a production. As director Renaud Doucet said, “With everything that goes on, it’s a miracle the whole thing comes together.” But nothing major went wrong and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves.

I spent most of my time in the front of the house with Boss-Man, but snuck backstage to check out the goings-on. I ran into a couple of the Young Artists who were in the first act and went to see Ronell and Sarah of Awesome Wig and Make-up Fame. They were currently working on Pam Armstrong and Josie Noble, one of the chorus women who plays the Madam in the Giulietta act. They teased me for a bit about not having seen the whole opera yet (I’m going tonight, I promise!). And Pam proved her superhero nature once again by offering to babysit for Ronell’s little girl if needed. (Pam says anyone would have done it. Readers will note that I didn’t offer.)

Us girls giggled and laughed until the singers had to skedaddle to get ready. Then William Caulkins, one of the child supers who plays the Blind Boy, came in to get ready. If you’ve seen the show, you’ve seen William – he comes in with Coppélius in the Olympia Act. William has some of the most dramatic make-up in the show: he’s made completely bald with a small black ponytail and sunglasses. The costume is crazy, too – like the old-school bouncing clowns that you could hit and it would right itself again. I'm looking forward to seeing it all in its entirety - tonight!

See you on Thursday!

Photo credit: Matthew Staver