Friday, May 8, 2009

Annie


She was great!  

Her joy, humor, lovely singing voice, spunkiness, and warm, loving spirit came shining right through.

Two more shows to go.  Will resurface afterward!

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The following (rather blurry) video from the second performance is shared with the performer's permission.





***

Moments she and I don't want to forget from the run:

  • Her great-grandmother's 102-year old sister, who had seen the original D.C. production of Annie way back, making it up here from D.C. to watch the second show.
  • A three-year old girl wanting to meet her and get an autograph after one of the shows.
  • One of the girls who had openly expressed resentment toward her approaching her after the show to say, "You deserved the part" before walking away as abruptly as she had come.  A striking lesson in the way you can sometimes earn the respect even of people who don't really like you, through hard work, good character, and humility.
  • Standing ovations the second two nights.
  • Playing "Psychiatrist" at the cast party.
  • Her school friends hugging her and presenting her with a bouquet of red roses.
  • The family and friends who traveled from miles and miles away just to see her and support our family.
  • The entire cast and crew showing up to school after the run wearing their "Annie" T-shirts in solidarity.
Now we deal with the post-show let-down.  But with glorious memories to help us get through it!

15 comments:

Michael Leddy said...

Bravo!

Michael Leddy said...

Rather, brava!

rlbates said...

Wonderful!

chris said...

that was beautiful! and especially impressive, given that i'm twice her age and can't carry a tune!

MEDICALBOOBOOS said...

What a fantastic voice!!! What a great performance, she carries her voice well:)

Lisa Johnson said...

That was wonderful!! She has a great voice! What a proud mama you must be. Have a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow! ; )

Patty said...

Brava!

So could you sit through without getting all teary-eyed? I know I wouldn't be able to!

Map said...

Congratulations! How proud you must be. Have a Happy Mother's Day!

dm said...

What a wonderful performance! Very, very impressive.

T. said...

Thanks for the wonderful support, everybody!

Now that it's all over and we're missing the show terribly, we've all been playing and replaying Annie songs for ourselves. If anyone has tips for dealing with post-show blues, we're all ears! I think we're just going to have to grieve and reminisce and grieve and reminisce till the sun comes out again... :)

Jo said...

Oh my....
I got a sound card on my work PC just in time... I've just had to duck behind my desk to stop myself welling up - you have an amazingly talented daughter. You must be so proud of her.

disciple said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
disciple said...

I just spoke with 'grandpa' T - and he suggested that I watch your daughter - and OMG!- what a beautiful young lady! - and so talented...it brought tears to my eyes and lifted up my soul to Praise our Creator for all things bright and beautiful!!!
Peace,
Karen
friend of grandpa and grandma T

Margaret Polaneczky, MD (aka TBTAM) said...

What a voice! She sang it so beautifully. That song can be really tough, and some kids make it shrill, but not her. She nailed it, kept the emotion and even a bit of vibrato - Wow!

(The other kids were great too -looks like it was a really well done production..)

Congrats!

T. said...

Thanks Dr. P! You've enumerated all the reasons we are totally starry-eyed over her voice - that lyrical quality, clear as a bell, able to project without sounding brassy or nasal, a HINT of vibrato but not too much, angelic...

And didn't you love that police officer?! He totally made the part his own! My daugher said he even muttered under his breath in character while he was on stage.

We're awe-struck enough over her acting and musical gifts, but what really warms this mother's heart is the feedback we heard from the director and parents of other cast members about how she set such an amazing example of professionalism, hard work, and team spirit. We are totally blown away both as audience members and as parents. May she keep up the great work! :)