BWW Blog: MIDDLETOWN Part 2: and Everything is RAGTIME

Broadwayworld.com. Its Lea with Part 2 of my Middletown blog. I will show life as we close Middletown, life after Middletown and a very special trip to see a show in a very special place plus wonderful experiences. This is getting out a little bit late due to midterm assignments but it will be back to normal soon. Plus this was hard to put together as I wanted to make this blog special.

Let's go back to the second week of Middletown.

We had a lot of people who came out to watch the show. The attendance was terrific especially after the snowstorm which closed the school. My parents came back for closing night. One of my friends since high school came to see it along with other high school classmates. Tutors and two guidance counselors from my high school came. Their presence was so greatly appreciated.

I cherished the memories of rehearsing, watching my favorite parts and cheering for the others afterwards. When you are in a show, enjoy it because, believe it or not, closing night will come before you know it and you will miss going to rehearsal. It was our director's last show here at Queens College. I am glad I got to be there for the last one.

Before our last show and since it was sunny, we warmed up in our outdoor Amphitheatre. A blue bird (maybe a house bird) flew down. A beautiful gift for our closing show.

I asked a bunch of the cast and crew if they had any preshow rituals that they had to do before the show. For me, I do my angel cards that I made last summer and I go to each person and they pick a word and that is what they think about. This idea was inspired by watching two actresses on Broadway videos now on YouTube, Broadway veterans Judy McLane and Sierra Boggess. Everyone loved the angel cards. Another thing I do is touch our prop baby while it is on our prop table (and face down due to superstition from the crew).

Let's hear from others:

"I get the baby and warm it up before the scene. I also go into the paint room to run lines with Josh (who plays the Mechanic)" - Claire Kostova (Aunt and Female Doctor)

"I take a couple of minutes to listen to music as a way to get me into the space" - Melia Beschta (Our Stage Manager)

"I don't have a preshow ritual but I prep on my guitar playing. Sometimes I play original songs" - Michael Najman (John Dodge)

"I go to the bathroom before I go onstage" - Eleni Rosenboom (Mary Swanson)

"I warm up physically constantly" - Wale (Cop)

"I go onstage and review my blocking. For this show, I like to go through my lines as quickly as I can" - De Audrey Owens

"I take a deep breath to get all the stress out" - Christine O'Hanlon (Assistant Stage Manager)

*Big thanks to my Middletown cast for answering these questions in this blog and the previous blog post.

After the final show, we took a group photo outside which is something I will never forget. Of course, after the final show you think its celebrations and fun afterwards. Its not. Two things happened after the closing performance: One was strike which means the sets are taken down or dismantled as the theatre has to be set up for the next show which is the opera, The Marriage of Figaro, done by the music school which is being performed at the end of April and one of my best friends is in it. I am not handy with tools and I did not know this happens. After strike, my arms felt crazy in a good way. Thank goodness, I had my half a sandwich from the nearby deli for dinner to keep me awake for a good few hours of strike.

Life after a show, its hectic because of assignments, midterms, snow days, etc. It's crazy. It's stressful. Plus, it was that time to pick classes for the next semester. Normally, for me, picking classes is like Christmas. I am that one weird person who likes to pick out my classes. I have no reason why. Picking classes this time around is so hard because I do not know what I want. I am also trying to find a journalism internship for the summer. By the way, if you think I miss Middletown a lot, my parents miss it more than me. I guess they liked to take the trip to drop me off and wait for me at the nearby Dunkin' Donuts.

The Saturday after the final weekend of Middletown was date night with my guy. My first date night since Middletown. We decided to head to my old stomping grounds (aka my high school) to catch the last performance of their spring musical, Ragtime.

I am a proud 2011 graduate of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts where I studied drama. This was the school founded by entertainment icon, Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Benedetto. I spent two years in our old campus in Long Island City and two years in the current building in Astoria. I have met wonderful people during my time, some whom I see and reunite with. It's where I met some of my friends, wonderful teachers that helped into what I wanted to do and its where I made a lot of memories. I come back to visit a lot - that is how special the place is. I even try to come to see some of the shows when time permits.

Back to the night. The first time I saw Ragtime was when my mom and I saw the last preview of the last revival which I believe was around late 2009. I loved everything about it: the score, the story, the actors, the acting, etc. I never heard of Ragtime before that. My mom cried after Quentin Earl Darrington sang "Make Them Hear You". I got to watch one of my friends in the ensemble of a community theatre production in Flushing (I think around 2012). When I heard my high school (sometimes called FSSA or Sinatra for short) was doing it, I knew it's a big show subject-wise and vocal-wise, but I put my faith in them. I knew these kids can do it. The school has taken on shows like this in the past like Carousel, Aida, Footloose, Rent, The King and I, just to name a few. My boyfriend has never heard of Ragtime before and he wanted no spoilers. He wanted to be surprised.

My god! These kids were amazing. They handled this material with such care. Plus, this night was sold out. We were in the last row of the balcony where I never sat before. From what I learned, over 100 students were involved in this production from cast, crew, orchestra, etc. The audience loved them. Standing Ovation.

The night did not end after curtain call speeches. To explain this next part, I have to show from my view how a new tradition started.

2014

My guy and I were in the audience to watch one of my best friends, Allie, perform as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. It's the end of the show. Director comes out, makes thank you speeches. Then, he encourages the audience to come for next year's musical with one clue as to what the next show will be. That made everyone, including me, scream. He said (if I remember correctly) "And I can promise you it will be worth 525,600 minutes". We all knew that the following year's show was RENT.

Fast forward to 2018

We knew the moment was coming. I was trying to guess what it could be. My boyfriend guessed Spring Awakening (The Drama Department did the play version that the musical is based on back in 2010). I had two shows in mind.

The moment is arriving. If you want to see moment itself, they have the video on their Twitter and Instagram pages).

The director, Jamie Cacciola-Price, is saying that when looking at musicals, they have found one that he, the vocal teacher, Ms. Best, and Production Manager Andre Vasquez all liked. He said that the show they are doing is currently running on Broadway. I have always assumed that if a show is currently on Broadway, a high school or community theater can't do it. The director said they got the rights and they are the only area high school to do it. He mentioned looking at different types of musical genres. Then he said this:

"Next year, we are going to tackle...Horror".

Audience reaction: Huh?

Over the sound system, I heard a very familiar haunting overture, with organ music.

I thought "No, is it?" (I sounded more exited than it sounds in writing).

I see the projection screen, the statue of liberty logo of Ragtime was replaced by a logo I see a lot in Times Square, a white mask.

Needless to say, I LOST MY MIND in a good way. I called my friend, Allie, and told her. We both lost our minds that night. I could not believe I guessed it right on the dot.

Now I bet you are wondering what is their next musical that I know I have to get my tickets to in advance.

The hints:

Genre: Horror

Haunting organ music

White mask

So, the FSSA 2019 musical is...

1,

2,

3,

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!

Note: This blog is dedicated the production crew, stage crew, cast and everyone involved in the Queens College production of Middletown. I love you all so much. Thank you for making my first college show a blast.

Also, a huge congrats to the company of the FSSA production of Ragtime. Excellent work from an excellent school. Keep up the good work.