BWW Video Blog: Broadway-Bound CHIX 6 - Meet Lourds Lane!

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Hey there, Broadwayworldsters! It's Lourds Lane (http://lourdslane.com), blogging again about my Broadway-bound show, CHIX 6 (http://chix6.com). Today is the first day of rehearsal and I'm soooo excited. Weeeeeee!!!

So here's the deal. We are doing a limited 5 week developmental run at the Queens Theatre in the Park (http://queenstheatre.com) in Flushing (Just take the 7 train to where you would see the Mets or the US Open) from September 27 to October 30. Why Queens, you ask? Well, because of our hugely successful 4 week AEA workshop last year (that I blogged about on this very site (HERE), I signed with Nederlander-Browne. Bob Nederlander Jr. hooked up the Queens Theatre in the Park based on his long term professional relationship with the new Artistic Director, Ray Cullom. Ray took on his new QTP position with a mission. He was going to change the face of the theatre, bring on a cutting-edge new musical to kick off his term, and make a BIG SPLASH. SO HERE WE ARE... The Chix (with a few dix)... happy to fulfill all his splashing needs!!! Good news is, QTP is making significant financial contributions. Plus, they actually have a lot of gear in house, including a decent PA and lights. And because Ray is down with CHIX 6, he throws random stuff in... like the other day, Ray says... "Sure, it's cool if your drummer borrows our top-of-the-line electric drum kit for a month until the show..." and "No worries, you can use our keyboard for rehearsals. Just take it!" So yeah, it's kinda sweet like that.

The best thing for me about theatre as an art form is the collaboration... and our team is REEEEEDICULOUS. Besides the boys in the Nederlander office... especially the CFO of Nederlander Worldwide, David Groelinger, who I have to send out a special shout out to (Thanks, buddy!), we have Aldo Scrofani and Maria Di Dia (just call her "Nifty") as General Managers (TMA) and Aldo Scrofani and Heather Provost as Executive Producers. Love them! Aldo is the lead producer of one of my faves, "STOMP. " ‘Nuf said. Well... maybe one more thing. To me, he is "Aldorrific." Or "Aldorable." Or just "THE ALDOMINATOR." OK, three things... whatevs.

We have a Tony nominated set designer, Beowulf Boritt, ("Rock of Ages,"" Sondheim on Sondheim,""Spelling Bee"), designing some magical wonderfulness with the pennies he was allotted to build the set. Tony award winning designer, David Gallo ("Memphis,"" Thoroughly Modern Millie,"" The Drowsy Chaperone"), is our kickass projection designer. And please take note, no one beats our casting folks... WOJCIK/SEAY. Gayle and Scott, (I love you guys so much, I want to bite your faces off!!), found us the sickest cast in town! Believe me, you will get to know all these beauties well in the weeks to come.

Of course, at the helm are our fearless director, DJ Salisbury and music supervisor, Wendy Bobbitt Cavett (Mama Mia), my genius partners in crime. You remember... I raved about them continually in the last blog. Together, we are the 3 V's... Valedictorians Unite!! And yes, we really are that nerdy and overachiever-y... no, really... we are (*snort*). Sidebar: Just showed DJ this paragraph in my blog and he said that ironically, last night he was lying in bed with his eyes closed thinking about what the 3 V's could literally stand for. He finally came up with... "VIVA, VALEDICTORY, VICTORY!!'"... Ahem, like I said... (*snort*).

So things you should know... First, here's the bare bones gist of what the play is about...

"CHIX 6" Words, music, and lyrics by Lourds Lane Add'l contributions to the book by DJ Salisbury The story is about a self-effacing young female comic book artist named Katie who works through her relationship issues with her boyfriend by drawing extraordinary super-heroines, the "SICK CHIX." Katie's art is her therapy and her extreme super-heroine creations serve to empower and heal her. All her characters have completely unique personalities and sing music in diverse genres - rock, pop, Middle Eastern, jazz, blues, gospel, and country. When her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, Katie loses her source of inspiration and the stage goes dark. She no longer has the will to create. Desperate and heartbroken, she prays for help from her angels. Hearing her cry, Katie's artwork comes to life to save the day. From shadowy silhouette to eye-popping techno-color, Katie's eclectic superdivas literally leap off the page, pull Katie into their comic book world, and teach young Katie how to love herself. In the end, Katie finds her voice and celebrates her new-found freedom and sense of self-worth.

Intrigued?

Then, you should know that tickets are on PRE-SALE NOW at http://queenstheatre.org for a discount. You just need to enter the event code LOURDS and you can pick out the prime seats before the show is open to the general public on September 5th.

Also, stay tuned for more about the new LIGHTNING GIRL FUN-DATION we are creating, based on one of the comic book characters from our show. DJ and I, who are no strangers to community service work, had the idea to create a non-profit in tandem with launching our Broadway show. Our intent is to empower children through art and music with the theme, "I am a superhero." We have partnered with an amazing non-profit, ASTEP (http://asteponline.org) who will be our umbrella company for this Queens run. We also have a team of highly devoted individuals who are spearheading our non profit with us. (Undying thanks to Wendy, Jennifer, Jon, and Janel for your love, smarts, and enthusiasm!). Tell me, how amazing would it be to have the walls of our Broadway theatre filled with artwork created by 6th grade (for CHIX 6) kids! We'll be givin' back from the get-go! The Fun-Dation will grow with the show!! Yay! 

Finally, you should know a little taste of my history. A few years back, I was travelling in a van, packing out large clubs around the country as the electric violin playing front woman of my nationally touring rock band, LOURDS (http://lourds.com). I don't come from Broadway at all... so the fact that the musical I wrote is resonating with so many people, I just can't help but be completely gleeful. Throw in the fact that there are about 50 people on our creative and production team who passionately believe and work towards a common vision... that our team and the resources available to our team seem to grow exponentially daily... that there's always a lot of squeezey love in the rehearsal room... and OHMYGOSH, MY FAVE!!!... THE BIG, FAT, BLACK BINDER THAT HOLDS ALL THE SHEET MUSIC FROM THE SHOW!!!... AAAAAAAAAH! I'm on cloud nine!! If I could, I would sniff every, single, delicious page in that binder...

OK, I did... Don't judge.

Here's my point, people... If I seem too effusive for you, I JUST CAN'T HELP IT!!! I'M SO EXCITED!! NOW SHUT UP AND HUG ME, FOR CRY EYE!!!

Stay with me, folks. We're going on a ride! And trust, you'll be excited too!

CHIX 6 facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/CHIX-6/80407936780
CHIX 6 website: http://chix6.com
CHIX 6 Twitter: http://twitter.com/chix6rocks
CHIX 6 Youtube: http://youtube.com/chix6rocks