Monday, October 5, 2009

Tale as Old as Time


Somehow, this news hasn't made it into Variety, but I wanted to be sure you knew:

My beloved child is going to play
Mrs. Potts
in Beauty and the Beast!




Yes, Daring Daughter will be singing at the local community center's mini-production of the marvelous Menken musical. She specifically requested the role made famous by the incredible Angela Lansbury. Sure, she's a "most peculiar mad'moiselle" "with a dreamy far-off look and her nose stuck in a book," as Menken's lyrics describe Belle, but my girl recognizes a juicy role when she sees one. Lansbury's singing performance is delightful, and weak pun alert! she infuses the character with a rich flavour.





We saw Angela Lansbury this summer on Broadway in Blithe Spirit. We were squished in the back row of the balcony, but it was actually a great view of the stage. We just had to leave our legs in the lobby to fit into our seats.


The kids loved the play and Professor X and I marveled at how energetic her performance was. After it was over, we joined a crowd outside the stage door. You can imagine the thrill we felt when she came out and signed our program. We were this close:

I know my little girl and my tall son both have dreams that some day they'll be the ones holding the pen, graciously talking to fans. Whether they make it to Broadway or just the local school and community center productions, it's a wonderful dream.

Daring Daughter is practicing her choreography and songs constantly. My teapot girl is bubbling with excitement. And so am I.

9 comments:

The Grandpa said...

Congratulations to your daughter. It's fun when you're on stage. But congratulations to you too. It's even more fun when you're the parent and your child's on stage too.

I don't think my daughter's been on stage since she graduated from college. She's now 35 and we're going up this weekend to see her perform! I'm as excited as I was when she had the lead in Our Town in high school. And she's enjoying it so much, she's even talking about getting back into community theater,

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!!

And you are absolutely correct about not being able to take your legs with you when you sit down in to watch a show on Broadway. What were they thinking? Were people that much smaller? Are we that much bigger?

Mrs. Chili said...

THAT is EXCEEDINGLY cool! Tell her congrats from Chili!

(How'd you do the marquee? That, too, is exceedingly cool...)

Fantastic Forrest said...

The Grandpa - you're so right! How fun that your daughter is getting back into performing. What play is she in?

a tired wife - I was thunderstruck at how tight it was. Admittedly, we were in the cheap seats, but no one, except a double amputee, would have found these comfortable.

Mrs. Chili - I love those generator thingys. Check this out: http://redkid.net/generator/sign.php

Kathy Amen said...

Such talented children! How cool to be preparing for two different productions!

kyooty said...

awesomeness truely awesome news about your daughter. What a fabulous role!

Lisa Wheeler Milton said...

We are so there. (I need dates for both of your performing stars.)

Bee said...

Very exciting! Will we get to hear DD sing on Youtube one of these days?

I can't imagine how you conjured up that sign, but I'm very impressed!

Mrs. Chili said...

Ooooh, Forrest! THANK you! I love these things! Expect to see one on my blog soon....