November 30th, 2009

4:40 am    After a solid four hours of sleep I was rudely awakened by the telephone: a recorded message from the car service saying they were one their way. Strangely enough this was more comforting than being roused by my extremely annoying clock radio upon which nothing sounds remotely like music. The cat was dumbfounded, but ever so pleased to get a little food in the middle of the night. I put the kettle on and hopped in the shower. Made myself a flask of tea, grabbed an orange, and fumbled my way down to the car. Woke up the doorman. Poor Ralph. At least he was making double time. What amazes me about New York City is how many people are out on the streets and looking normal and cheerful at 5:15 on Thanksgiving morning!

5:30 am    Half-hour call at the Theatre. Yikes. Into full drag. Nothing like slapping the waterproof eyeliner on stinging, red, half-mast eyes.  I have to leave my costume off because it’s not built for bathroom breaks.

6:00 am    On the bus with the Ballet Girls and Trent as Billy, Annie their guardian, Margie-Anne and the other dressers, Monica from hair, Terry from wardrobe, David and Reg with props, Cara, Greg, and Tom who will be spacing the number and giving us notes, Carole from company management, Charlie and Bonnie from stage management, Juliana and Frances from publicity... you get the picture. This is no small feat, and we are not out there alone in front of the camera.

6:30 am     We are escorted to our trailers, where breakfast is waiting! Yea! I treat myself to a gooey sweet danish and some pineapple. A prize for my efforts. And we wait for a while.

7:15 ish    We are escorted through the Macy’s store (no shopping allowed, but the store is decorated to the hilt for Christmas! It’s spectacular!) to a holding area. The cast of Hair is out on the street... as the sun begins to light sky... singing “this is the dawning of the age of Aquarius...” Me and the girls are singing along, pumping with adrenalin. And then we are on the street to rehearse. It’s a little chilly. Three run-throughs for camera. People are very happy with how it all looks. The director is determined to get the right coverage, for which I have a great deal of respect. They truly want to do us justice.

7:45        Back in the trailer. Waiting. This is the moment where the body wants to slip back into sleep. But I am surrounded by the charming, and fascinating crew from the show, and we enjoy some conversation and laughter. There is even a little time to interact with folks from other shows: the girls at one point singing “... we wish you a merry Christmas...” with the cast of Hair! (Picture it!) And the full company of Shrek has gathered on the street after their rehearsal (mostly because many of them can’t sit down in their costumes!). Unbelievable costumes they have! Wow! (But talk about an early make-up call! Yikes. I bet they didn’t even sleep.) I have to laugh. As I am admiring the amazing stagecraft that has gone into the Shrek costumes, I see Thommie Retter, who plays Mr. Braithwaite in BE, watching them, wearing his 1984 mining-town street clothes, complete with greasy mullet hair, and I muse... Billy Elliot is not your average Broadway musical. Hee, hee.

9:00 ish    We’re called to stand-by. (I have to give enormous kudos to the organisers of this entertainment. The whole thing is run like clockwork and with a great deal of respect and kindness. I never heard a raised or impatient voice.) There are two holding stations before you hit the stage, and at each station you get to see the shows that are coming before and after you. So once again, we rubbed noses with the cast of Hair, and then with the cast of Bye Bye Birdie.

9:30 ish    And then we were on. Three and a half minutes. No one fell down. There was no rain or snow. And the folks in the bleachers seemed pleased. Crazy... but that was it.
       
9:40 am     On the way back to the trailers we met the cast of Shrek, and then... at the first holding area... THE ROCKETTES! Wow. This left me with the most memorable image from the days events: our young Ballet Girls in their pink tutus and feather crowns, having their pictures taken with these giant showgirls in their red-velvet minis and diamond collars. Brilliant!

9:55 am    We’re back on the bus. The streets are all closed off, so we are going the wrong way up Broadway, and in the distance we can see the enormous balloons of the Parade making their way toward their final destination. We’re held up a bit because we have to cross the balloon deflating station, which means moving a huge tarp out of the intersection. We’re lucky apparently, because the Shrek cast got caught behind it, and had to wait on their bus for nearly an hour! Yikes.

10:15 am    Back at the theatre and getting out of the drag.

10:45 am     I’m home.

11:15 am     I’m back in bed, after having an absolute hoot being involved in this firmly established American institution.
        The real gift was being able to see it through the eyes of the girls, their excitement, their flashing cameras, their desire to hold on to this event as a lasting memory in their young lives. And for me, a really great memoir to add to my Broadway adventure.

And today? A day off, after 16 shows, four rehearsals, a recording, and a parade. No one can say I’m not living!

(The photo was taken by Monica Costea, our hair mistress, during our dawn rehearsal.)