OKAY! This is the final update before I leave for Philadelphia!
Our rehearsals in town are done, and I am beat. We rehearsed for
14 hours last week, including an all-day rehearsal on Saturday, then two hours each night this week.
Last night's Dress Rehearsal was
phenomenal -- I wish you all could have been there. As I posted before, we were in the
Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts, where we hold our show series each year. I was expecting maybe 400 or 500 people, but when the curtain came up, the floor was
packed (I learned later my family almost got in a tussle with some other people trying to get seats), and the balcony only had seats free in the upper corners. Given that the Eisemann's big performing hall seats almost 1600 people, I'd guess that there were about
1400 people there to send us off!!!
We gave 'em a show, too. The chorus got to the theater before the advertised start time, so we warmed up and ran through a few things before we opened the house. Then we went to change into our performance tuxes (this year featuring a sparkly gold vest and black & gold plaid tie over a black shirt) while the audience came in (and fought for seats!). When we got back on stage, we started with the contest set (our director's very moving arrangement of
If I Ruled the World followed by an energetic, choreographed rendition of Irving Berlin's
When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam').
The crowd was clapping and cheering in anticipation of the set, and we had a former member who is a radio announcer introduce us just as we will be in Philly: "Turn down the house lights and close the doors; we're ready for our fourth chorus competitor!" (The crowd is going nuts now, and I'm almost overwhelmed by the noise -- remember, we had no idea how big the crowd was at this point!) "Representing the Southwestern District, under the direction of Mr. Jim Clancy,
The Vocal Majority!" It's a goose-bump moment. I can't wait until it's for real, just one week from today.
The crowd was hushed all through the ballad, and then exploded in cheers at the end. I heard them laughing and gasping all through the uptune, and then they went nuts
again when we finished. It was
amazing.
After the curtain came down, we raised it right back up. Four of our younger guys, calling themselves The Phantom Five, will be competing on Tuesday at the convention in the collegiate quartet contest. They came out and did their contest set, and they were really, really good. (One of their songs is
The Bare Necessities!) I think they'll do well. After they sang we got a couple of performance notes from our directors, and then ran the entire contest set beginning to end again. If anything, it was better than the first time, and the crowd seemed to love it even more, even though they knew what to expect this time.
We wanted to reward the people who came out to support us, so we closed with a mini-concert:
Something's Coming; America the Beautiful/God Bless America medley; The Stars & Stripes Forever; and
I'll Be Seeing You.
I went out to see my family after the show, and after they departed it took me almost ten minutes to get the 40 feet or so to the backstage hallway, because the lobby was packed and people kept grabbing my sleeve to talk to me and tell me how much they loved it. I've never experienced anything like it. (It's only in a very narrow segment of the community that we get "rock star" treatment, but it sure is fun when it happens!) I met one group that had driven several hours from out of town just to see our dress rehearsal! Unreal.
So anyway, our next rehearsal is in Philly on Wednesday evening, and since my family & I are driving, I'll have limited time here. If and when I have internet access, I will post updates in this thread -- especially the contest results on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed!
