"It's good to see me, isn't it?!"
(or, WE’RE BACK!)
I got chills, goosebumps, and I’m pretty sure I cried when I heard the applause of our opening night audience on Glinda’s entrance line “It’s good to see me isn’t it!” I had been waiting a year and five months for that. Friends, WE. ARE. BACK!!! We just reopened as the first National Tour, the first company of Wicked in the Western Hemisphere, and since Broadway is opening in a month, the first major production to reopen after closing March 2020. We’ve been told multiple times that the eyes of the industry are on us for how we do, and how safely we can pull this off. So far, so good!
When we got to our first rehearsal three weeks ago, the energy and the pure joy of our company couldn’t be concealed by our requisite masks. The scent of Purell, the freezing A/C of the rooms, the heat of Dallas, were no match for the gratitude in our hearts to be back doing what we loved, evidenced by the light-footed elation of this company. A subsequent NY Times article came out. Pretty quickly it felt like we had been gone for a decade, and simultaneously no time at all. Spacing, dance moves, and musical pitches all came back easier than many of us anticipated. It’s a lot easier to remember what you are doing when you have thirty plus people around focused on the same moment!
Unexpectedly, (being a swing and all) I was on almost immediately for someone who took just a moment longer to get back to the show. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to be out, but I hadn’t expected day two! It turned out to be a gift because I got to really “tech” one of my nine spots, something a swing never gets, especially on a long running show. It was good to work through moments that I only ever get to do as a show is going on, with audience present, so I’ll take that gift!
During the pandemic, it was really tough sometimes getting motivated to work on certain things. I know I wasn’t alone in that. When there is no project tangibly in front of an artist, they have to rely entirely on self motivation…and with a never ending pause on all performing arts, that can be really hard to find. But the minute we were back, I was so grateful that I had stayed on top of my music and kept taking class. I have so many people to thank for keeping me in shape when we were waiting to go back.
I’m aware that the grind of tour life will set in soon, and that this will all go back to feeling like normal, but I don’t want to lose that elation, and I never want to gloss over what we all have just been through. If anything, I want to honor this past, and let it fuel the future. Please, get vaccinated, and wear your mask in crowds.
