Ramona QuimBee

When last I left you, I was double-rehearsing for RAMONA QUIMBY and THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.  I so cleverly nicknamed it the Ramona QuimBee project.  I rehearsed Ramona for 4 hours in the morning, have about a 4 hour break in the afternoon (not quite long enough to make it worth it to go home, but certainly long enough to eat Chick Fil-A then be bored for 3 1/2 hours), and then Bee rehearsal was in the evening.

The music for Bee was deceptively challenging.  I truly thought at first that I wouldn't be able to get it together by opening night, and that the music director made a mistake by hiring me to play keyboard for it.  I lived, breathed, and agonized over that score, but I didn't give up, and by the time we were about to start previews, I got so confident with the music that when there was a rehearsal called with just me and no band, I was wishing that there wasn't a band at all and that I could just play the whole show by myself.  As a bandleader, it was an exercise in learning to deal with a variety of personalities.  I'm trying to be diplomatic here, so enough said about that.  I'm grateful for that exercise.  Linda, the music director, has taught me more than she's probably aware of.  I learned a lot of what I know about being an accompanist just by watching her.

The cast from Spelling Bee was so nice and welcoming.  They treated me like I was just as important as them every step of the way.

Ramona and Bee had overlapping runs.  I think I literally had a couple of 16 or 17 show weeks.  RQ toured around to schools (in a van), then did a week of shows at the Teaching Museum in Roswell, and then finally ended with a week of performances at the home of Georgia Ensemble Theatre - right in front of the Spelling Bee set.  The Teaching Museum was exactly what it sounds like.  We took a field trip there during rehearsals just to see it, and we walked in the auditorium and were greeted with 44 life-size President cardboard cut-outs - everyone from Washington to Obama.  On our performance week, we had 2 dressing rooms.  We started out in a happy lovey cheerful Dr. Seuss room, and then due to something about space availability, we had to be moved to a replica of Anne Frank's attic.   Not as playful of a vibe there.

I loved the QuimBee project, and was sad when the Ramona part especially was over.  RQ, believe it or not, turned out to be one of my favorite shows of my career.  I treasure the experience, and the cast is one of the 6 best ensemble casts I've been a part of in my 22 year, 95 show career.  It was a hard one to say goodbye to.

[Hopefully] Enclosed are a couple of pictures.  One is of the entire cast and crew of Spelling Bee, and the other one was taken from Ramona Quimby: The Last Supper.  I had a great time writing about this - it really took me back.  Next up, A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS CAROL...