Got the Bad News...So I Guess This Is Good News?

I love performing. I love singing, I love acting...not so fond of dancing. But I love to do the first two whenever I can. I had done lots of community theatre before my daughter was born in 2006, but once she showed up, the stage and I parted ways. Fortunately, it was a trial separation. Last year, I was in a production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and the coolest part of it was that my daughter was in it too! We had a great time and she was definitely bitten by the acting bug.

I didn't think I would do another show right away, but when I saw the next show at Peninsula Community Theatre was "Always...Patsy Cline", I just couldn't resist. So I auditioned, and lo and behold, I was fortunate enough to get cast in the role of Louise. Now, here's the thing about this show. IT'S TOUGH. It's only two people in the cast: Louise and Patsy Cline. So it is a really taxing show. For this reason, the director made a brilliant decision: he double-cast the show. Two Patsy Clines, two Louises. We split the shows evenly. Not as hard on all of us. I mean, I am talking 20+ songs that Patsy has to sing, and pretty close to 2 hours of monologues that Louise has to say.

Rehearsals had already been difficult because all of us, at one point or another, were sick. Flu season was not kind to any of us. But we were all really starting to gel and it was all coming together nicely. And then we got some horrible news. The other Louise, the fantastic Lucy May, had to go to the ER and was diagnosed with pneumonia. This was less than a week ago. And we open in two weeks. She was admitted to the hospital and then they hit her with the news that it wasn't pneumonia. They were 98% certain she had lung cancer. This news hit us all like a ton of bricks. That an elephant was carrying in a dumpster. Even though there were two casts for this show, there was no jealousy, no sniping, no back-stabbing; we are all friends. So what should we do? Again, we are two weeks away from opening night. Lucy made the decision for all of us basically. She bowed out of the show (which I know was incredibly difficult for her and is a huge disappointment to all of her friends and fans) and so now there are two Patsy Clines...but only one Louise. Remember that elephant with the dumpster full of bricks? Yeah, he showed up again.

So many things are running through my mind now (and with as many lines as I have had to memorize, I didn't think there would be any room at all for all those thoughts, but somehow, they found their own places to plant roots). Can I do this? Can I do this 12 times vs. 6 shows? How many times am I going to lose my voice, forget my lines, make a fool out of myself? Will I live up to the expectations? The people who know Lucy and were so excited to see her in this role - will they demand their money back? It is more than a little crushing. But I can't let all those negative thoughts and concerns hold me down. Lucy knows I will do a great job. Lucy WANTS me to do a great job. She looked me in the eye and told me she was sending me all the good karma she has, and since she is where she is right now and is fighting what she's fighting, that means more to me than she could ever know.

So I guess I better get out of my own head and just do this thing. Do it the best that I can, the best that Lucy can, because now I'm doing it for both of us. And I am not going to let Lucy down. That much you can count on.