All That Jazz

Posted by Beki on May 29, 2013 in Theater | 3 comments

One of the things I love about being an actress is that I get to play pretend. I mean, come on. Who doesn’t wish they could be someone else every once in a while? I think that is what drew me into theater as  a young girl, the thought of being someone else, taking on another personality…and it was, normal. Applauded even. Stepping into someone else’s life, being someone you could never dream of being, behaving in a way that is completely different from how you behave, saying things you didn’t know you could say. It’s very alluring.

Today I took on the persona of Roxy Hart from the musical Chicago. It was fun. She is so very different from me. I sang for a convention at a hotel near Universal Studios. Their theme was “All That Jazz”, so it seemed fitting to have someone come in dressed in a flapper dress and sing “All That Jazz” from Chicago, with all new words fitting their program of course. As I worked the crowd in my fringed dress and pearls, singing lyrics like, “Start this conference, it’s a whoopee spot…where the ice tea’s cold, but the program’s HOT”…I could tell they were digging it. I channeled Catherine Zeta Jones AND Renee Zellweger….and the crowd loved it. I belted out the last chorus and had them on their feet at the end. It was great.

It was a little awkward walking through the hotel towards the parking lot, in my fringed flapper dress and headband, no longer protected by the convention banners announcing why I was there. I got a few glances and judgmental stares. I started to feel like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman as she walked through the Beverly Wilshire. I refrained myself from the pantyhose monologue as I got on the elevator. The few men that smiled at me, and the slaps they got from their wives, helped turn my mood around.

I was still in a good mood when I walked my fringed-self into my house….until I saw that every room was a complete wreck! We’re talking utter destruction. Ugh! Do you think Roxy has to deal with this? Hmm. Clean it up? I think I’ll live in the land of pretend a little bit longer.