Shelby VanderEnde's Blog : That's A Wrap People!

Well, that's a wrap folks! "Glam" is over! Done! Finito! After countless Sunday afternoon rehearsals, run-throughs and dress rehearsals, the show is all done. This past weekend "Glam" played for four shows at the Citadel Theatre on Rebecca Street in downtown Hamilton. The end of a musical always seems a little bitter sweet. You are happy to not have to endure anymore six hour dress rehearsals but on the other hand, you are also sad because you won't get to see the cast you have become such good friends with on a weekly basis! Ah, the drama of a performer! Anyhow, the performances of "Glam" went so well! Our first and only dress rehearsal was the night before opening on Friday. I guess you could say that Thursday was sort of hardcore. We ran the show for the first time in the theatre, with sets, mic's, lights, the whole shebang twice that night. This allowed the cast and I to get used to the flow and iron out any fine details that were left in our delivery. The shows on Friday went extremely well and the response was great.

Me singing "Tell It Like It Is"

In the true nature of musical theatre, sometimes you are thrown minor hiccups that you have to deal with on the spot and come up with a solution for. In our case, the Friday evening show had a nice little surprise in store for us. One of my cast mates came to the theatre looking quite pale. Since she's a kindergarten teacher I could only think, "Uh oh". She told us she had been sick since last night and I mean SICK. So, immediately my directors thinking cap went on. The show must go on and go on it did. We had our backup plan in place; one of the girls who knew her songs well enough would go out there and fill in on her solos. We were all a bit thrown by this but just before the show started, my sick cast member came backstage like a champion and got through the show no problem. She was still sick but the audience would never have known. She rocked "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" like it was nothing and the crowd cheered loudly for her.

Full cast intro song "Anyway You Want It"

Overall, this show was such a great success. Some audience members came to see the show one, then twice and even three times! I was humbled to receive great praise for my solos which is always a good sign! Also, sharing the stage with all the talented adults and teens was so exciting and fun. I'm definitely looking forward to keeping my eyes pealed for the next great show to be a part of...