Last night was Leah’s opening as Annie in the musical “Annie.” She was fantastic. Last month I wrote about her getting this role and how, during the casting process, I needed to forcibly restrain my Mama Rose tendencies. I don't think I was too bad last night, I never once screamed “Sing out, Louise!” from the audience.
Leah has done close to 20 shows with this theatre company over the years but this was her first show with the master class, made up of the oldest kids. The very first performances in children’s theatre are often a bit iffy. Sometimes what’s happening on the stage is so confusing that unless you have the entire play and score committed to memory (as I always do) you wouldn’t have a clue as to what the story is about. It’s especially hard for Leah’s mom, born and raised in France with little exposure to American musicals. I’ve looked at her face during some of these first shows as she desperately tries to follow along. “Who are those nuns and why is one of them getting married?” “Why are those nice little boys picking those people’s pockets?” “Did that plant just eat the main character? What’s going on?” Some of the dance numbers in these early performances look like they were choreographed by martial artists, with kids ramming into each other at every turn. But, as in the Hanukkah miracle which we start celebrating tonight, by the second performance the kids have somehow gotten it all together and the shows become as cohesive as a long-running Broadway blockbuster. Part of the problem is that school and theatre schedules often create long delays between the final rehearsal and opening night. This was particularly true for “Annie.” The kids hadn’t been together since December 2nd, almost two weeks before their first performance in front of an audience. But man, they pulled it off. Sure, there were a few dropped lines here and there, and a couple of missed song cues, but they got more confident in every scene and it was a great show.
Needless to say, seeing Leah up there belting out “Tomorrow” sent chills up my spine and I would have happily sold my soul to the devil if my late mother could have seen it. She was a Broadway fanatic (who was with me when we stood in the SRO section of the Alvin Theatre in 1978 watching the original “Annie”) and would have kvelled herself into a state of apoplexy to see her first grandchild playing that part. But maybe she was watching the show somehow.
Most of the photos I took came out blurry because I was too afraid of blinding the kids with my flash but if I can get an audio or video clip tomorrow night I’ll add it later. I can see I’m already acting like one of those painfully annoying parents who talk too much about their kids so I’ll stop. At least I’ve never put a bumper sticker on my car extolling the accomplishments of my child, why do people do that? (As if writing blog entries about her accomplishments is any better?) Even more embarrassing is the way I scan the program looking for the kids of famous parents. And oh my God, there were some doozies this time. I think it would be too obnoxious to name them (although not half as obnoxious as mentioning them at all) but let me just say that for two of the kids, both of their parents are HUGE movie stars. Enough of a hint? Honestly, I should be barred from all children’s theatre.
The one part of the play that reduced me to mush was when Leah finally accepted Daddy Warbucks’ love after realizing that she wasn’t going to find her real parents. But then those imposters, played by Miss Hannigan’s brother Rooster and his floozy girlfriend arrived and convinced everyone that they were Annie’s birth parents. They were going to come the next day to take her away. Annie knew she should be happy and couldn’t figure out why she felt so miserable. Leah sat alone on the set of the Warbucks mansion, looked down sadly, and sang:
And maybe I’ll forget
How nice he was to me
And how I was almost his baby…
Maybe.
Oh crap, I’m crying again just thinking about it.
Me, too. Mazal tov to Leah. I want an autograph.
Posted by: Linda Freedman | December 15, 2006 at 09:02 AM
You said: Not "Did You"…"Jew?"
She said: Lay-ah. Not Lee-ah.
Must be hereditary.
Must oldest daughter, my middle child of three, has "Leah" as her middle name. Lee-ah, not Lay-ah. Do you know what it means? It means "weary." Oh well. We didn't know at the time. We chose Leah just before she was born. We were going to name her Robyn Anna, but we had the good sense to pronounce the two names together out loud and realized what a mistake that would have been.
Hello, Danny.
Posted by: scott | December 15, 2006 at 09:16 AM
Ha ha! I've spent my whole life (prior to converting) saying, "It's Lee-uh, not Lay-uh" and now that I'm Jewish I have conversations that go, "I'm Lee-uh." "What?" "Lee-uh" "Lisa?" "Ack. Lay-uh." "Oh, Lay-uh, why didn't you just say it. Good to meat you."
And while I always thought it was weary, my rabbi offered a beautiful interpretation. Leah's eyes were always in question and my rabbi offered that she was non-judgemental and that Leah's take on the quality of non-judging people too early in a relationship.
Congrats Danny! and Leah.
Posted by: Leah | December 15, 2006 at 09:29 AM
Dear Danny,
Welcome to the world of dress rehearsals in dark, empty theatres; opening nights with your heart pounding louder than the cast; reading reviews with shaky hands; and lining up with everyday folk to crush your very own child -- the one just coming from the spotlight -- to tell her how absolutely marvelous she is. And to mean every single word.
Congrats to Leah and Kendall, too.
Elaine
Posted by: Elaine Soloway | December 15, 2006 at 02:01 PM
That is so exciting: she had the lead!!!
Posted by: Rhea | December 15, 2006 at 03:37 PM
I love how you love her. Every little girl deserves a daddy who adores her like that. And that is why she is so successful. Well done, both of you.
Posted by: Brooke | December 15, 2006 at 05:43 PM
I think I would have been crying through the whole performance Danny, if I had been you..! KVELLING, All The Way, Indeed...!
Oh how I wish I could see Leah in this show...You have to get a Video and bring it up here so I can see her! P-l-e-a-s-e...!
It has to be truly thrilling and even if you have a touch of Mama Rose....well, why not?
I haven't a clue as to who the HUGE Movie Stars are....Email me, please...! If there was a hidden hint there...well, I did not get it...!
I love Leah's Bio, by the way...Very Classy! How many performances will they play all together?
And, last but not least, A Very Happy Hanukkah, to you and Kendall and Leah...well, the first night anyway...!
Posted by: OldOldLady Of The Hills | December 16, 2006 at 01:36 AM
A hearty congratulations! Right from the heart! I can't imagine anything more exciting, Danny. Send my best wishes to every member of your kvelling family!
[Gee, I am dying to know whose parents belong to those two children whose names you wouldn't mention.]
Posted by: tamarika | December 16, 2006 at 03:39 AM
What a wonderful, heart-swelling happy moment for the holidays.
I have a niece named Leah. She acquired the last name Lahey through marriage. God has a sense of humor.
Posted by: V-Grrrl | December 17, 2006 at 06:26 AM
Well, I guess "the sun'll come out tomorrow"...and the next day and the day after that...
Brava, Leah. It's nice to give your parents so much to kvell about; you can wait a few more years to give them the gray hairs!
And Danny, I'm sure your mom had a cushy box seat, and was sitting with the program in hand, scanning through the names, smiling and saying, "That's my Leah. That's my Danny boy's baby."
A bright and happy Chanukah to you all!
Posted by: Pearl | December 17, 2006 at 08:57 AM
Congratulations, Leah! Try to ignore the advice of your "showbiz" dad.
Posted by: Neil | December 17, 2006 at 11:14 PM
"Maybe" has always been my favorite song from Annie. I still sing it while I do the dishes.
Posted by: Heather | December 18, 2006 at 04:33 AM
congratulations to Leah, Danny....and my guess is.... Annette Benning and Warren Beatty?
Posted by: sue | December 25, 2006 at 09:23 PM
I have the same guess as Sue. The wonders of modern technology. I am so behind on everything, including reading your blog, but it's always so fun to catch up by reading 3 or 4 of them at a time. I was regretting not being able to see Leah perform, so now I feel mildly appeased to have gotten a glimpse of her performance.
Posted by: Shari | December 26, 2006 at 06:41 AM