Blame it on Aida

These last couple weeks have been filled with preparations for Aida, which opens next Tuesday, September 23rd, at the Hale Center Theater Orem. For those of you who don't know, the Hale Center Foundation for the Arts and Education, of which HCTO is a part, is my employer. My official title is Director of Advancement, and as such I am in charge of all the marketing, advertising, special events, fund raising, sponsorships, philanthropy, communications, publicity, etc. Along with that comes the dubious honor of working to produce a quality playbill for each show. This includes writing sections about the history of the show, the authors/composers of the show, and the history behind the setting of the show. I'm also responsible for proofing the grammer and legibility of all other written material and ads in the playbill. It can be kind of a daunting task, but I enjoy it.

For all of you local yokels, you definitely need to come and see the show! Why? 1) So you can get your own copy of my published writings. 2) Because it will be one of the best shows ever produced in Utah Valley. I'm not kidding on this. We've got top talent, top music, top costumes, lighting, effects, etc. And if you ask really nice, I might just be able to offer you some kind of discount. As a teaser, here is the piece that I wrote about the history of Aida and its most recent authors/composers:

From Shakespeare’s “star cross’d” Romeo and Juliet to Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, from Austen’s Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet to Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester, forbidden love never fails to capture the attention and hearts of all. Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida takes the same theme—love between a Nubian princess and an Egyptian heir to the Pharaoh’s throne—and wraps it in a rapturous rock-musical score, immersing the audience in the woes and heartbreak of their plight and the dire consequences of what a decision to transcend the easy road and submit to true love would mean. Unlike Romeo and Juliet’s tragic finale, there is a ray of hope gleaming off the Egyptian hieroglyphs for our protagonists. Perhaps Westly from The Princess Bride expressed the sentiment best when he said, “Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.”

But the road to Broadway—and more importantly to the Hale Center Theater Orem—was not short for Aida. It began in 1869 with Giuseppe Verdi when the Khedive of Egypt wanted to commission Verdi to write an opera worthy of Egypt’s theaters. Verdi refused twice, but after reading an outline for Aida his interest was piqued and he agreed to the task. Egyptologist Mariette Bey is generally credited with the original story.

Aida opened to universal acclaim on Christmas Eve in Cairo and Milan in 1871. At one point in the opera over 300 performers (and a few elephants) were on stage. The theater in Cairo only sat 600 people! Verdi’s Aida remains popular around the world to this day. It has also been remade over twenty times for television and the big screen. In 1998, Elton John and Tim Rice collaborated to bring you the version of Aida that you are enjoying tonight.

Elton John – Born in Middlesex, England, in 1947, John took up the piano at the age of four and continued throughout his youth, later honing his skills at the Royal Academy of Music. Although his first few years in the industry were rough, once he produced hits like “Your Song” and “Rocket Man”, he hit the top of the charts and stayed in orbit for over 30 years. His rewritten version of “Candle in the Wind” remains the biggest-selling single of all time. In 1998, in honor of his contributions to charity and the arts, the Queen of England knighted John, bestowing the title of Sir Elton John CBE.

John first teamed up with Tim Rice for Disney’s 1990 film and 1997 Broadway Musical The Lion King, and has since worked with him on The Road to El Dorado and of course Aida, which won the 2000 Tony® Award for Best Score.

Aida presented John with a challenge unique to his prior experience, writing a full-length musical directly for the stage. Although he found the project daunting, says John of Aida, “It’s a beautiful, complex love story, where bigotry and hatred are swept out the window, and love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding triumph. In this day and age, I’m a great believer in the human spirit triumphing over evil in any way.”

Tim Rice – Although he began his career as a lawyer, in 1965, at the age of 21, Rice teamed up with the 17-year-old Andrew Lloyd Webber as a lyricist, and together they went on to create such monumental Broadway musicals as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Evita. He also worked with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba fame to create the 1986 musical Chess and contributed to Disney’s Aladdin after the passing of Howard Ashman midway through production. He also contributed to the original music added to the stage version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and won three separate Academy Awards® for Best Music, Original Song. Rice also received British Knighthood in 1994.

Of Aida, Rice says, “When you approach the creation of a new musical, the story is the most important thing, and we begin with one of the great ones. If you can add a wonderful score, you have a really good chance of coming up with a great show.”

There you have it. And I blame the show for now posting last week or until now this week. Not that I feel like I have any sort of ah-blog-ation to any of you (yuk yuk yuk). Just wanted to be open with you. That's what healthy relationships are about, isn't it? Openness? Communication?

And now for an update of my daughter, who is now over 5 weeks! She has begun sleeping for 5-6 hour stretches at night, and has 1-2 major ppd (poops per day). She can hold her head up for 30-45 second stretches, and at our best estimates tips the scales at 7.5 lbs, 23 inches. She loves having staring contests and will follow you with her eyes if you move around. She'll also start looking around when she hears Mommy or Daddy's voice. And when she has also learned the feeding position and pillow so that when the two combine, her mouth is open and head is shaking from side to side just waiting for a drink. Sometimes I like to put the Boppy pillow on my lap and put her in "the position", just to tease. My teasing is age-blind. I don't want to get slapped with an age-ism suit, you know. So yes, I do tease my 5-week old. And speaking of feeding, this child could out eat me in the evening. Megan will just finish feeding her and she's hungry again. Another 30 min and she's hungry again. 10 minutes later and she's gotta eat. Pacifiers won't do it. Nothing calms her except food. Maybe that's why she sleeps so long.

Favorite Songs:
Braham's Lullaby (Mom)
A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief (Mom)
Elephant Love Medley (Mom & Dad)
Waltzing Matilda (Dad)
Your Song (Dad)
The Mockingbird Song (Dad - with improvised objects bought - i.e. ball of twine, humming bird, toilet seat, etc)
I Believe in a Thing Called Love (Dad)
Beethoven's Seventh Symphony - Allegretto (iPod)
Stronger (instrumental version - no lyrics) by Kanye West - (iPod)

And now for some pics!

Tilly can't believe I've got the camera out again.

I pledge allegience, to my dad...

Daddy, Tilly, and Thing taking a nap

A good profile shot of our tightly bundled baby holding her head up.

Matilda on her one month birthday!

One too many flashes. Just kidding, she always makes this face.

This one, however, was a first. Not sure what inspired it.

Happy and cute, just like a one-month old should be.

Taking an interest in the rattle Mommy bought her.

...and she's done. Probably hungry. She always is.