The Monday After

I am having a lazy morning, and being lazy has never felt so good. Last week was CRA-ZAY, especially the weekend. On Saturday, I was at Orem High from 8:30 am until 11 pm. I didn't get to say good-bye to many people because I darted out of there so quickly, but I was just so tired. And then the Sunday (the-MOST-non-day-of-rest-for-this-chick) schedule just about did me in. So, here I sit, in my pjs, while the kids watch Diego (we ate breakfast after 10!) just chillaxing.

Saturday night was really amazing. Yes, it was a long day, and I worried about the kids, but they were fine, and it was so worth it in the end. I got to work with some of the most talented people I have ever seen/heard in my life. Most of them went to Orem High, so I felt like the outsider, but it made it that much more of an honor to be included. I definitely felt like I had to earn my place!

Just a few comments on the show:

Jenny Jordan Frogley is a robot, and when I say that, I don't mean it in a bad way. I call Celine Dion a robot. Jenny has this voice that blows my mind. She says she doesn't have much training and she wishes she could do more musical theater style stuff and I'm saying, "Dude! I have never heard so many sweet licks in my whole life!"

My friend Korianne was the star of the show, in my mind. She is one of those people who can belt out a song and make you pee your pants with laughter and then turn around and sing "How Could I Ever Know?" with this gorgeous classical voice, and it breaks your heart. I love watching her perform, and I was so happy she got to shine that night.

Chris Higbee's voice kills me. When he sings "Bring Him Home" as Jean Valjean, I want to die, it's so beautiful. I thought that twelve years ago when he sang it in concert, and I think it now. I would have married his voice if it would have asked me back then. Is that a really weird/disturbing thing to say? I'm just trying to convey the effect that his voice has on me.

I can't believe how much talent has come out of Orem High. Just like people move to Dillon, Texas (a fictional place) from Dallas to play football for the Panthers (a fictional team), do people from, I don't know, Topeka, Kansas, move to Orem so their singer/dancer kids can attend Orem High? It sort of seems that way. These people are undeniably awesome.

I.LOVE.SINGING. I try to pretend that I don't really care about it that much, "Oh yeah, it's cool, I like to sing, whatever..." but I am lying because singing is about as important to me as breathing. There, I said it. Backstage, as Jenny and I watched the dancers do their thang, I asked Jenny if she would trade her singing talent for those dancers' talent, and we both agreed that we wouldn't. If you know how much I love SYTYCD, you might think that that would be a tough decision. But it so wasn't.

Saturday night, I enjoyed singing the songs from Little Women that I've sung so many times and adore, but my favorite part of the show by far was the Les Miserables section.

I still remember the day like it was yesterday that I was listening to Phantom of the Opera and my dad brought me the Les Miserables CD and said, "Hailey, you have to hear this song--it is my absolute favorite" and he played me "Bring Him Home" for the first time. I was thirteen. I went on to spend years listening to that CD and memorizing every song. I attended the show three times, once in Chicago, and twice in LA.

Then, I went to college and got to sing in the large ensemble for the concert version they did at Orem High in 1997. In 1999, I went to an open call audition for the touring production in Salt Lake. After I sang, they asked me if I knew "On my Own." I sang it and then they said, "Actually, we're going to need you to come back later today and sing 'I Dreamed a Dream.'" I came back later, sang it, and chatted with the extremely complimentary casting directors afterward. I felt like I was dreaming. About six months later, I got a call from my friend Matt. He said that he had just spoken with the casting agency that represented Les Mis and they had asked him if he knew me. He said that they had tried to track me down over the summer to offer me a job with the tour, but they had the wrong phone number, so they filled the opening with someone else. We had moved and it was before everyone had cell phones. I couldn't believe it. I had Mila the next year, so I knew that someone else had a hand in my not getting the job because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had her if I went on tour.

So singing "On My Own" on Saturday was fun and all, and probably something I will never get to do again, but it was when I got to stand at the front of the stage and sing "Do You Hear the People Sing?" that I really felt emotional. I finally had closure, and I knew my wonderful grandmother (my No. 1 fan until she passed away six years ago this month) was somewhere watching, smiling so proudly. Like I said, it was an amazing night.

Excuse me while I go get some Kleenex. Yikes! What started out as a lazy post turned into something quite sentimental. Oh well, that happens. And I really miss my grandma.