"I Know Seymour's the greatest, but I'm dating a semi-sadist."

It's not very often in musical theater that you get to sing a ballad containing THAT particular rhyme. However, I get to do just that as Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors," now playing at the Hale Center Theater in Orem.


As a kid, I watched the movie version with Rick Moranis and Steve Martin. I thought it was funny and quirky and altogether entertaining. Imagine my surprise when I was 15 and my mom took me to see a live theatrical production starring a friend of hers. I had no idea it was an actual musical that real people could be in! I enjoyed it all the more and fell in love with the music and characters. It has remained on my top five list of musicals since that time.

So, now I have to thank Ben for letting me check off one of my dream roles by participating in this production. And what, you ask, is all that desirable about a man-eating plant in New York City in 1960? And my answer would be, why don't you come and find out for yourself? If, for nothing else, just to hear the Doo-Wop girls tear it up in their AMAZING songs. (I might just have to lock one of them in a closet one night and go on in their place, but I think that my pasty white skin would be a major give-away.) I will be performing in the show on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights (with the exception of Oct. 1st) from now until November 21. Go here to get tickets. Disclaimer: This show does deal with domestic abuse and plants eating people, so you might want to leave the kids at home. My kids, upon viewing a preliminary run-through, just wanted to climb inside the plant, and make it chew up each other. I totally let them.

Most of the Time I'm the Mom

But sometimes, and by sometimes, I mean about every two years, I get paid to be somebody else for a day. This time around, my friend Brett wrote some funny scripts for Xango, and he recommended me for auditions.

I played a blindfolded speed chess champion, so it was clearly typecasting. No, but seriously, I used to know how to play chess pretty well, but I really embarrassed myself that day. They would set up the chess moves every time and I memorized my moves, but then sometimes, they wouldn't reset them and so I'd have to come up with new, real moves. At one point, that 9-year old kid was killing me. I only had one guy left and he was totally talking trash! They were all pretty much making fun of me--whatever, it's fine. I have other talents, right? I don't have to be the best chess player in the room, right?

Although it was a relatively long day of shooting, and I experienced some anxiety over my abandoned children, I had a really fun time and am relieved that everyone involved seems pleased with the final product. And many MANY thanks to Rachel, who watched the twins for 8 HOURS (if that's not love, I don't know what is-maybe you should buy one of her awesome Halloween skirts to thank her for me), and Lisa, who stepped in at the last minute to take Mila and Ethan after school. Living across the street from the school is both a blessing and a curse, eh Lisa? I also learned that day that a lot of times, when you think the camera is off, they are actually rolling, and will actually use your "I'm-going-to-make-these-guys-laugh-because-we've-been-here-awhile" shtick in the final cut. In my defense, I was blindfolded!