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Home  >  Blog  >  I’ve had so many men before…

I’ve had so many men before…

Trish Burgess Posted on17/09/201007/04/2016 Musical Theatre/Am dram/Entertainment 20 Comments

…in very many ways.

This is a line I have to sing in a charity concert in October. I’m trying desperately hard not to snort or, as they say in the business, ‘corpse’ after I sing the line, which, if you didn’t know, is from I Don’t Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar. In the musical the ballad is sung by Mary Magdalene to a sleeping JC, hence the ‘many men’. So it looks like I’m a prostitute again, after my antics earlier this year in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Getting typecast I think.

The concert is a one-night only affair, as a thank you to the local Broad Street Methodist Church who have kindly provided our am-dram society with rehearsal rooms over the years. The songs are all from musicals so we’ve called the event “From Broadway to Broad Street”, which makes me smile.

As usual, what seemed initially like a few rehearsals, maybe once a week for a month, has grown into twice a week for six weeks or more. The whole shebang is getting more complicated with dance moves, not being allowed to read the music as if we were a choir, and having too many chorus numbers we all have to learn. There are always a few people missing at each rehearsal (holidays, sickness, other commitments) so we are forever moaning “We haven’t done this one”, “Yes, we have, we did it last week”, “Well I missed it, can we go over it?”, “Where are you standing?” “Were you next to me last time?”, “Do we go up or down on that line?”, “I’ve forgotten it already”. The under 30s seem to pick up lyrics and moves in an instant. We older ones have brains like sieves.

Struggling with The Rhythm of Life, a song from Sweet Charity which has some over-energetic moves and some ridiculous lyrics, like these, which have to be sung very fast:

Daddy was a new sensation, got himself a congregation
Built up quite an operation down below
With the pie-eyed piper blowing, while the muscatel was flowing
All the cats were go-go-going down below

I looked at the running order last night and discovered my solo is just after this number so I may well mime it, to save my breath for my own song, particularly as I will have to hot-foot it from the altar in the church up to the pulpit. Surely I can’t sing lyrics about my prolific sex life on a pulpit? We are also singing  Texas has a Whorehouse in it which should go down a treat too! God forgive us.

The concert is on 2 October so we’ve a couple of weeks yet and I’m hopeful we’ll get there. As the lyrics from Another op’nin, another show keep reminding me:

Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse
Three weeks, and it coudn’t be worse
One week, will it ever be right?
Then out of the hat, it’s that big first night!

Previous Article The Gallery – A Celebration – Family Reunion
Next Article With apologies to Rod Stewart

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20 Comments

  1. The Dotterel Reply
    17/09/2010 at 1:36 pm

    You can do it if you try… you can do it if you try… you can do it if you try.. fly, fly, fly to daddy

    Enough, already! All I ever get to do in the four-part version of that is 'doo-be, doo-be'.

    When's the concert? I think I'm free in October.

  2. Expat mum Reply
    17/09/2010 at 1:48 pm

    Aw come on – where's the vlog?

  3. KidsTravel2 Reply
    17/09/2010 at 2:04 pm

    you've brought me out in a cold sweat with flash backs to school productions and too many jazz hands

  4. Very Bored in Catalunya Reply
    17/09/2010 at 2:33 pm

    You should have posted the you tube video. And you should definitely mime the other song and save your voice for your big number.

  5. Trish @ Mum's Gone to... Reply
    17/09/2010 at 2:43 pm

    Dotterel – I wish you were singing it with us – it needs more male voices. Every time we start waving our arms about the vocal goes haywire and it doesn't take much for that to happen!

    Concert Saturday 2 October. 7.30 I think.

    Expat Mum and Very Bored – yes I did practise in front of computer and put the video on youtube this week…for all of half an hour, then took it off. I decided if I couldn't have some X-factor auto-tuning, reverb, echo and a proper microphone then bugger it, I'm not going to put myself at the mercy of the critics!!

    Kids Travel 2 – yup there's a few of them in this show haha!

  6. Steve Reply
    17/09/2010 at 3:23 pm

    Whenever I get star struck or dream of treading the boards I read a post like this and realize that I could just not handle the stress and the pressure!

  7. Trish @ Mum's Gone to... Reply
    17/09/2010 at 3:27 pm

    Steve – I don't really know why I do it either! I'm not so bad doing a show as I can pretend I'm someone else, in costume, but I get terribly nervous doing a concert as I'm just me. Does that make any sense? I kept saying I would just be in the chorus this time!

  8. Footballers Knees Reply
    17/09/2010 at 6:08 pm

    Where can we buy tickets?!!

  9. MadameSmokinGun Reply
    17/09/2010 at 11:53 pm

    This has reminded me of a show my little Minx was in (when she was about 5 or 6) when her (then) Dance School accompanied a professional touring show doing West End standards when they performed in a local theatre. It was all lovely and all the proud mums burst into the toilets as one in the interval to touch up their tear-smeared mascara, but the show-stopper was when the younger singy chap knelt down beside the girls to belt out his emotional climax to 'Close Every Door' and the little poppet right next to him put her fingers in her ears and grimaced. The poor lad couldn't work out why his big finish got such a big laugh.

    (Never work with……… )

    Anyway – I'm sure your gang will get it right on the night. Maybe tho' you could wear a tin hat just in case there is a spot of lightning? Just a thought…….

  10. Footballers Knees Reply
    18/09/2010 at 6:10 am

    BTW, just read your 'Mum's gone to Italy – Lazing by the lake' post from Aug '09 – made me laugh out loud. Thanks!

  11. Trish @ Mum's Gone to... Reply
    18/09/2010 at 8:27 am

    Footballer's knees – just turn up on the door – there'll be plenty of tickets!
    I re-read that Lazing by the Lake post – my it was rather good wasn't it!

    MSG – no bloody kids in this show, they'd steal my limelight. Will look out a tin hat pronto- will look good with my velvet frock.

  12. Around My Kitchen Table Reply
    18/09/2010 at 2:49 pm

    From Broadway to Broad Street to Broads Having Fun, sounds like to me! Wish I could be there but Lincolnshire is quite some distance from Devon – even for such a terrific-sounding Opening/Closing night.

  13. sarah at secret housewife Reply
    18/09/2010 at 3:11 pm

    hello!! You made me smile with this one!! I hope it all goes swimmingly and you are a hit! I love your Mary Magdalene song, but I can see why you might corpse!Good luck… or should I say 'Break a leg'
    By the way – thanks for coming over and following me. Much appreciated – welcome.
    Sarah

  14. Becky Reply
    18/09/2010 at 5:00 pm

    Break a leg x

  15. Trish @ Mum's Gone to... Reply
    18/09/2010 at 5:09 pm

    Kitchen Table – absolutely Broads having Fun. Certainly this one is! Will excuse you for not buying a ticket.

    Sarah – It is a lovely song so I hope I do it justice: I'm no Yvonne Elliman.

    Becky – thank you!

  16. Troy Reply
    18/09/2010 at 8:11 pm

    Not many people could be both an amateur singer and an established pro!

  17. Trish @ Mum's Gone to... Reply
    19/09/2010 at 9:05 am

    Troy – I've certainly mastered the art!

  18. Sooz Reply
    19/09/2010 at 1:42 pm

    The extra rehearsals and the ridiculous choreography is exactly why I stepped down for this one! I've enough on trying to learn Shakers! Can't wait to see you all on the 2nd though. And I'll try not to giggle as you tell us of your antics!! ;D

  19. Trish @ Mum's Gone to... Reply
    19/09/2010 at 1:46 pm

    Sooz – what a sensible woman you are. Mind you, the choreography is helping me to remember the words: if I'm pretending to swim it must be "take a dive and swim to daddy"!!

    Must get my tickets to see you in Shakers. Catch up soon xx

  20. funkywellies Reply
    04/10/2010 at 7:32 pm

    Sorry, meant to say congratulations ever since I read your post via Twitter, but life kind of took over…

    Well done you, this is fabulous news!! :o)

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