Category: Broadway

Do You Hear This Becca Squee?

12/4/2012

You guy, I'm so excited. Ridiculously excited. We are three weeks away from something huge.

December 25th.

LES MIS OPENS!!!

What, you thought I meant Christmas? Adorable.

This show...you guys. This show! It was my first love. Most little girls I knew who were falling in love with musical theatre were starting with Annie. Not I!

When I was a wee young thing, I loved to sing. My awesome parents then sent me off to take voice lessons. The first song that voice teacher found for me to sing was, of course, "Castle on a Cloud". I remember performing it in some sort of talent show in a dress my mom made for me and dyed a dingy brown color with tea bags. I was given a tape of the cast recording to learn it. From that moment, I was hooked.

I listened to that tape nonstop. I had no idea what was going on. I didn't understand the show at all. I knew there was a sad girl who missed her mother, there were people in love, there was something about fighting, and there were some bad words. I'm pretty sure for the longest time I thought it was about the French Revolution. By the time I was 9, I knew it all by heart.

My love affair with the show continued. It was officially my favorite show. The tape was played in my room and on every car trip. God bless my parents for putting up with me. It was the second Broadway show I ever saw (Second to Phantom of the Opera, but not by choice. It was only because there was a bus trip to see Phantom first. Les Mis came a couple months later).

I couldn't contain my joy. The theatre was immense. The famous turning stage blew my mind. I never even knew something like that could exist! It was like magic. By the end, I was sobbing. It was amazing! The best thing I had ever seen!

I continued to play that tape out until it died. Then I bought the CD. And every other recording I could get my hands on- London, 10th Anniversary, French cast. Any and Every DVD. I don't even remember how many times I've seen it on Broadway or on tour. Watched the non-musical movies. I even read the book. I was a girl obsessed.

Even as I grew and my tastes changed, it's still in my heart. I don't think if I just stumbled upon it for the first time I would like it let alone love it. Oh, but love it I do.

This is why I am ridiculously excited for the film. It combines my childhood love of the musical with my Adult Becca tastes. Have you seen the making of trailer?? Singing live on camera!? Making it as realistic as possible?! More intimate, less showy!?! PRODUCERS YOU ARE IN MY BRAIN MAKING THIS MOVIE JUST FOR ME.

I've heard a lot of resistance from fans of the musical. Fourteen Year Old me would probably agree. But this Becca? Oh this Becca gets excited to open each link in Vulture's Les Mis Advent Calendar. Seriously, check it out. It's all I can do not to link every little thing every single day.

Will it be perfect? Oh God no. I'm sure I'll take issue with many things. But I know me. And i know that I will love it. And watch it many many many times. And Cry. A lot. And dream of Enjolras....

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Falling Slowly

4/22/2012

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I cry every time I see a good Broadway show, usually within the first five minutes. I get this ginormous smile on my face and the tears start flowing. Wednesday was no different.

I'd been wanting to see Once the Musical since it was Off Broadway, but I just could never see it. Finally it made the move to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre....and I still couldn't get to see it. It was just one of those things: when I had the money, i didn't have the time. When I had the time, I didn't have the money. After hearing so many people say again and again how good it was, I said enough is enough and dragged my bum out to finally see it.

Now, I have never seen the movie it's based on. I honestly never had any desire to despite the fact that I've had the soundtrack ever since the day it came out (side note: I will never ever feel cool enough to say that an album "dropped". Never). I just assumed it was a love story with beautiful music.

The show began before the lights even went down with the cast all jamming out on stage with their various musical instruments. You could just see the passion and joy pouring out of each and every one of them. They truly are living their dreams. That's what gets me each and every time. It's a quality I fall in love with over and over and over again whether it's in a person or a show or a performance or anything really. That passion, that pure LIFE exuding from every pore. When Steve Kazee took the stage for his first heart-wrenching number, he took everything up a step further. Technically it wasn't a joyful song, but the passion and life were all there. The tears, they came. As soon as I left the theatre, I bought the cast recording so I could remember that feeling.

This is exactly what life is. This is how it should be. Far too often I intellectualize moments and feelings to save my heart. My God, I am so very guilty of that. But what exactly am I saving myself from? I need to start living my life like I do in the first five minutes of a Broadway show. I need to feel that passion and joy and life in everything around me and feed it back into others. I'll try not to let myself cry TOO much (I have blonde eyelashes. Mascara is very important), but I will not keep that ginormous smile off my face.

Thank God for music, for its healing powers. And thank you, Once. Thank you for reminding me to be brave.

Thank you for letting me fall in love again.

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Happiest of Birthdays!

1/26/2012

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I love birthdays. I really, truly do. It’s a great way to say to someone, “you know what? I’m glad you’re alive.” I also particularly love my birthday because (surprise, surprise) I like to be the center of attention from time to time. In fact, I love them so much, I now celebrate full Birthweeks.

My official birthday was Friday, Saturday was my party, and then it continued into Sunday at my day job’s holiday party (which technically wasn’t for my birthday, but I pretended it was :)) All of these celebrations were absolutely wonderful, but nothing can top the best unexpected present I recieved the Wednesday prior. That’s when the real celebration began.

It started with seeing Follies on Broadway. Once upon a time, I did that show in community theatre when I was in high school and played Young Sally. I have been in love with it ever since. The story, the score, it’s all brilliant and heart breaking, yet life affirming at the same time. It’s one of my life goals to play adult Sally (gimme 30 years. I’ll be there). The production was stunning and left my friend and I needing to sing our hearts out. So off we go to my favorite show tune piano bar.

I wasn’t planning on staying late, but that place always sucks me in. Next thing I know, it’s almost 2am and I’m about to finish up my drink, sing one last tune, and head out….then in walks Alan Cumming and Darren Criss. Both wearing adorable hipster glasses and striped shirts. Yes. The Scottish Elf himself and the adorably talented Blaine from Glee. They’re friends. There’s no way I was leaving. In fact, we may have closed down the bar. And the other bar we went to afterwards.

We sang our faces off together. Alan Cumming sang “Suddenly Seymour” directly to me while I sang the Audrey part right back to him. At one point, my friend leaned over and said “Alan Cumming really loves you!” I KNOW!!! Through the rest of the night, I kept connecting with both of them. They even sang a couple solos/duets themselves. There were maybe 15 people in the bar altogether at this point, so basically we had our own very private concert (not to mention the second bar we went to where Alan sang Adele's "Someone Like You" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". Not even kidding). The thing I loved the most was that they were there for the same reason I was: they loved to sing show tunes. That’s it. They were out on the town doing something they loved. You could see it on their faces just how happy they were to be there and be goofy and nerdy and just have a good time.

Afterwards, I went up to them individually. I did not want to bother them while they were enjoying their evening, but I had to at least say hello. I went up to Darren first and said how lovely it was singing with him and congratulated him on How to Succeed. He couldn’t have been sweeter. He complimented me on my singing, saying how good I was and how he was afraid to sing as to not mess me up. Apparently he comes to this bar a lot on a different night of the week and told me to stop by. Next time I see that he’s in NY, I might just have to take him up on that!

Alan was very much the same. He complimented me as well, was very sweet and kind, and even introduced himself to me. So yeah, I’m on a first name basis with Alan Cumming. NBD. :)!!!

It all just left me thinking. At first I was very confused. I made the decision this year to stop doing musical theatre. It’s something I love, but it’s not something I truly want to pursue as a full-time career. What I really want more than anything is to work in television. I LOVE television. It’s my favorite medium of all. But here I was, first watching an incredibly gorgeous Sondheim show, wanting desperately to be up there on that stage, then being complimented on my singing by Broadway actors, one of whom even won the TONY! Did I make the wrong choice? But then finally it hit me. And I could not believe how stupid I was not to realize this. Yes, one of them is a TONY award winner, yes one of them is (was) starring in a Broadway show, but what are they doing right now? THE GOOD WIFE and GLEE. What are those things? TELEVISION SHOWS. Just because I’m not pursuing musical theatre right this very second does not mean I never will. I don’t have to choose one over the other, I can have them both. Just not right this very second. This year my goal is to book a role on a TV show and that’s OK. I still have a place where I can go and belt my heart out if I need to. And maybe one day I’ll be that actress that walks into that bar and everyone wants to talk to because Oh My God It’s Rebecca Kopec she’s so awesome and famous and wow she can sing and man she’s so super nice and sweet too! And I’ll bring along my two friends, Alan and Darren.

Best. Birthday Present. Ever.

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Do You Hear This Becca Squee?

Falling Slowly

Happiest of Birthdays!

RebeccaKopec

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