First Midnight

The first step to staging a show is always casting. For the actors, this means preparing an audition. In my case, Paul (the director) wants us to have two musical selections prepared--one up-tempo and one ballad. We only have to sing 16-24 bars, which is about one verse OR one chorus. Approximately.

I had a much easier time settling on my ballad. I chose to sing "Still Hurting" from The Last Five Years. It's a really moving piece sung by Cathy (the female protagonist) to/about her husband, Jamie, of five years, who has just left her.

Jamie is over and Jamie is gone/ Jamie's decided it's time to move on/ Jamie has new dreams he's building upon/ And I'm still hurting

Jamie arrived at the end of the line/ Jamie's convinced that the problems are mine/ Jamie is probably feeling just fine/ And I'm still hurting

The full song is absolutely gorgeous. It's heartbreaking, especially when it is well performed. As a bonus, Anna Kendrick plays Cathy in the 2014 film of the same title. Watch her full performance if you want to cry.

I'm the first to admit that I'm better at singing ballads than upbeat. In my opinion, it's a lot easier to make a great performance by singing something that really tugs on the heart strings.  Upbeat songs, while they can definitely pull on your emotions, tend to be more for fun than for making a dramatic statement. Please understand that I am not saying that ballads are the only songs worth singing or listening to, I just mean that for me it is easier to sell my performance with a ballad.

Not surprisingly, my upbeat song took a lot longer for me to choose. For various reasons, I switched my choice several times. I finally settled on "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis. In contrast to "Still Hurting," "The Trolley Song" is about falling in love for the first time.

With my starched white collar/ And my high top shoes/ And my hair piled high upon my head/ I went to lose a jolly/ Hour on the trolley/ And lost my heart instead

With his light brown derby/ And his bright green tie/ He was quite the handsomest of men/ I started to yen/ So I counted to ten/ And I counted to ten again

The song was originally sung by Judy Garland. (Yes, she did more than just The Wizard of Oz.) Her performance is hard to match, but wonderful to watch.