During the pandemic, Tracy Jane wrote the book, music and lyrics to a frightful new musical called A Halloween Carol. Orchestrations were done by Christopher Robinson. I have seen Tracy’s work on stage before so I was excited to see what she had in store. Tracy is like Orlando’s Nora Ephron, writing stories for stage productions with heart and humor.
I had some difficulty finding the rehearsal space on the Seminole State College campus. I finally had to ask someone for directions. It turns out that I asked Nicole Ponce (Marley Jacobs) for directions and I was right outside the building I was looking for. I wandered the halls and some classes were in session and I could see the occasional masked student through glass door panels. There was a ruckus behind one of the classroom doors and I decided the noise had to be the excitement of actors just prior to rehearsal. I was right. Stephen Lewis (Barnaby) offered me advice for a sketching angle.
There was blue tape on the floor to mark the size of the circular stage of the Renaissance Theater. Chairs were arranged inside the circle. Tracy explained the difficulty of getting an entire cast to learn the range of songs. Orchestrations were still being changed on the fly from one rehearsal to the next. A piano accompanist was brought in for this rehearsal. His ability to stop and start and offer feedback helped solidify the music as it evolved.
Actors sat on the floor shuffling and arranging sheet music. The sheet music must be evolving from rehearsal to rehearsal. At one point a pile of sheet music avalanched off of a chair. She offered to pick up the pile but was rushed on stage. Rehearsal started, and the actors quickly scrambled into their seats. That is when sketching began in earnest.
The first song the cast rehearsed started with the lyrics, “look at me.” It seemed appropriate since I was deeply engaged in looking at each cast member in turn trying to capture their delight and humor. Carson Holly (Ghost of Halloween Past Perfect) in a skull patterned sweater, impressed me with her professionalism. She asked for notes and joked with her co-star Alessia Preda (Carol Cratchit). They gave each other high fives when the music hit the mark. At one point Carson stepped on the leg of her fragile music stand and it snapped and tumbled over. She handled the setback with delightful humor. Luckily it happened right before a break. Her stand was replaced with a solid steel behemoth for the second half of rehearsal. I smiled behind my mask overjoyed to see this young cast stretching their incredible talents. Another song, Past Perfect, had me bobbing my head as I sketched.
Music director Billy Williamson encouraged the cast and kept them on point while keeping to the tight rehearsal schedule. At times Tracy had to help get the music back on track and she would hum a few bars to set the record straight. She explained that she had written pretty simple songs, but the rich and layered orchestrations took some practice to learn. Carson used her phone to record important passages she needed to further rehearse. During a 10 minute break, actors got to ask the pianist to go over certain passages.
There will be an exclusive Orlando preview workshop of A Halloween Carol on October 26, 2022 at the Seminole College Library at 7PM. Donations are accepted for the performance. All proceeds and donations from this event will benefit both the school’s library and the show’s cast, to be shared equitably among cast members. You can be among the very first treat-seekers to preview the frightful new musical. The hope is that will be further developed into a full staged production if the stars align.
I am told the Renaissance Theater performance on Halloween Eve (October 30, 2022) will sell out. Here is a link, just in case you are lucky enough to get in.
