Life Begins at 8:40

SarahB – the knower of all things Broadway related in and out of New York City. It’s like she’s my enabler, always encouraging me to step out of my opera boundaries to explore the music that comprises America’s songbook. After alerting me to the Millennium Stage concert with Kate Baldwin, she told me about another free opportunity to see Kate and several other Broadway stars at the Library of Congress. As soon as I read the email from her I called the LoC to reserve two tickets. Easy as pie!

On Monday, March 22, Dustin and I made the short little trek from our Capitol Hill homes to the Library of Congress for Life Begins at 8:40. The foyer was jam packed with people. Aside from the five-year old girl accompanying her father, Dustin and I were the youngest there by at least 20 years. It was that kind of a crowd. We piled into the Coolidge Auditorium situated in the northwestern part of the building. It was a pretty cool theatre.

Sidebar on the Coolidge Auditorium: Named for Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, the 511 seat theatre was built with financial backing from Mrs. Coolidge in 1925. She was a notable patron in the history of American music. In addition to her contribution to the theatre, Mrs. Coolidge set up the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation to help the Library promote and advance chamber music through commissions, public concerts, and festivals. In a letter dated February 4, 1925, she stated that the ultimate aim was:

to make possible, through the Library of Congress, the composition and performance of music in ways which might otherwise be considered too unique or too expensive to be ordinarily undertaken. Not this alone, of course, nor with a view to extravagance for its own sake; but as an occasional possibility of giving precedence to considerations of quality over those of quantity; to artistic rather than to economic values; and to opportunity over.

So that’s what we were here to see. A piece of music that hadn’t been heard in its entirety in 75 years and probably would not have been ushered out had it not been for Mrs. Coolidge and her foundation. Did I mention the tickets were free? Again, goes with the aim of the foundation – rolling out stuff for artistic rather than economic values. God bless you Mrs. Coolidge!

Life Begins at 8:40 is a revue with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg. It opened in 1943 and ran for 237 performances. The cast that has assembled this time around for the concert will reassemble sometime this week to record the work. Both will include a large amount of unpublished and unrecorded material. In addition to Mrs. Coolidge being posthumously generous, thanks must be given to The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trust for making this whole shindig and subsequent recording possible. Muchos Gracias!

So Life Begins at 8:40... It was awesome! I was slightly unfamiliar with the work, because you know, it hadn’t been performed in 75 years. But it was just the right amount of upbeat, catchy and fun. The stellar cast was comprised of some of Broadway’s brightest stars – David Glenn Armstrong, Kate Baldwin!!, Philip Chaffin, Christopher Fitzgerald, Aaron Gandy, Montego Glover, Rebecca Luker, Brad Oscar, Faith Prince!!!, Graham Rowat!!, and Jessica Stone.

I came for the dynamic married duo of Kate and Graham and stayed for the magnetic stage presence of Faith. The entire cast was really just spot on and brought charm and energy to the 20 or so songs.

Graham came out after the men and women’s chorus looking pretty dapper in his suit. One by one the eight other men and women joined him in singing the show’s opening number “Life Begins (At Exactly 8:40 or Thereabouts).” And then out came Faith Prince all sassy and with stage presence to spare and a voice just so awesomely awesome! My attention was completely caught and I sat intently as the remaining 2 ½ hours unfolded.

There is not one gripe that I can think of in regards to the performers. The only thing that I had a problem with was the miking. It favored the orchestra over the singers so I had a difficult time hearing most of the singers throughout the performance. For some reason I was waiting to be impressed by Rebecca Luker, but just wasn’t. Brad Oscar was absolutely hilarious in his solo turn in “Things!” where he conducted himself and the orchestra. Christopher Fitzgerald and Jessica Stone played very well off of each other in several songs. Faith Prince was truly stunning and very comedic in the several numbers that she turned out. I tell you what, she owns that stage when she’s on it. And hers was one of the few voices that I didn’t have to strain to hear over the bad miking situation. Kate Baldwin is just fun to watch on stage and I seriously love her voice.

Dustin and I left the theatre humming tunes from the show. I wanted to stick around to try and catch up with Kate and Graham. They’ve been super generous – she signing a CD gifted to me from the wonderful SarahB, and he offering to snag some tickets to the show for me – and I wanted to give them my thanks. Dustin and I stood in the foyer for several minutes as the old folks, and chorus and orchestra members filed out. Then out came the rest of the cast.

Talking to Kate is like talking to a good buddy. She’s super nice and so unpretentious. It was like catching up with old friends. Dustin and I told her how much we enjoyed the show. We chit-chatted a bit and gave some tourist advice to the couple who had a few hours to kill the next day before heading back to NYC. We suggested several of the hotspots, but Graham seemed to be set on sleeping in. I think Kate’s next venture is taking her across the pond, but hopefully she and Graham will be doing something nearby that I can check out.


On our way out the door, we walked past Faith Prince. I had a vague idea of who she was – I used to watch Spin City. I meant to just throw out a quick “you were fabulous,” and walk on by, but we ended up talking to Faith for a few minutes. I guess when you tell a fifty-something-year old that they look and sound awesome, especially when they’re on stage with a bunch of youngsters, they really appreciate the comment. Faith pulled me in for a hug and told Dustin and me that we made her night. Dustin asked where she got her shoes. You know, when you get a chance to talk to a Tony winner, the important things to ask are about shopping secrets and shoe fashions. After a few more “you’re awesomes” and “loved your voice” and a quick snap of the camera, Dustin and I were off.

Lucky us, the CD for this quirky, entertaining revue should be out sometime this summer and I can sing along to this once forgotten music and relive the fun from last week’s performance.

Full song list with some of my favorites in bold:
ACT ONE
Overture - The Orchestra
Life Begins (At Exactly 8:40 or Thereabouts) - Graham & The Company
Spring Fever - Kate & Girls
You’re a Builder-Upper - Christopher, Jessica & Ensemble
My Paramount-Publix-Roxy Rose - Graham, Faith & Boys
Shoein’ the Mare - Montego & Ensemble
Quartet Erotica - Brad, Christopher, Graham & Philip
Fun to Be Fooled - Kate & Philip
C’est la Vie Prologue - Rebecca & Ensemble
C’est la Vie - Faith, Brad & Christopher
What Can You Say in a Love Song? - Rebecca, Philip & The Company

ACT TWO
Entr’ Acte - The Orchestra
Let’s Take a walk Around the Block - Graham, Jessica & Ensemble
Things! - Brad
I Knew Him When - Montego, Kate, Philip & Ensemble
All the Elks and Masons - Christopher, Jessica & Ensemble
A Weekend Cruise - Kate, Graham & Brad
It Was Long Ago - Rebecca & Girls
I’m Not Myself - Christopher
I Couldn’t Hold My Man - Faith
Life Begins at City Hall - The Entire Company

Lett's See DC - Mom Schlepped Here, There and Everywhere

I brought my Mom back to DC with me after Christmas. We spent a few days gallivanting around the Nation's Capital before a quick trip to the Big Apple. I coaxed Mom into writing up her experience, and what you will get is a four(?) part mini-series of the Mother Fish Out of Water. And let me tell you what, she was out of water! At some point along the series, I'll add my own brief recap of the events - you know, two sides to every story. Part two of my Mom's four(?) part mini-series of her trip to Washington, DC and NYC continues with her first full day in the Nation's Capital.

There is a two hour time difference between Arizona and DC this time of year so getting up early for Chelsea is even earlier for me. But rise early we do. We have memorials and monuments to see! One of Chelsea's roommates, Abigail, generously shared coffee. We ate breakfast, bundled up, then headed out. First stop – the Capitol Building. A short walk and we arrived in time for an 8:30 tour (I believe Mom is on AZ time still – there’s no way I would’ve been functioning for an 8:30am EST tour especially since I was still functioning on AZ time). There were probably 30 people in our group. The guide did a fair job sharing info, but I felt like there should have been more. Chelsea gave Capitol tours when she worked for the Congressman, so she was able to provide more in depth anecdotes – such as the painting containing a person with six toes on one foot, because the artist didn't care for the person being depicted (Mom is so PC – the artist didn’t like Native Americans so he gave Pocahontas’ brother an extra toe). We saw the old Supreme Court chambers, the catafalque dating back to President Lincoln, models representing the Capitol Building and grounds showing changes over the years, the Statuary Room – each state is allowed to send two statues to be on display. It's so much to absorb in such a short time.

Moving on, we walked through a tunnel to the Library of Congress. We arrived in time to join a tour. The guide seemed very knowledgeable. The architectural details are just astounding. When the tour was over, Chelsea left me on my own; she had a hair appointment. I wandered back through the displays to look more closely at maps, (I love maps) paintings and Thomas Jefferson's personal library. So my time was up at the library. I walked back home to meet Chelsea for lunch. Oh, her hair cut was cute. We used this time to book a night time trolley tour of Washington for the evening.

After hearty tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, we headed out for round two – Arlington National Cemetery and The Kennedy Center. We walked back to the Metro stop and boarded to ride out to Arlington. This trek required transfers and I'm so amazed at how comfortable Chelsea is with all this (No transfers on this one, but I can understand being confused – I carted my Mom everywhere in such a small amount of time). She's so at home here. We arrived at Arlington and inquired about a tour at the information desk. We're pressed for time, so the attendant provided us with directions and a map that we can use for a self-guided tour.

We headed to John F. Kennedy's grave site. The view back toward the Washington Monument is very pretty. We walked by Robert Kennedy's and Teddy Kennedy's graves as well. We then headed over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. The white crosses marking the graves are still adorned with wreaths that were placed before Christmas. Chelsea was able to participate in the wreath placement. What an honor. We arrived at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and watched the sentinel pace back and forth before the tomb. It's hard to find the right words to describe this event. Proud, sad, grateful, among so many emotions. We didn't have time to stay for the changing of the guard, though I could have stayed there all day. We then made our way through the Memorial Amphitheater on our way to the Mast of the USS Maine, Space Shuttle Challenger/Columbia Memorial and Iran Rescue Mission Memorial.

We left the cemetery and took the Metro to Foggy Bottom (I love that!) where we picked up a shuttle to the Kennedy Center. This is home to the Washington National Opera for which Chelsea interned for three months last fall. She was the tour guide at this attraction, showing me all around, inside and out. Most impressive – a very beautiful center. We headed back outside (Brrr-it's getting colder) to shuttle back to the Metro stop and then home. I was beginning to feel like Clark Griswold in National Lampoon's Vacation. We walked home to eat dinner but really only had time for a snack before we had to walk back to Union Station to catch the trolley. I did take the time to add a pair of long underwear and a second pair of gloves. Yes, the very same Isotoner gloves mentioned in Chelsea's Christmas remembrances, with knit gloves over those. So, appropriately layered against the cold, we walked to Union Station.....

~ Susan

Office Awesomeness

So two of our district staffers were in town towards the end of April. Penny and Teresa came in for a district fly-in and both gals are such a hoot to hang out with. We met up with them Tuesday night, and had an interesting convo. Thanks T!

A couple of us went to the Hawk and Dove Wednesday night for a light dinner. Penny, T, and I were walking towards the direction of Union Station and as we were walking, some person starts honking at us. It's our old CoS Patty. She's now working for a VA member. I told her to let me know how the election is going and if she needs help because I desperately miss the campaign trail.

Thursday was scheduled to be the big office get-together at Cantina Marina so everyone could chill and chat. Prior to that, a couple of us took an office field trip to the Library of Congress. Two of the DC guys had never been. For crying out loud, it’s across from where we work and they’ve never been. The shame!!!

The Library of Congress is probably my favorite building in DC. The murals are painted with such vibrant colors. There are so many books and so much history. It’s Congress’ library – it’s my library!

Anywho, Thomas Jefferson donated most, if not all, of his private collection of books to the Library of Congress. His books are on display and they are old, and super awesome. It’s amazing the diverse collection he had.

Cantina was fun. Super crowded, but it’s always good to hang with the office peeps.

I guess the point of this story is if you come to DC, you have to see the Library of Congress.

Neptune's Fountain says spring is here.

I walk past the Library of Congress to and from work everyday, and since I moved out here back in January, the fountain in front of the library has remained dormant. Even around Easter time when the water began springing forth from the majority of fountains throughout the district, the Library of Congress fountain stayed dry.

That was until one bright and cheery morning in April. Victory was mine! The fountain was flowing and to me it signified the beginning of spring. The last fountain to bubble forth water was finally bubbling with glee.

I see a lot of fountains in DC, and I thought it would be cool if I took pictures and then gave you all a little background of them. Sort of a way for me to show you the city.

So here’s a blurb on the Library of Congress Fountain found on the loc.gov website:

The Neptune Fountain is a lavishly ornamental fountain created by sculptor Roland Hinton Perry. It represents a scene in the court of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. The muscular and majestic Neptune, with his long flowing beard, is seated on a bank of rocks. The figure is of colossal size, and on each side of Neptune lolls a figure of Triton, one of the minor sea gods, blowing a conch shell to summon water deities to Neptune’s throne. Sea nymphs, sea horses, sea monsters, gigantic frogs, and huge turtles are part of this extraordinary and splendid grotto of the sea.

The Neptune Fountain is quite the draw for tourists in DC, especially pre-pubescent boys oogling over the naked water nymphs. But to me, it's a constant reminder that nothing but glorious summer days are ahead!