Hit it.(Pssst... for more musical musings, check out Soccer Mom in Denial. You'll be glad you did!)
Hey, kids! Let's put on a show!
~ Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney
Deep inside me, beneath the layers of motherhood and culture vulture and cook and bookworm and sports nut, lies a bone. A single bone on its own.
A ham bone.
I admit it -- I'm a total Pavolvian bitch when it comes to the smell of greasepaint and the roar of the crowd. I like being on stage -- not so much for the accolades as for the creative outlet and the entertainment value. Don't get the opportunity to show this side of me very often -- the occasional karaoke night not withstanding.
But when opportunity knocks on my dressing room door and tells me that it's five minutes to curtain, I answer.
One such moment came back in the early '90s, when lip synching was still the rage. It was a fundraiser for the youth group at church. A lip synch contest. And I was all in.
My pal Carole and I labored over what to perform. We entertained the idea of Diana Ross and the Supremes, but couldn't find our Florence Ballard. Sonny and Cher -- nah. The Judds -- are you kidding me?
Finally, one Saturday afternoon, it came to me. We would be Elwood and Jake. The Brothers Blues. Perfect.
And so we watched the movie and took copious notes and practiced our moves on Carole's back patio. Tracked down hats and glasses and skinny ties. Used a heavy hand with the eyebrow pencil to give us that bit of facial hair mirage.
I don't remember us winning the contest that night -- it being a church thing, I'm sure everyone was deemed a winner. However, we were indeed hot and more than a little fantasic, if I do say so myself. And we looked great... check us out! (That's me on the right.)
I sadly don't have any video evidence of our performance that night -- so the original will have to do, featuring the genius of Ackroyd and Belushi. It's pretty good. ;-) Enjoy!
(you tube removed while I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the code in the blog.)
No comments:
Post a Comment