Wicked Understudies for the Wicked Witches!

Sooo, I'm a little late in typing this bad boy up, but I have to get this one in before I go see yet another musical this week!! Last Sunday I took my mom and family friend to see Wicked: A New Musical at the Landmark here in Richmond. I was so excited to take them and I couldn't wait to see the cast once again myself. As this was my 2nd time seeing it on the road, I wanted to see the wonderful Marcie Dodd as Elphaba again as well as the person playing Glinda, who was different from the one in Norfolk last year. So, imagine my disappointment when we get there and I open my Playbill to find all these little inserts. Everyone who's been to a musical knows what that means....UNDERSTUDIES!!! I was so disappointed. My hopes were dashed a little bit before the lights even had the chance to dim. Then I had to do a little coaching for myself. I ran the things I know are true: The understudies/standbys have to be good at what they do, otherwise they wouldn't have been chosen. No one can be an understudy and suck, Broadway doesn't work that way. Marcie is the lead in a VERY taxing musical, there's no way she can sing every single show without rest. The understudy will be good. But it wasn't just Elphaba who was being played by the understudy. Elphaba, Glinda & Nessarose were played by understudies! The whole lead cast. And they were all GREAT! Anne Brummel (Elphaba) showed a much higher range than Marcie Dodd and absolutely gave me chills on her 1st big number "The Wizard & I." Michelle London (Glinda) wasn't as strong of a voice as the Glinda from Norfolk. She still had the wonerful upper range, but her lower range was not as bright or carrying. All in all, it was like seeing Wicked for the first time all over again! It was awesome!!! They were awesome. The audience was so caught up in what was going on and the collective gasp that came forth from every single person in the grand tier at least, was amazing when Elphaba sang "Defying Gravity." The lesson learned....Never doubt the strength of an understudy.

The Power of A Proofreader

There are few things that irritate me more than reading a mass produced piece of literature littered with errors. How this even occurs, I can't begin to understand. Even if an author submitted a book to a publisher full of errors, aren't there editors and/or proofreaders who preview the written material BEFORE it hits the press? If there are no proofreaders, I would love to stick my name in the hat to be one, especially after reading the last book I read. Written by one of my most favorite authors, the book Any Rich Man Will Do by Francis Ray was filled with so many 4Th Grade mistakes I should have read it with a red pen in hand! The mistakes in this book were so blatant that, if there was a proofreader employed in the publication process, they should be forced to return the money they were paid to do a job that they obviously did not do well. I really wish I could say that I'm exaggerating but, unfortunately, I cannot. If you don't believe me, read the book for yourself. While a Francis Ray story NEVER disappoints, the editing/proofreading that was supposed to be done, left a lot to be desired. From the omission of the "r" in "her" ("[She] wondered if he son"), to "than" being used when it should have been "then," to the wrong words being made plural ("often attended his schools assembly" instead of "school assemblies"). These are just some of the occurrences that showed up time and time again, page after page. I don't understand how so many errors made it to the mass-produced print copy and I wonder if, since I bought a copy from the 1st edition in 2005, the later editions have been corrected. I'm certainly not going to purchase a copy to find out, though. This is not the first time this has happened. I've read other books, by other authors that were littered with some of the same errors, this is just the most recent. I even highlighted errors in the first Brenda Jackson book I read. Perhaps what was most frustrating was that I'm a huge Francis Ray fan & I felt let down by whomever had the task of making sure that this story was in its best shape when it was printed. Maybe it was because the story was a really good story of redemption and an example of the Psalm passage "when my mother & father forsake me, the Lord with lift me up" & how people are sometimes placed in situations that they don't feel they deserve, just to be given another chance, and due to the errors I was repeatedly jolted from the story to correct what shouldn't have been incorrect in the first place. At any rate, what this has done is renew in me the desire to get into proofreading and see how I can make some additional funds doing something that is obviously, desperately needed, while also doing something I enjoy. Considering that many of the errors I find are discovered while simply reading a story, I would like to think that it may not be that hard. Of course, I could be wrong considering evidence to the contrary. But I am about to get really serious about looking into it and making it happen. Until then, I will keep my red pen handy. And to Francis Ray, should you read this, know that I continue to be a fan of your work. I would, however, look into who St. Martin's Press is using for editing and/proofing your work, because they aren't doing a good job. Or at least they weren't in 2005.