Jan 9th

First day of rehearsals. A MASSIVE room in an inconspicuous 8th avenue high rise, filled with creatives getting aquatinted over croissants and coffee. After we’d all participated in the fairly nerve-wracking introduction exercise, Lonny Price our wonderful director spoke to the whole company about his love for the show in a way which made me cry. I reached behind me and grabbed a scratchy brown paper napkin from a pile stacked next to a plate of sticky pastries and tried to think clearly - without emotion. Challenging.
Glenn then got up and spoke to us all, expressing her gratitude and happiness that we were all there with her. She went on to say that the last time she was on Broadway was 22 years ago… She confessed that she was as excited as she was terrified. I thought I heard her voice break as if she was trying to hold back tears. Maybe not. She’s a tough cookie.
I stood there and listened to these brilliant people expressing their gratitude and describing their visions for the piece from every aspect of design. Costume, set, sound and also direction… the history of the movie and where we will go with it on stage. Surrounded by this brand new group of actors all embarking on another new adventure, I started to well up again. It hit me. The realization had finally hit me. I was making my Broadway debut. For as long as I could remember I had wanted to perform on a Broadway stage and Sunset Boulevard would be the show.
At that moment one of the producers turned to me and looked straight into my glassy, red eyes and said quite knowingly,
“Yes. It is as magical as you think it is.”
I reached for another napkin.