So I decided to take advantage of my downtime and make the most of it.

I drove myself up to the party-town of Cheyenne Wyoming to visit my sis, her hub and my big chunky niece (she was the 10-pounder at birth).

The road to Cheyenne is a very long and desolate one. I mean, it’s an easy drive. You basically point your car east and go. There aren’t too many turns and there aren’t too many interesting things to look at. It’s pretty much straight, wide open, brown and flat. That’s it. Although I did think the eastern Utah portion was quite lovely… rolling hills, farm lands etc. What a pretty state we live in!

It’s a 6 hour drive that can be done with one stop or two (depending on how much you drink). Though I’d recommend not stopping in Rawlins – they’re quite slow at the Taco Bell and it ended up costing me 20 minutes!)

I hit the open road a little excited to be out on my own, having an adventure. With all this downtime I knew I’d have plenty of time to figure things out – my life, my future employment, baby stuff, the subject of my first book. I figured I’d start with the radio as far as I could and then I’d switch things up. I spent most of the drive with my iPod; Patsy Cline and me enjoying the straight, semi truck-filled stretch of road. Then I switched it to shuffle. I did pretty much the same thing on the way back.

Now I’m sorry for that. I feel like I wasted my alone time, my thinking time. I had 12 hours, completely alone, that I could have used to really think about something… and I wasted it. Why didn’t I ever turn off the iPod? Are we afraid to just sit in silence? I didn’t figure out my employment situation. I didn’t figure out any baby stuff (Though I think you really need the kid here to figure out very much). I did not nail down the subject of my first book. The most I did was think about what I wanted to eat next and what my treat would be. I wasted the drive.

So perhaps I can squeeze in one more visit before the baby arrives. But that seems silly too, doesn’t it? That I would drive another 12 hours, round trip, just to have time to think. I suppose I could sit right here on the couch, turn off this computer and think about something. Perhaps I’ll try that…

House Cleaning

So, I got fired – see story below. But if those silly men think that’s going to stop me from sharing a few thoughts about showtunes, they’re wrong. (And they are silly, silly men).

Saturday mornings, when I grew up, always started with Mom’s call up the stairs, “Girls get up it’s time to clean.” Ugh! Needless to say, it wasn’t my favorite way to start the day.

But, we were each assigned a room and I could listen to anything I wanted. I preferred my lasted Broadway soundtrack – on cassette tape, of course! Initially, I listened to my most recent soundtrack: Phantom was first. Didn’t matter that a lot of the songs are slower, have tons of words or (worse for my siblings) are really too high to sing along while you’re scouring a toilet.

For months, every Saturday morning was me, Christine and the Phantom.

Then I discovered Les Mis. Though hard to give Phantom a rest, it was time for me to move on to Mr. Valjean and hear all he had to offer.

So, now it’s Saturday night at 5:35p and I’ve just finished cleaning (well, except for the sandwich stuff that I’m waiting for sweet Mark to… notice… and clean up….) and I still love cleaning to showtunes.

Today I’m not as intent on getting my latest cassette tape memorized. I’m more interested in a CD that’s going to keep me moving, keep me in a pretty good mood, or while singing along stooped over a toilet, is going to make me sound great!

My choices lately:
Jersey Boys – A wonderful house cleaning CD. Filled with some good high notes (which luckily for us females, aren’t THAT high in our register! ;) it also has lots of up-tunes and even better: You pretty much already know all the songs on it!

Thoroughly Modern Millie – Another fab sing-a-long CD. There’s nothing like belting along with Sutton (on any of her soundtracks). Very fun while folding laundry.

Wicked – The only time I really dare to try to belt with Idina Menzel is either in the car, or cleaning my house. That takes some pipes! The songs are catchy enough that it’s easy to forget you’re mopping!

The Last 5 Years – A lesser-known off-Broadway musical that is wonderful! It’s the story of a marriage that is over. It’s a two person show and the woman’s version is told from the end to the beginning and the man’s version is told from the beginning to the end. They only cross at the wedding ceremony. It’s beautiful. I like it for cleaning because it has such a great story that you get lost in the story and totally forget you’re still mopping.

Any Old Classic – The old classics we all know and love are best if you’re sitting and sorting. Sometimes that takes a bit of brain power to figure out if you’ve got to keep something or chuck it. So it’s good to listen to music that won’t be TOO distracting or require too much thinking of lyrics. Though let’s face it – it’s IMPOSSIBLE not to sing along, isn’t it?

Any show I’ve seen live – Broad category I know. But there is nothing quite like putting on the CD of a show you’ve seen live on Broadway. While folding, vacuuming, scouring, and dusting (all pretty mindless) you can escape to the show again. I love remembering the lights, the costumes, the chills I felt at a certain moment. I even like remembering the idiot who sat in front of me and took pictures on his cell phone camera.

It’s all about escaping the drudgery of having to clean the house – one of my least favorite activities.

I’d love to hear which Broadway soundtracks work best for you. Do you like to practice your soaring high notes with Light In The Piazza? Would you rather have something that’s basically ALL fun, like Hairspray? Do you prefer to get lost in a moving story like Miss Saigon? Or are you still in the mood for Spamalot – since it was just at Capitol?

Let me know! Showtune.erica@Hotmail.com

TV Season

I’m so delighted that so many of you:

a) Have found my new blog
b) Are checking my blog regularly
c) Enjoyed my harrowing tale with Ginger and the raccoon.

If you’re just finding me, KOSY fired me. Well…. They “let me go,” (if you want to be PC about it). I SO appreciate your support, e-mails to me and e-mails to KOSY. I’d LOVE to hear from you! Unemployment is so lonely! Showtune.erica@hotmail.com


Okay, moving on…

Unemployment is a total downer. Everyone tells me to “enjoy it.” And I get what they’re saying. I mean, it sounds nice, doesn’t it? Sleep in, shower if you feel like it, make a leisurely breakfast, walk the dog, watch Ellen, make some sort of a dinner for Mark, watch some TV and hit the hay. Not bad. I’d like to enjoy it, really I would. But how do you do that when you have a baby on the way, haven’t bought most of what you’ll need and aren’t sure what your financial future holds? It’s hard to really enjoy dancing with Ellen (though I still do).

And in the meantime, I focus on the upcoming TV season!! That’s what the unemployed do, right?... Something about TV, the couch and bon bons?


First of all, Grey’s Anatomy kicks off on the week of the 24th, I believe, and I can’t wait! I got completely hooked on the show back when I was set to interview Patrick Dempsey and felt a little foolish that I knew NOTHING about his hit show. So, I thought… ‘well, I’ll rent season 1 and just see what it’s all about.’ Needless to say, I became obsessed with getting my hands on the next disc and the next. I’d often drive all over town trying to find a video store that had them in stock. I’m now happy to say that I have them all watched, I’m all caught up and I’m ready to settle down every Thursday night (listen up baby in my belly… Thursday nights are mine!)

Speaking of Thursday nights… The Office!!! Mark and I have been absorbed all weekend with Season 3 DVDs. It’s one I’d heard was funny but had never watched. Then Mark got Season 1 through NetFlix. I happened to catch an episode or two and fell in love with it. It’s hilarious!! For anyone who has ever worked with a dysfunctional boss and random co-workers, you’ll love it! I’m waiting for Mark to get home now so we can watch Disc 4 of Season 3 and be ready for the season premiere.

Those are the biggies. I’m still watching Desperate Housewives, though there are fewer and fewer of us. I’m home alone on Sunday night so I enjoy settling in with Ginger and some dinner. I also really like Ugly Betty. I’m trying to figure out how to watch that and The Office, and Grey’s all on the same night. I’ll start by taking the phone off the hook… Perhaps it is time for TiVo.

But, I’m nervous. As I’ve typed this the baby has moved constantly. I hope that doesn’t mean she’ll be as big of a distraction when the shows are actually on. That could mean a long winter for the both of us!

My Harrowing Experience

First of all, THANK YOU FOR YOUR E-MAILS!!! I LOVE it! Please keep ‘em coming: showtune.erica@hotmail.com

I used to deal with the difficult, trying, or scary moments in my life by thinking “Well, at least it’ll make a great story on the air tomorrow!” Then KOSY fired me. Now I have no outlet to tell of my harrowing moments. Luckily, I still have my blog and some of you are still checking it.

There’s not a whole lot going on in the life of an unemployed, pregnant gal. I get up, eat breakfast and sit with Ginger. Mark and I take her out for a walk. We sit and eat lunch. Mark goes to work (luckily HE’S still employed). I putz around the house for a bit. Today I walked through WalMart…. (Yes, sadly, that was my entertainment). I check my e-mails, walk Ginger again and wait for Mark to get home. That’s pretty much my day. Sometimes it’s altered by an occasional doctor appointment or an oil change. See?... not a whole lot going on.

But there was a day last week that had me at my wit’s end!

Ginger and I often do our afternoon walk a touch earlier… perhaps 4ish. That way, most people are still at work (what’s it like to work?). That means I can let Ging off her leash to explore and I know we won’t really see anyone. She runs in and out of the brush, sniffing happily, exploring, and usually finds something rank on which to roll. That’s our routine. I’ll also stop and throw rocks in the river while she leaps about trying to catch them.

But this day, I got to our rock-throwing/Ginger-swimming hole and she was nowhere to be found. I figured something caught her attention so I just started heading back. Suddenly I hear some movement in the brush to my right and as I bend down a bit, I can see her white tail just going NUTS!

If you’ve never been to the Jordan River Parkway, it’s a great place to walk. But there are parts where the trees and brush are SO thick, there is no way someone like me: A chick afraid of critters, almost 8 months pregnant and not as light on her feet as she used to be – can push through.

Ginger was in there – DEEP. She was constantly moving, clearly in hot pursuit of something. I called her name, she didn’t come. I called her name in a mean mom-voice, she didn’t come. I clapped, sang, begged, cajoled, yelled, threatened, and anything else I could think of, she still didn’t come. In fact, there were times she’d poke her head out, look me in the eye (from afar, of course) and blatantly turn around and go right back in there.

Finally I saw it. She’d cornered a raccoon! Now I knew there was no way I was leaving any time soon. Once Ginger gets focused, there’s no breaking it.

So, I sat. Ging stayed deeply entrenched in the brush, barking continuously at her capture. I watched the sun get a little lower in the sky, folks were coming out to jog and bike, people were wrapping up their dog walks – with their well-behaved dogs – and there I sat. I called Mark in tears. “I don’t know what to do!!!” He had no solution. He was at work and, at the time, was at least an hour away.

2 hours of this went by!!! Did you hear me? 2 hours! I sat there for 2 hours listening to my dog bark at a raccoon, and me going hoarse screaming her name. 2 hours!! I sat there for 2 hours basically in tears. I was stuck.

Down the trail I saw a group of young boys and two older men walking towards me. The one man said “Sounds like she’s got something.” Holding back my tears as best I could “I don’t know what to do. She has a raccoon cornered – she’s been in there for 2 hours and I can’t go in there!... I don’t know what to do.” Turns out they were the Boy Scouts!!!! Yes, this little Scout Troop or 8-10 yols were out on a nature walk and were trying to spot wild animals. Boy did I have a treat for them. A wild raccoon AND Ginger!

The super-nice troop leader put down his camouflage fanny pack and started pushing his way through the thick brush and over to Ginger. The Scouts, who were told to stay on the trail – went nuts! They were trying to spot either the raccoon or Ginger and they’d jump up and down whenever they caught a glimpse of either through the thick foliage. Finally, about 10 minutes later, the Scout leader came working his way out of the brush with Ginger (my 50 pound dog) balanced on his shoulder. He looked triumphant and she looked tense and also innocent at the same time.

I thanked them, again near tears. I was saved by The Boy Scouts!!!!!

Thank you to that troop and to their fabulous troop leader for helping this pregnant, tired (and had to pee!) damsel in distress. My knights in khaki armor!

YAY - And Thank You!

Every now and then, in a world that just isn't always fair, something happens to renew your spirit.

I was fired from KOSY. It came as a blow. I loved the job, loved sharing mornings with people but mostly, I LOVED Showtune Saturday Night! Every week it was a wonderful escape for me to thumb through my CDs, cater the show to what was going on here on SLC and on Broadway and to share that great music with listeners. What a treat! You have no idea how rewarding it was to read e-mails about helping people plan their trips to NYC, or the fact that they bought music they'd heard on the show, or became brand new Showtune lovers. That's every DJs dream... to have any kind of impact. Imagine the joy!

The past few weeks have been heartbreaking for me. Not only am I NOT doing what I so loved every Saturday for the past 7 years, somebody else is!! It just hasn't seemed fair. I can't listen anymore and now Saturday nights feel REALLY empty.

Imagine my delight to stumble across the comment board on The Deseret News website:
http://deseretnews.com/user/comments/1,5150,695203677,00.html

Great listeners have gone to this website to show their support for me!! THANK YOU! You have really cheered me up. It's been really hard to be kicked out so abruptly. If you've ever been "let go," you know what a kick it is to your ego and hard it is to feel worth much. It really means the world to me to hear folks out there who enjoyed my shows and what I did. Thank you for taking the time to make a post.

Keep checking back and I'll be posting here regularly. By the way, you can always e-mail me directly by going to:

Showtune.erica@hotmail.com

Long Live Musical Theatre!

It’s so wonderful to hear from so many of you – thank you! Please contact me: showtune.erica@hotmail.com

If you haven’t heard, KOSY “let me go”. As many of you have mentioned, it came as a shock – to me too! I’m mostly incredibly heartbroken about losing Showtune Saturday Night. I LOVED that show. I’ve poured my heart and soul into SSN for the past 7 years, bringing it to #1, buying the music myself to add to the program, spending countless hours watching shows (from Broadway to high school), and loving every minute of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me share my love of musical theatre with you each Saturday night. Hopefully, we’ll meet again.

In the meantime, this little snafu doesn’t stop me from getting out and enjoying some fabulous theatre!!

The week I was fired, my friend and I had booked a trip to Seattle to see the world premiere of the new Mel Brooks musical, “Young Frankenstein!” Since I’d bought all these non-refundable tickets, I figured… ‘Why not!’












WOW!!!

The worst part, I CAN’T ABOUT IT ON THE SHOW!!!! Grrrr…..

But I can share it with you. It’s an amazing show! I sat there watching these amazing performers dance, sing, do accents, masterfully handle comedic timing… just amazing. What a gift! And what a thrill to be able to see it!

The show has lots of the original movie in – favorite lines, neighing horses etc. But enough of the new to make it feel fresh all over again and still delight and surprise.

Sutton Foster…. Aahhh…. My fave. I LOVE that girl (she’s in France with her hub right now). She is incredible. I’ve seen her in Millie, Little Women, Drowsy Chaperone and now this and she has been fabulous in every one of them!! I’m such a fan, and… I got her autograph!!! Not to mention I got to shake her hand and she said “Hi, I’m Sutton” – umm…. DUH!! Of COURSE you’re Sutton!!!! Tremendous, quite tremendous for this theatre geek.

The rest of the cast was equally talented. Roger Bart – wonderful Dr. Frankenstein. Megan Mullalley is quite funny as well and she can really sing. She had quite a few belty notes and they didn’t faze her a bit. The whole cast was great.

They get a two week break now and then head to Broadway – can you imagine how exciting that would be?

It opens on Broadway Nov 8th at the Hilton Theatre. If you’re planning a trip to NYC, put this show toward the top of your list of shows to see!!

http://www.youngfrankensteinthemusical.com/teaser.html