Off to the Actors Theatre

Most days I write about other people having arts adventures. Now my show is going on the road. Hey, I hear Kentucky is the new Broadway.

I've been performing in a new Portola Valley musical, "Puah's Midwife Crisis," and next week we'll have the great privilege of doing the show at Actors Theatre of Louisville, a hot spot for new works. We'll also be taking the stage at a huge church gathering, which is fitting because the musical is based on an Old Testament story.

Our sets, costumes and props have already taken a road trip to Louisville, with the actors following by plane. Friday and Saturday should be a flurry of dress and tech rehearsals as we get used to our new spaces. And the heat. Later in the week, it'll be thunderstorms.

Puah (played by the magnificent Emily Greco, above) is a novice midwife trying to make her way in an Egypt ruled by a Pharaoh with untenable edicts. Her story is uplifting and dramatic, with book and music by Cheryl Goodman-Morris and Karen C. Russell. I can't imagine there are too many midwife musicals out there, so maybe we'll find an extra niche market.

My character, Neferdotti (yep, she's dotty), is part of the comic relief. Whenever the plot gets really heavy, we, the Egyptian ladies-in-waiting, come in and sing. There's a girl-group tune, a blues song, an aerobics number. We wear giant pregnant bellies, and I sing while being pushed around on a rolling chaise longue. Sometimes we fall down.

More later from the road...



Pictured: Top: Emily Greco as Puah. Above: The ladies in waiting (I'm in the center) do a girl-group number. Photos from www.puahthemusical.org.