I am being repeatedly inundated by the kindness of people who have been inspiring me my whole life. The best part is, I didn't even know who they really were until a few weeks ago...oops? Topics: Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley.
OK, so I saw Next to Normal (GO SEE IT!!!!!) a few weeks ago not knowing anything about it except for that it was supposed to be phenomenal. Expectation: more than filled. Brimmed over, actually, seeing how obsessed I've become with the entire company and creative team of the show. A COMPLETELY ORIGINAL musical is something that Broadway has not seen in quite some time, and for this one to be as different and, quite frankly, bad ass as it is makes it a pioneer for great original musicals to come.
REACHING THE POINT: Before the show, I always read all of the casts' bios to see if I've ever seen them in anything, where they studied, etc.
I get to, "ALICE RIPLEY (Diana)."
skim, skim, skim
...pause...
*skidding car sound*
...reads: Side Show.
WHAT THE HELL.
Ok, so not only was Side Show part of my first group of 3 OBC recordings that I had ever owned, but the first musical theatre song I ever sang "formally" was from Side Show. At the time, I felt really retarded, because that's what Alice Ripely was most known for till now, and I like to think of myself as a sort of "Useless Theatre Trivia" archive.
Fast forward to the next day, when I'm basically cyber-stalking the poor woman.
Facebook friends: done.
IBDB: done.
IMDB: done.
Amazon: *skidding car sound*
Ok, so there I was on Amazon seeing what other things I might have missed this woman in. First of all, I found out Emily Skinner was Daisy, opposite Alice (Violet) in SS (the only reason I'm explaining this is because I want to feel accomplished, learning something by myself that everyone else already knew...). I also became her Facebook friend. So I scroll down past the Side Show album, past Alice's solo album, past more Al/Em albums...and I find RIPLEY.
Shortly after I sang "Who Will Love Me As I Am" (the song mentioned above), I began dabbling in music composition. My favorite composers/artists at that time were major influences in my musical taste and in things I wrote and things that I still write. Those included, Dave Matthews Band, Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, Edith Piaf, Missy Higgins, Gershwin, Sondheim and "this band" called RIPLEY...just to name a few.
Guess what. Alice is not only the lead singer, but the songwriter and guitarist for "this band."
WHAT?!?!?!??!?!
How could this woman have influenced so much of my life, yet I didn't even know who the hell she was? Never in my life would I have imagined that those two women--the one from Side Show and the other one from RIPLEY would be the SAME?! And give me a break, I know it's her last name, but GO LISTEN to the cast album and then her band. TOTALLY DIFFERENT SOUND. Which is another reason why she's amazing: her versatility.
Anyway, back to the first sentence...I met Alice at the stage door after the show (after my epiphany about Side Show, but before my epiphany about RIPLEY), and she was a total doll. We chatted for a couple minutes, and for once it was a stage door experience that was completely awkward-free. She loves her fans (obviously since she now has over 3,000 of them as her friends on facebook). Speaking of Facebook, when I friended Emily, I sent her a message, you know since I actually haven't met her. She responded the next day with the sweetest response.
It makes me so happy that these are the types of people I will (hopefully) be working with one day...more specifically THESE WOMEN! I can now say that they are such amazing people, now that I finally know who they are.
I swear, if I don't stop writing now, I'll go on like a blabbering fool for days.
I need to see the show again. AND YOU DO TOO.
