LIVE On-Stage, for just a moment… Thank You

Oh, what a night!

Last weekend I performed LIVE, on-stage, for the first time since the start of the pandemic at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA. When I came out on stage, under the lights, it felt like I was home again…

Even though the theater was nearly empty and most of my audience was watching the Live-stream from the comfort & safety of their own homes, performing on-stage in a theater, on a Saturday night was just what I needed.

Safety First

There were many safety measures we had to adhere by at the theater  – like – the audience had to majorly socially distance and I could only play (not sing) on stage! Since singing is such an important part of my shows, we came up with a plan so I could still sing some of my most-loved tunes like “The Nightingale” and “Sous Chef” and stay safe.

LIVE from… the dressing room?

We set up a separate performance area BACKSTAGE – in my dressing room! So when I got to the part of the show when I was going to sing, I took the livestream audience AND the LIVE in-theater audience backstage with me through a camera lens, and tada!!! I was able to sing in a safe environment!

The best part? I could still hear the laughter & applause from the folks in the theater! And, when I was doing “Shining Star” in my Congratulations song, I could see the audience also doing it!

Thank you Regent Theatre Peeps!

The show was experimental from a tech point of view – so there were some minor glitches, but the crew at the Regent really stepped up to the task and we were able to solve tech issues swiftly!

Thank you to Leland Stein & Rick Stavros who run the Regent and keep it alive, to Ryan Yorck, the genie behind the sound, cameras, and the video streaming, to Dan Merriman, who ran the lights, to Drew Pawl for tech support and heavy lifting, to Wayne Spinney for managing the box office, web site (and so much more!), and finally, thanks to Edward Whitham for the utmost care and attention to deep cleaning the theater (on stage, backstage, and in the seats) making us all feel safe under challenging circumstances.

Thank You StageIt & LiveStream Audience!

The livestream was via the StageIt platform. It was great to be able to offer an on-stage performance to the crowd at home – with theatre lights, multi-camera angles and great sound!

It was also fun to see the comments in the chat column from the viewers – at least one person who was up at 3AM in Australia so she could watch LIVE! Thanks to the LIVESTREAM audience, and folks at StageIt as well!

And… Thank YOU… the LIVE Audience

To the carefully socially distanced in-theater audience, I was so happy to have you there to keep me company! Thank you for masking up and coming out to the theater and experiencing the irreplaceable energy of a LIVE performance and a LIVE audience, no matter how small.

And finally, I’d like to thank the Arlington, MA Community for wearing masks and adhering to safety guidelines and for making Arlington’s Regent Theatre a safe place to come together – with people from all around the world via livestream – to see a show – and to making me feel so loved and connected.

I hope to be able to return to the stage again someday soon.. in front of a full house.

(And – thanks to Robbin Gordon-Cartier & Beatriz Harley for taking screenshots during the LIVESTREAM!)