Judas is in the building!

What a night!

I arrived at rehearsal to find the hall full of people trying on costumes. Geoff called me over to see my "Superstar" outfit. Oh! My! God! It's a purple and gold cat-suit, with a high collar and a gold cape (think Elvis - Las Vegas stylee). Well, I couldn't believe my eyes. This was not at all what I had expected! I went off to find the rest of my costume, but failed - it appeared they had not sent my "apostle" outfit, so I was a bit miffed. Everyone else seemed to have theirs and looked really good, but mine just was nowhere to be seen. :o(

So, I took the plunge and tried on my purple creation. It's quite snug! Doesn't leave much to the imagination in certain areas, and I'm a bit restricted in movement - lifting my arms above waist height will cut me in half! Ah, the things you do for your art! Anyway, you can imagine the comments from the rest of the cast. It's wild and outrageous, but it kind of fits for the number.

Not too sure about the Soul Girls outfits. I think we had all imagined something quite funky, but they seem to be dressed as university graduates, complete with floppy mortar boards. They look very smart, but not quite what I had imagined the Soul Girls to be wearing, and I'm not sure they go with my outrageous outfit. Oh well, ours is not to reason why...

Pete has a nice selection of white robes, which he gradually sheds until he's left in his "loin-cloth"...it's a good job he's so skinny coz there's no room for a beer belly in that outfit either!

So, I hastily discarded my Elvis outfit and we started on a run-through with the band. The 3 swanky keyboards had arrived and we had drums, trumpet, and electric guitars. Now it has really started to sound like the real thing. The band are gonna be amazing, I reckon. It's going to take them a little time to get used to the keyboards, but I know it's going to be great.

I had to concentrate really hard when singing to keep in tune. The band were very loud and the microphones seemed to be very quiet, so I was struggling to make myself heard. In the end we got the levels right and it became a bit easier. It was so nice to have the proper orchestrations for moments like the end of Act 1 ("On Thursday night...") and "Judas' Death". it makes it so much easier to act with the proper accompaniment.

It was great to hear Steve's voice had improved even further. It looks like he will be OK for next week, which is excellent news.

I stayed in my normal clothes till I had "died", then thought I'd better don my outfit for "Superstar". I'm not sure how I'm going to manage the aerial acrobatics Geoff has in mind while wearing this costume...I'll have to see how I get on when I have the rope to play with. Anyway, "Superstar" was fun - good job I'm not a shy person!

Curiously, when I had finished, my other costume turned up - a simple white robe and black overcoat-type-thing. I don't know where it materialised from as I checked every pile several times, but not to worry. It fits OK and is somewhat less revealing that my other one! (probably a good thing!)

And so that was that. No proper rehearsal now till Sunday night. I'm going to the Auditorium on Saturday afternoon to check out the hanging rig with the guy who's fixing it up...should be interesting. Then there's a band call on Sunday morning, which I'll have to go to - I need more practice singing with them. Then it's a full gathering on Sunday night, with the set.

I can't believe it's nearly here now - 5 days! Argh!