Claire's play closed Saturday night. It was awesome! The cast of Faust International's "A Little Princess" was amazing. And what a learning curve between opening and closing nights. I thought the girls were outstanding on opening night but, Wow! Unbelievable by closing night. All of them. I was able to catch Kellyann Burlage as Sara Crewe twice during the run and she was excellent. It was interesting to see Philippine Huret on closing night. Her performance was also top-notch. Different from Kelly Ann's but fantastic. It's tough to say which actor was better. They were both wonderful and each put her own mark on the character of Sara Crewe. I know which interpretation of Sara Crewe that my daughter preferred and I would agree.
Other actors who especially tickled my fancy:
Izzy Baehr: She captured the essence of Amelia Minchin just right--hesitant, afraid of the scorn of her sister, a mix of emotions; love the scene with Lottie and the biscuits---Izzy nailed it.
Olivia Klinger: As Becky Jones, Olivia did a lot of running off stage. I didn't realize (until closing night) her excellent facial expressions which said a lot (without saying anything).
Zara Horlacher: The role of Lavinia Herbert, the mean girl of Miss Minchin's Select Seminary, would be fun to play. Zara did an excellent job and I saw much improvement during the run. Her tone, the way she held her body, her delivery...all made for a very mean (and attention starved) Lavinia Herbert.
Rebecca Leung: As Emily the Doll, Rebecca's only line consisted of "Good Night". However her facial expression and movement were outstanding. This is a difficult role to tackle and Rebecca brought so much to it. She also took over the role of Mr. Barrow towards the end of the run. Wow! Rebecca is quite a gifted actor.
Chloe Fung: Her portrayal of Miss Minchin hit the mark. I can't believe that Chloe is only ten!!! Her delivery captured the spirit (perhaps that's not quite the right word---it seems to uplifting to describe Miss Minchin) of the headmistress.
Mitasha Kirpalani: As Ram Dass, Mitasha displayed great comedic timing as well as a gift for physical humor. My favorite part is when Ram Dass shows Miss Minchin the door.
Maisie Holland: Her portrayal of Roger was spot on. So, so funny and endearing.
Jennifer Beveridge/Jaya Daswani/Lizzy O'Leary/Allyson Take: As the Shadow Puppeteers, these four added another interesting element to the show. I didn't initially understand how this concept would work (marvelous idea, Keon Woong Lee---he is an incredible director and he wrote this adaptation of "A Little Princess"). Once seeing the play, I was blown away by the shadow puppeteers. Awesome!
Congratulations to all of the actors in "A Little Princess"...it was a FABULOUS show.
On a completely different note: We fly out early Wednesday morning. Tom had a car clinic in the marina today and is now in Korea. He arrives back in HK late on Tuesday. I'm currently trying to finish my HKIS teaching application. I still have some essay questions to tweak and one last reference to track down. (Over the weekend, I contacted two of my former principals: one from Florida and one from HKIS who is now in New Zealand. It was great to catch up with them both.) I also have specific questions to answer for a Grade 6 Math/Science position for the interview team. Those invited to interview (I haven't been invited yet---this is the lead up to the interview), will do so in the latter part of the week. That's a challenge for me as we're leaving! I've asked if it would be at all possible to interview on Tuesday. Fingers crossed. (I'm very excited about teaching next year...I'm ready. I've also requested a change in classes for the Spring semester---I'm quite interested in Implementing Instructional Technology Innovations---I see a lot of intriguing possibilities with Web 2.0 on the classroom setting.)
It's late (or early) and I must catch a bit more sleep before Monday morning officially arrives. (Okay, it's already here but I still have time to sleep.)
