Simply Red

When I think of musical theatre, I see red.

No doubt this is because I was weaned on the Anne of Green Gables summer musical, which opened, I think, during my year of birth, and which I saw every year from age 3 onward, until I finally worked for the theatre and saw it every day during the summer, twice on Wednesday and Saturday, for three months. (Anne is, of course, known for her red hair, which gets her into many comic scrapes.)

One thrill back then was that the theatre produced a scholarship benefit at the end of each summer season and I was able to sing and dance with the professional actors. I remember that for one number I wore character shoes that had Lenore Zann’s name inked in them, which may only be meaningful for Canadian peeps, but was very exciting to my 17-year-old self.

But back to red.

I’ve been thinking of red again, in a musical theatre context, because I’ve been cast in a musical and must find a smart pair of red trousers to wear onstage.

(BTW, this musical is utterly consuming; singing and script-memorizing is invading my blogging time, so I expect to be quieter than usual for the next few weeks. Apologies in advance if I do not comment chez vous as frequently as I’d like to.)

Back again to red trousers.

Where on earth can a decent (read: remotely handsome) pair of red trousers be found? My saving grace is, I think, the upcoming Christmas season, though my usual suspect, J Crew, which typically sells trousers in rainbow hues, is not pushing red at this time. (Red hats, yes.)

But by some convergence of my desperate need and holiday marketing, I’ve found a pair at the Gap. They’re “boyfriend” in style (I like slim) and cropped (that I like) and they look (online) to be a festive red, which is fine for my character, but maybe not for post-theatre outings. To me, wearing red during the holiday season is like wearing a sweatshirt from the university where one takes classes or works: too matchy-matchy.

So during the next few weeks, I’ll be practicing belting my songs to the back of the house. And that reminds me: I probably need a belt too. Merde!