Hamilton Benefit 2001 --You Gotta Have Friends

Live Performance, February 24, 2001

Friday, February 23, 2001: I arrived at LAX to see bright, fresh, spring sunshine illuminating the palm trees across the street from the airport. That early afternoon marked nearly the last time I would see the sun again until I arrived back in Baltimore early Monday morning. Obviously February is the rainy season in sunny LA for the weather varied from cloudy and misty to a steady, drenching downpour throughout our stay. The rain, however, did nothing at all to dim the pleasure and enjoyment of this weekend and the breathtaking experience of not only watching Scott sing and dance on stage but also actually meeting him after the show.

The old, restored Culver hotel where we all stayed was a gracious, charming and also quaint, strange, old-fashioned place. Full of Hollywood history and legend, it provided bright, comfortable, airy lodgings in Culver City, very close to Hamilton High School and the Norman J. Patiz concert hall. It was such a delight to meet all the wonderful new friends who gathered there for the event and to put faces and voices with the names and messages we've learned to recognize from the QLIK board. Coming together and spending time with our esteemed Billie, along with Margaret and dear Rosie (who is a sweetheart and a trooper of the first order for hanging with us bunch of crazies), Anna (from Sweden), Ann McC, Emma, Diane, Debbie O (all from Britain), Deb Kyzer, Karen S, Debbie Jones, Sandy, Kristy, Pam, Helene, Barbara - and please forgive anyone else I might have missed - was one of the highlights of the trip.

On Saturday while some of the more energetic and adventurous folks went sightseeing and looking for photos in Hollywood or browsing in the shops within walking distance of the hotel, Margaret, Billie and I went to the concert hall to scout out parking places and easy access doors for Rosie. We were able to briefly peek into the theater while the assembled cast were getting ready to rehearse the opening number, "You Gotta Have Friends." I was looking down the row of fifteen or so performers toward stage right while, beside me, Billie was saying, "There he is." Billie turned me around to the opposite direction, far stage left, and there indeed was Scott! Dressed in cropped black pants, white socks and flat jazz dancing shoes, he was loosening up his muscles and barely constraining what looked like eager, slightly nervous energy. He seemed to be in a state of perpetual motion: making windmills with his outstretched arms (Billie says he looked like he really WAS conducting that orchestra I’d love to see him lead), releasing tension from his neck by moving his head in semi-circles from side to side, doing those little bent-knee, foot-to-foot prances that dancers use to warm up their feet and ankles. When Scott stopped his limbering up activity to listen as someone gave stage directions, Chelsea nestled in close to his side and held one of his hands in both of hers.

Just seeing Scott live on stage, even when he's only warming up before a rehearsal, you can unquestionably feel this man's charm and charisma and the dynamic force of his talent. This was the first time I had ever seen Scott in person, and my reaction was far more intense than even I could imagine. It felt as though I'd literally been struck by his magnetism. I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak but just stood at the back of the theater, transfixed, my hands over my mouth, while the experience of seeing him brought astonished mist springing to my eyes. (Now, contrary to Billie's account, she and Margaret may have had to steady me a bit but they did not have to revive me or pick me up from the floor!) >Grin<

The night of the performance, Margaret, Rosie, Anna, Billie and Kristy went to the theater early so that they could get a good parking spot close to the entrance. The rest of us arrived about 6:45 or so accompanied by a steady, drenching rain. We got our tickets in the theater lobby along with a warm welcome form Gay, Giannina and the other Hamilton supporters. The house seemed pretty full to me, but someone else will have to comment on exact numbers. The show opened with the whole cast assembled on stage in formal dress singing, "You Gotta Have Friends." This time my eyes tracked immediately to the left side of the company. Sure enough, there at the end of the row of performers, in the same place on stage where I had seen him rehearsing earlier that afternoon stood Scott. Tall and trim in his smart, elegant three-piece tux with the narrow, abbreviated satin lapels, Scott looked absolutely marvelous - very fit, and incredibly sexy in those stage lights. (That last probably wasn't even necessary to add, was it?) Directing a lot of his gestures and eye contact toward the audience as he sang, he seemed to be thanking everyone for their support of the school and attendance at the benefit.

About midway through the first act, "Scott, Chelsea and Frank" performed "Steam Heat" from The Pajama Game. (According to the program, "Frank" was Frank Williams, a professional dancer and teacher with the Edge performing Arts Center). When the announcer introduced them, he made a specific point of saying that these three performers were great supporters of Hamilton who had "volunteered" to do this special number and had been "working real hard" to get it ready. It seems that Scott expressly asked if he and Chelsea could add "Steam Heat" to the program after finding out how many of his fans from across the country and, even more amazingly, from Britain and Sweden were planning to attend the benefit to see them. Now I knew from watching Quantum Leap, Men, Movies and Carol, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and other of his earlier projects that Scott could dance. But I was thoroughly astounded by the smooth, skillful precision with which he moved throughout this sophisticated song and dance routine. Scott possesses a uniquely fluid yet athletic - an assured, almost effortless grace, along with a marvelous sense of placement and line that are not just impressive but thoroughly captivating to watch.

Dressed alike in black slacks cut off to capri length, white collarless shirts, black, square cut, boxy jackets, white socks, black jazz shoes and black bowler hats, the trio strutted and swirled through the intricate, sexy choreography with lots of energy and style, "attitude" and aplomb! While they were dancing, the threesome carried out a series of smooth, rhythmic tosses and catches with those bowler hats that looked quite tricky and wonderfully showy. In another section of the number, the dancers executed a lively sequence of alternating stamps and claps that emphasized the offbeats of the music and served as the only accompaniment to their voices. As they gradually increased the tempo of these rhythmic accents, the pattern of sound from their movements became nearly uninterrupted. During a different and particularly high-energy moment of the dancing, Chelsea ratcheted up the excitement with a high pitched squeal. Then Scott followed with one of his signature 'uh, huh's', his tone casually gliding up on the second syllable to make the exclamation sound like an "Oh yeah" or an "I told you so!" At another point the men lunged onto the floor and rapidly slid on the sides of their hips and flanks very far downstage, almost to the apron. Meanwhile in the center of the stage, Chelsea extended her beautiful long legs into almost completely vertical high kicks. Fantastic!! The trio sang nearly the entire time they were dancing - no easy trick given all the exertion the choreography required. Scott's rich baritone really sounded wonderful and strong, and it was great fun to see him accentuate the shape of his mouth and clearly vocalize the hissing and clicking sounds of the steam through the pipes that are part of the lyrics of the song. There was tremendous audience response for this show-stopping number!

After the intermission, Scott and Chelsea performed "Priest" from Sweeney Todd. Scott's hair was parted in the middle and slicked down on each side. He wore checkered pants, hitched up very high with suspenders, and a white shirt. The deep shadows painted beneath his eyes gave them a haunted and hollow look and made Scott, as Sweeney, appear haggard and a little ghoulish. When he entered and said his first line, he looked and sounded driven and spent as though exhausted by that first murder. Gradually though, Sweeney gets drawn into the spirit of banter and the dark humor of the song, as Mrs. Lovett - Chelsea in printed shopkeepers dress, pinafore apron, twin pony tails and her best cockney accent - brandishes her rolling pin and convinces him to use the body for her meat pies. Scott's and Chelsea's voices sounded wonderful together, blending strongly and beautifully or, at the end of one phrase, achieving and drawing out an eerily dissonant (and difficult) chord. Their chemistry and timing in the comedic bits of this complex, witty but macabre wordplay number were wonderful to see.

Once again, as I had been surprised by how well Scott danced, I was also surprised by how well Chelsea sang. While I had known that Chelsea was a beautiful dancer and a talented actress, the strength and capability of her singing voice just amazed me. At several points in the song, Chelsea punctuated Mrs. Lovett's outrageous lyrics with marvelously shrill, coarse and rather manic laughter. In a conversation recently, our good friend, Billie, reminded me of the look of genuine pleasure that appeared on Scott's face as he watched Chelsea perform in their duet. Scott, of course, used his full stage voice to both speak and sing as Sweeney, precisely enunciating every syllable in resonant, ringing tones. When Scott opens up his expansive chest and puts the full support of his diaphragm muscles under his breath, the richness and power of his lyric baritone voice is not just unmistakable but unforgettable. There was one particularly funny moment where Scott substituted the name of the man who created the Hamilton musical theater program, Richard Schraier, for the original lyrics of the song. Making his voice rough and gravelly, Scott growled the man's name, promising Mrs. Lovett that he would "come back when you have 'Schraier' on the menu". The students, their families and the school staff who were in the audience greeted Scott's playful adlib with immediate and exuberant laughter.

Finally, Scott was one of the four principal singers featured in the last song, "Somewhere" from West Side Story. Each of the four (Gerry McIntyre, Scott Bakula, Karen Culliver and 'nita whitaker) sang a solo line at the opening of this number, walking one by one onto the stage from the wings as they began to sing. True to the spirit of both the song and the show from which it was taken, the quartet consisted of two culturally diverse couples. Making his entrance after the first soloist, a man whose strong bass pulsated with intensity, Scott sang the second line of the song, "There's a time for us - Someday a time for us - Time together with time to spare - Time to look - Time to care." Scott's first note was very deep in tone, sung softly and with the barest hint of the beautiful natural vibrato that is so distinctive in his voice. As the melody steadily ascended, Scott let his voice expand in a slow, sustained crescendo, investing the last two phrases with volume, power and emotional intensity that conveyed the yearning and pathos of the lyrics. At the same time, he played with the rhythm ever so slightly, syncopating a couple of the notes to give the phrases a less formal sound and to make the interpretation his own. A woman sang the next line, walking over to stand beside the first man. Unfortunately her microphone was not working properly so it was difficult to fully appreciate her sweet soprano voice. Nonetheless she continued on as if nothing at all were amiss. Then Scott's partner in the quartet entered to sing the last line. A strikingly beautiful African-American woman with a powerful voice, she embellished a transition from one tone to a lower one with a descending triplet of notes that gave the phrase a subtle Gospel flavor. Scott watched her and listened to her sing with a look of what can only be described as joy on his face, genuinely admiring her voice and appreciating her talent, caught up in the beauty of the music. Finally all four of the principals joined to sing the last three phrases of the song, "Somehow - Someday - Somewhere." On that last word, Scott raised the pitch and volume of his voice to sing the high harmony, his tone pure, confident and crystal-clear, the timbre soaring, stirring - magnificent. As the audience loudly applauded the four principals, the whole cast joined them on stage and the full ensemble reprised that exquisite Bernstein melody. When the finale ended, the audience showed its appreciation with a loud and lengthy standing ovation.

With so many talented professionals contributing a variety of music, songs, dances, skits and styles, the entire program was not only enjoyable but exhilarating - an excellently staged and performed, perfectly wonderful night of musical theater! We owe a great big thank you to all of the gifted performers and to Ms. Ilene Graff and Mr. Ben Lanzarone, the producers of the show, as well as to Gay and Gianinna, who handled all the ticket arrangements, and the other "friends of musical theater" for assigning the visiting Bakula-fans such spectacular seats in the second and third rows.

After the show ended, Billie, Anna, Kristy, Margaret, Rosie and I walked across a little courtyard from the theater to the school where the reception was taking place. I was looking straight down the hall toward the reception room and trying not to be nervous when I heard an unmistakable voice speak right beside me. I looked over my left shoulder and saw Scott walking in with Chelsea next to him. I think right about that time, I lost the power of rational thought because everything seems sort of dream-like after that. As Scott and Chelsea walked quickly toward the gathering of guests, he kept up a warm, friendly conversation with everyone in the group. When he got a bit ahead of us, he turned back and motioned with his arm, cordially urging everyone to, "Come on," into the reception room.

Scott wore a long, loose, black cable knit sweater and black pants. (I think they might have been in the style of sweat pants with elastic bottoms, but made of a shinier, dressier material like chambray or polished cotton. However, I'm not really sure because it was so hard to take my eyes from his face!) His hair was soft and wavy, about the length he wore it for the Politically Incorrect show and displayed those wonderful, natural auburn highlights amongst the brown. When Scott first arrived at the school, his hair was still parted in the middle as it had been for the " [Little] Priest" number. I did not see this myself, but several people said that his daughter came over and tousled his hair with her hands to rearrange it into a more natural (or perhaps a more presentable) style. The reception room itself was a bit noisy and crowded. I believe that the benefit organizers had hoped to hold the reception outside - but the rain continued quite heavily for most of that night. Compensating for the background sound, Scott seemed to spend a lot of time with his head bowed and his ear turned sideways to catch the words of the person speaking to him. So it is with profound regret that I say I did not get a chance to really see his beautiful green eyes.

Everyone says this when they meet Scott so forgive the redundancy, but he is so much more handsome in person - if that is possible - that it's kind of staggering. Scott unquestionably emits that unnamed power that just draws people to him (the poor guy never did get into the reception room itself before he was utterly surrounded by his admirers). But he manifests not the slightest air of aloofness, distance or superiority. Scott was so open, welcoming and genuine that it seemed as though he were talking to friends - not fans. And what particularly impressed me was how many of the young people from the school - boys as well as girls - came up and hugged him warmly and with familiar ease to congratulate him on his performance in the show.

Scott and Chelsea were really under a time constraint because of a babysitter problem that evening. Nevertheless, he and Jay did everything possible to make sure that each person who came to see Scott got their moment and picture with him. Truthfully, between nerves and Jay saying that Scott and Chelsea really had to leave in the next five minutes, I seemed to go into an altered state of consciousness when it was my turn to talk to Scott. That part of the night is still hazy and surreal. The pen Scott was using to autograph the John Burke study for me stopped printing just after he'd written my name. Someone handed him a bright red felt tip pen with which to continue and he quipped, "well that sort of fits the character [Burke], doesn't it?" Throughout the reception, his intelligent and funny remarks really helped to defuse any shyness or awkwardness his fans might have been feeling. In another instance earlier in the evening, Anna brought a lovely screen capture of Scott for him to sign that she had made from an M&MS episode. Obviously not recognizing where the picture originated, Scott looked doubtfully at it and asked with some confusion where it had come from. When he was told that the picture came from M&MS, Scott made a very wry face and joked, "Oh, I try to forget about that one." (Well those of us who are devoted Smithy fans certainly don't forget that much loved and greatly missed series at all!) Even though the details of my meeting with Scott are a bit cloudy, I can still instantly recall his broad, amiable smile, the warm, solid feel of his arm around my shoulder and his very slim waist under my hand as Jay snapped our picture together. And I have his unique and matchless varicolored autograph to treasure!

Just before she and Scott got ready to leave, I was able to talk with Chelsea for a very few minutes and to tell her how much I enjoyed her singing and dancing. Then as Chelsea went back toward Scott, I said to her, "Well, now you go home to your first job, " referring to her responsibilities as helpmate and mom. Chelsea replied with decided emphasis, "And my most important one!" Finally Scott and Chelsea took a picture with Margaret and Rosie and started to leave the reception. I remember Scott walking beside Rosie's chair and chatting to her so companionably as they went down the hall together. He asked Rosie if she had told all of us about him visiting with her in the theater before the show and teased her that since none of us were there at the time, we probably did not believe her. Then Scott and Chelsea went down the steps and out into the courtyard. As they walked away, I heard Scott address Chelsea as "Babe" several times with obvious and candid affection in his voice. I hope that detail is not too personal a one to relate but it struck me as very telling and very sweet.

Before we left the reception, several of us went back to thank Gay and Giannina and to congratulate Ilene and Ben on the tremendous success of the show. Ilene was very charming and told us that after she had posted the information about the show on several of the websites, telephone requests for tickets began to pour in from across the U.S and Europe. Evidently Gay and the other supporters of Hamilton who handled ticket sales were not only taken aback but a bit skeptical as well, unsure if they should trust these unknown people who were promising to buy tickets for the benefit. Ilene said her response to them was that since Scott was such a kind and principled man, they'd just have to assume that his fans were like that as well. For me, the experience of meeting Scott has solidly confirmed the very same impression of him that Ilene expressed and turned it into a conviction.

I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to attend this marvelous show, to watch Scott and Chelsea singing and dancing together, to actually meet and talk to Chelsea and Scott (did that really happen?) and to spend time with the wonderful fans who were there - those experienced hands at meeting Scott who were so warm and supportive toward us nervous newcomers.

Many thanks to Anita for this report