Boheme is upon us

So I'm heading into Tech Week of Boheme, and trying to wrap my mind around Musetta. I always thought it would be easy to play her...she's a crazy sexy girl who just wants to get her way all the time.

But it turns out that I am too "nice" onstage to convey all of the anger that Musetta seems to have. She is very argumentative, VERY pouty and bitchy...all the things I've been told not to be in life. Then I have to remember that it's not ME on stage, but MUSETTA. It is easier after I get my staging, go home, and write it in my score. I try to find sepcific musical moments to coincide with the actions the director gave me. Once I find those musical moments, I plot the actions with them, and then I can stop thinking with my "Sammi" brain and start thinking as Musetta.

There is also a lot of physical comedy in this show, particularly with Alcindoro, the man who plays my lover in Act II. The role, played hilariously by Aaron Hunt, is one of a sugar daddy, who buys me everything I want because I'm hot and presumably give him physical attention when we're alone. Unfortunately, Aaron is SO FUNNY as this nebbish old man that I, Sammi, have a hard time not laughing onstage even though I, Musetta, am supposed to be alternately ordering this guy around and disgusted by him. This is an issue I've had my entire life...I LOVE to laugh. I find humor in almost any situation. So one of the hardest things for me is tamping down that urge when I'm onstage, and getting so into my character that humor doesn't affect me, unless it is supposed to.

Another layer of Musetta surfaces in Act IV. Prior to this final act, we've seen her be a sexpot, a very naughty, ungrateful, bratty girl, and a very angry person. Emotion pours out of Musetta at every turn. The audience may have turned against her and decided she is no good as a person...I think almost all of us can think of someone like that whom we've met in our lives. Musetta is very identifiable as a "character."

BUT

In Act IV, the first time we see her she has found Mimi, who is extremely ill, and brought her back to be with Rodolfo. Then she goes to find Mimi a muff to warm her hands, and sells her earrings to afford medicine and a doctor. She then prays and reassures Rodolfo. Everything Musetta does is inherently GOOD. So we see that she has so much dimension as a person...her emotions run high in all situations, but many of those emotions are empathetic and relatable. She is a very complete character...Puccini made sure of that.

Quite a lot for me to swallow, but I'm loving every minute of this process.