Don't Cry for Me, Argentina -- a reminisce by John Silah

     In 1997 FdLCT performed “Evita.”  It was a great show.  Although it is an Andrew Lloyd Webber, it is darker than most of his.  But this show would prove particularly memorable.

     A lady with a wonderful voice, Pam Stansbury, played its title character.  Pam sang her heart out for many performances.  On the evening of her final performance, she came down with laryngitis.

     Even though she had an understudy, she went on.  Many FdLCT members have that kind of determination.  The soundman gave her a headset mic - one on a rounded stem that put the tiny mic right in front of her mouth.   It would pick more sound than any other mic available.  Whatever amount of sound she could make, the audience would hear it.

     We were rear-projecting slides onto a scrim during the show.  Towards the end of the show, the remote focus wasn’t working.  It would have to be adjusted manually.  The slide projector was up high, perched on scaffolding at the back of the stage.

     My crew was trained well enough to continue without me, so I went backstage and climbed up the scaffolding in the dark while the show was still going on.  As I climbed, I had to be careful not to shake the scaffold so that the picture would not move.  I reached the top, corrected the focus, and then decided to stay up there until the end, rather than climbing back down in the dark and risk shaking the picture.  So I wound up watching the ending of the show from a unique point of view, looking down at the actors from a perspective above and behind them.

     At the curtain call, the audience gave a rousing ovation, and the rest of the cast onstage gave a special round of applause to Pam.  There were tears flowing as Pam’s fellow cast members showed their appreciation for her extraordinary efforts.