Theater gigs are certainly not the only thing I play, but certainly the only thing I’ve ever kept track of.  I suppose it’s easier to remember the shows I’ve done as opposed to great wind band pieces or orchestral pieces.  I got serious about playing when I was 15 (rather, I suddenly got good), and played in wind bands and orchestras a lot in high school.  But, as they say in A Chorus Line, life really began with my first pit.

Shows that I have done (and the number of times, if more than once):

  • Aladdin, Jr. - flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • Anyone Can Whistle - bass clarinet, bari sax, clarinet
  • Anything Goes – flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • Brigadoon (2) – clarinet
  • Bye Bye Birdie – clarinet, alto sax
  • Cabaret (2) – piccolo, flute, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax
  • Carnival – clarinet, tenor sax
  • Carousel (2) – clarinet
  • Cats – piccolo, clarinet, bari sax
  • Chicago – piccolo, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bari sax
  • Crazy For You- piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax
  • Fiddler on the Roof (3) – clarinet
  • Footloose -flute, clarinet, tenor sax, bari sax
  • Grease – tenor sax
  • Guys and Dolls – clarinet, tenor sax
  • Hairspray – flute, clarinet, tenor sax
  • Hello, Dolly – flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • HONK! – clarinet, alto sax
  • Into the Woods (2) – clarinet
  • It’s a Wonderful Life, The Musical – clarinet
  • Jekyll & Hyde – clarinet, bass clarinet, alto sax
  • Kiss Me, Kate – clarinet, bass clarinet, bari sax
  • The Last Five Years – bass clarinet (playing cello book)
  • Les Miserables – flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • Lil’ Abner – flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • Mack and Mable – flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • Music Man (2) – clarinet
  • Oklahoma (2) – clarinet
  • Oliver – clarinet, bass clarinet
  • Once On This Island – piccolo, flute, alto flute, clarinet, soprano sax
  • Once Upon a Mattress – bass clarinet
  • Peter Pan – clarinet
  • Pippin – flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet
  • Pirates of Penzance – clarinet
  • Seussical – piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax
  • Singing in the Rain – flute, clarinet, alto sax
  • South Pacific – clarinet
  • Sweeney Todd – clarinet, bass clarinet
  • Sweet Charity – clarinet, alto sax
  • Three Penny Opera – clarinet, tenor sax
  • The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2) – flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax
  • The Glorious Ones – piccolo, flute, alto recorder, Eb clarinet, clarinet
  • Thoroughly Modern Millie – oboe, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax
  • West Side Story (7!) – piccolo, flute, oboe, Eb clarinet, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax
  • The Wizard of Oz (2) – flute, clarinet, tenor sax, bari sax
  • You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown – flute, clarinet, alto sax

Upcoming shows:

  • Kiss Me, Kate
  • Once Upon a Mattress
  • The Wedding Singer
  • Hairspray

Shows I really, really, really want to do (other than all of them):

  • Any and all Sondheim shows
  • Beauty & The Beast
  • Camelot
  • Evita
  • Hair (the 2009 revival)
  • Man of La Mancha
  • West Side Story (can’t get enough of this show)

We’ve done some rearranging in the house, and now I have a music room.  I have tons of sheet music, concertos, method books, reeds, straps, cds of repertoire, excerpt books, and, most important, instruments.  The instruments I own are:

  • Piccolo
  • Flute
  • Alto Flute
  • Tenor Recorder
  • Oboe
  • English Horn
  • Eb Clarinet
  • C Clarinet
  • Bb Clarinet
  • A Clarinet
  • Low C Bass Clarinet
  • Soprano Saxophone
  • Alto Saxophone
  • Tenor Saxophone
  • Bari Saxophone
  • Bassoon
  • Keyboard

My woodwind collection now includes a Powell flute! I have other horns I will need to upgrade, such as my soprano sax, Eb clarinet, and bass clarinet.  They’re all good enough, but the soprano sax is a very cheap model, the Eb is the cheap plastic Bundy I purchased right before I got married, and I need a professional low C bass clarinet that can withstand the amount of playing I do on it. Oh I wish I could get top-of-the-line for all of them!