Fantine

Mariah loves the musical theater. Her bedroom is full of artifacts from shows. She loves to fill her bedroom with the music from broadway. It is so much her, and so much a part of many of our family members. But I think her favorite has always been Les Mis, thus what joy it was for her to learn that Robinson is doing Les Mes as their spring show this year. Over the years Epanine has her favorite songs and range, but as she thought about it for the tryouts, she realized that she comes across on stage as mature, not only because she is taller than most of her friends, but there is something in her presence. Thus she decided to try out for Fantine and has been practicing for a very long time, “I Dreamed a Dream.” She has learned to sing it with much power and emotion because she knows the story well. This morning the school posted the sheet for callbacks. There were no callbacks for Fantine. Apparently, from the first tryout, someone stood out so much, that Fantine was already cast. Who that person is will not be revealed until next Friday, Jan 18, so while everybody else is going through another round of tryouts, Mariah is not. So here’s the question—did she get the part of Fantine or did somebody else? Did she just not make call backs? Of course, her friends are speculating wildly and one of them who also tried out for the part is a little miffed because she is sure that this non-call back means that Mariah got it. Mariah is not so sure because many good people tried out. What is so great about this is Mariah’s attitude. She says she will be happy if she is cast as woman number one in the work house. I think one of the reasons that she so often gets cast in lead roles at Robinson is not just that she is really good, though she is, but that fundamentally her heart, her sense of self and worth does not hinge on whether she gets the part or not.