We are getting close. I have to be able to hear what’s happening on stage. Rehearsal is like a painting. You start with a blank canvas and we are adding the highlights now. It’s my turn. We will run quick changes at real time. We rehearse with the discipline of military maneuvers. Later I won’t be able to remember if it was a sold out performance or a closed rehearsal because the level of Madonna’s passion for her show is the same intensity. On opening night I won’t eat dinner, the butterflies will have taken up all the room. The bathroom sink will become an alter (because it’s important to ME). When the lights go out the roar of the audience collides with exhilaration like a freight train. There is nothing like opening night on earth. I will count the songs as we approach the first quick change. Pacing between the stage and quick change, double checking a millions times and checking every note I ever made. The music will wind down, my hands will start to sweat, anticipation builds, the curtain parts a presence rushes into the room…the second hand started 15 seconds ago…it’s like that, and thats just the first Section…21 days. ?Madonna “Rebel ? Heart” Tour.
Tony Villanueva
