...mere words can't describe how absolutely stunning she is on stage.
First of all, she looked like a celestial being in those gorgeous
period gowns. Yet, as beautiful as the costumes were, Rachel's face is
what rivets you. She positively glows. She made her first entrance
coming up from below the stage like a goddess, just like Esther
Williams did in those old Busby Berkley movies. Joanie is so right. You
just can't take your eyes off of Rachel whenever she is on stage. And
it's not that she's doing anything to upstage anyone. She's just that
magnetic.

Then, she sang her first number and warm honey poured over the
audience. Just as all the reviews said, her rendition of "How Long Has
This Been Going On" was the showstopper. She gave it such depth, she
even had tears in her eyes at one point. The audience gave her lots
of "bravas" when she was through. As talented as the rest of the cast
was, Rachel was just head and shoulders above all of them. She is a
megastar by every definition of the word. But, of course, we all know
that!

Her acting was adorable. She was so cute in her scenes with Michael
Gruber as Billy Buck Chandler. All of her character's poise and
confidence melted into a girlish crush when he was romancing her. Their
best scene together was when they were doing a barefooted tap dance in
a wading pool! Rachel had the exuberance of a little kid who had been
set free.

The show's storyline is total nonsense, and I really wanted to hear
more songs. But it was a fun night. Betty Garrett was a hoot,
especially when she grabbed Michael Gruber's butt at one point! She did
it with such enthusiasm that he totally broke character. He was
laughing so hard that he had to turn his back to the audience to
compose himself. He stopped dancing, the conductor paused the
orchestra, Betty started laughing at Michael, and the audience went
wild. Vicki Lewis (remember her from News Radio?) was really funny,
too. The whole cast was solid, and the tap dancing was really tight.
Okay, so the story was lame. But how can you argue with people leaving
the theater smiling and humming the tunes?

And best of all, at least from my perspective, lots of the post-show
buzz was about Rachel. Everyone knew they were in the presence of
someone very special. It's so gratifying to know that there a lots of
other folks who appreciate her as we fans do.

Sorry it took a couple of days to get this posted. I've been on a
whirlwind, and I just finally had time to get to my computer. I'm
sitting on the patio of my hotel in Marina Del Rey, sipping coffee and
enjoying the gentle sea breeze. The weather has been spectacular - 70s,
clear, dry, blue skies. The waiter, who has become my breakfast
companion of sorts, said I brought it with me from the east. He's
trying to convince me to stay. Ha, if only...

All the best,

LC