The Day Julie Andrews Basically Left Me a Voicemail

This month is the 50th anniversary of the film release of The Sound of Music! 

We all probably remember our first experiences with this movie; I know I do.  I was in Kindergarten and it was way past my bedtime.  I was watching with my family and when we got up to I Have Confidence my mom asked, "Jennifer, do you recognize that actress?" I listened more carefully for a few seconds and said, "Mary Poppins?"  That was my first conscious realization of two things: actresses can play more than one part... and I want to sound like Julie Andrews.  The next day in music class I pretended as if the new song we were learning was already familiar to me a la the Captain recalling Edelweiss, mouthing the words with a bewildered look on my face.  Clearly I liked the movie and clearly I was a baby theatre person.... and talk about voice recognition skills! I was only 5 years old!

My sister is a writer for a popular fashion magazine and a few weeks ago she actually sat down with Julie Andrews to talk about the anniversary.  She had tea with her in her hotel room... one on one.  I know; I nearly passed out when I heard, too.  She knew that I was dying inside because I didn't get to go with her but she was very nice about entertaining the fact that I was totally geeking out.  She even told Julie Andrews ABOUT me.  ME.  Julie Andrews knows about ME.

The day of the interview I was overwhelmingly slightly devastated knowing that my sister was at that very moment meeting one of my heroes.  I mean, how ironic can it get:  the fashionista of the family gets to meet the theatre nerd's idol.  I was imagining her experience in my mind minute by minute.  "Now she's probably in the elevator.  Now she's probably putting two sugars in her tea with little sugar cube tongs."  And then my phone buzzed.  I got a text... from my sister... with an attachment... Holy... shit.

Needless to say I sobbed uncontrollably for a solid 72 hours.  Now I only cry about it periodically. I wish I were exaggerating.  My family now plays the recording to watch my reaction and have a good laugh at my expense.  I listen to it on repeat while I'm on the subway or walking down the street and smile like a goon. Not meeting her was probably for the better.  I definitely wouldn't have been able to keep it cool.

Some things mentioned in the interview of particular interest to me were her musical influences (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Lily Pons) and the fact that she modestly attributes her successful career to luck!  I had also asked my sister to ask her about versatility and how one can play roles from Victor/Victoria to Polly Browne yet maintain such a distinct identity as a performer.  Her response could have been a direct quote from Mary Poppins' tape measure: "Practice makes perfect."

I watched the Untold Story of The Sound of Music special that aired on ABC a couple of weeks ago (as I'm sure you did, too!) and this is something I loved that Julie Andrews' voice teacher once said to her:

"Amateurs practice until they get it right.  Professionals practice until it can't go wrong."

So there we have it!  If we want to be as good as Julie Andrews... this probably needs to be our mantra to live by!  But also, I wanted to share this with everybody because even though that message was for me, she could be telling any of us, "Don't stop, keep going, and enjoy it all." So when you're feeling like you went to that EPA just to sit there for hours without being seen or you have some other frustrating experience in this field, hear her voice telling you to keep going... it will be like that little spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.

It fit! haha!