This month, October 2023, marks the 40th anniversary of me being in my very first musical, Annie. This means that I have been singing, performing, or somehow involved with Musical Theatre for 40 years. (!)

This milestone made me think about who I was then, who I’ve become since, and more importantly, who I was meant to be.

But the real revelation was that I’d forgotten who I’ve always been.

My 10 year old self, who spent almost a year of her life blissfully rehearsing and performing in Annie, the Amy who was unapologetically, unabashedly FULL OF JOY for Musical Theatre and sang unashamed and uninhibited: SHE is who I’ve forgotten and who I desperately need to reacquaint myself with.

When I was nine years old, I was cast as Duffy in Annie with the Diablo Light Opera Company.  It was in the midst of the early 1980’s fervor for that wildly successful new musical. At the time, every little girl clamored to be on stage wearing that curly red wig, hugging that shaggy blond dog and belting their brains out. But ironically, I was not one of them.