In "HARMONY" with Robert Patrick

Quite a pair - singing with Robert Patrick Playwright

Well, I finally got my wish - to sing a duet with Robert Patrick during one of his shows. This was my third time around as producer/director for Robert and third time was definitely the charm for that wish to come true! As a special finale number to his recent "New Songs For Old Movies" we performed together in a lovely little number called "HARMONY" written as a clever homage to the road movies of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

I must admit, I was under a lot of stress juggling the various demands of my day job as post production Operations Manager at PennRose Studios (coincidentally I celebrate my one year anniversary on the job this month) and the role of producer that we had precious little time to run our number. I was struggling with hitting all the notes and rhythm correctly up until the last minute - it's hard work singing a cappella to someone else's tune!

But I'm happy to say, in the end, it all worked out splendidly! In fact, Robert confessed to me - in spite of our ordeal getting to the point - that it was one of the most fun moments on stage he's had. I certainly agree and look forward to doing the number with him again!

The piece starts out with Robert singing the first verse and melody of the song solo - as if he were Bob Hope singing to Bing (my part). It's a clever ditty about the strength of great friendships/ partnerships - a perfect tribute to Bob and Bing who starred in 7 (yes, SEVEN) "Road to..." movies. Robert and I have 4 more productions to mount before we could even dare to compare... 

After the first verse, the song gets passed along to me, and I sing pretty much the same lyrics (with slight variation), but this time the harmony of the tune.

The first lines of the verse are "I'm no good alone, but I'm great harmony..."

And then...the two of us sing together! This was the tricky part for me to handle...I always wanted to slip off my part and join Robert in the melody! But I held it - and even used some simple choreography to ensure I got it! 

So we danced around - snapping our fingers and enjoying the finale to our third production together and celebrating Robert's 78th birthday!

And I must say - "HARMONY" proved to be another fun and witty song created by the remarkable Robert Patrick Playwright. I am continued to be inspired by his history, intelligence, and creativity. 

So now I have another wish! As the final lyrics of his song profess:

"So please give in, and say that we'll live in....wonderful glorious, beautiful marvelous, glowing and growing harmony!!!!"