Opening Day: October 31, 2009

Our opening performance surprised all of us. So many little things happened this day to make it very special: a beautiful gift basket delivered to our dressing rooms from the Managing Director of Childsplay, Steve Martin, lots of friends and family members in the audience, gifts (Aesop’s Fables books) and cards from our director D. Scott Withers, origami lions from Kate Haas, Smucker’s Uncrustable sandwiches (a tradition started by Jon Gentry), and of course the extra adrenaline that comes with opening day. On-stage trick-or-treating for all the kids who came also added a sense of excitement to the day. What we didn’t know was that it would the last performance we would share with Scott Jeffers, the Lion.

Scott Jeffers passed away around 8PM, October 31, 2009 after suffering a heart attack in the dressing room immediately after the show. He was thirty-eight years old, and that afternoon he gave all of us the performance of his life.

From the very beginning, when we started our pre-show lazzi, things were clicking. We finished to a long and appreciative round of applause at the end of the show.

It was Scott’s final expression of his life and all of us on the cast and crew will hold this performance close to our hearts for the rest of our lives. He got a huge round of applause after singing his “Roar How You Feel” solo, featuring a high A note that is the envy of all the men on the cast. I have an entrance immediately following this song, and I had to hold for several seconds hesitant to enter and cut off the appreciation he was receiving.

You have to understand that Scott worked very hard on this role. I would often arrive early to the rehearsal hall only to find Scott already there. He would be working in front of the mirrors with his mask or working on his choreography. He and I ran our thorn scene many times outside of rehearsal as he mastered “talking” as the lion. During those rehearsals we would fist-bump before starting the scene. That tradition continued to our performances. Before this scene we would have a few moments to ourselves behind the cave curtain. Scott would always hold up a fist for me to bump and then we would tear out onto the stage together.

Beyond the singing, dancing and acting, the role Scott played included about fifty different Foley cues, which are short sounds played on small percussion instruments to accent actions on stage. It also required Scott to accompany other singers on the guitar. He also had to play a tune while delivering lines… not an easy task. And yet he mastered all of it and made it look easy. As we got closer and closer to opening day his timing only improved, and it made our opening performance very tight.

Scott relished this role. He was proud to be an actor for Childsplay, and he was very proud to play the Lion. I told him during preview week that when he put on that lion mask, he was so committed to the character that he ceased to be Scott to me. He became a lion. He made some superb comic choices that everyone enjoyed. A couple of favorite moments: picking berries from a bush and mocking Androcles for saying “I thought a lion was brave….”

Scott’s death created a huge void in our show and cast. So much happened the 48 hours after his death. Shows were canceled for the week. A memorial service was arranged for Scott on November 14, 2009 at 10:00 AM at the Tempe Center for the Arts. Childsplay offered the beautiful main theater at the TCA to Scott’s family for the memorial. It will be a fitting location. As well, Stray Cat Theatre, where Scott worked on multiple shows, set up a memorial fund to help Scott’s family with the hospital bills. Easley’s Costume Shop, where Scott worked for years, generously agreed to take care of the funeral costs.

Losing an actor had never happened before in Childsplay’s history. After a two-day break to deal with the loss, our cast gathered at the home of Childsplay’s Artistic Director, David Saar. We discussed what to do next and shared our favorite moments with Scott. The evening was necessary and healing for all of us. Outside in the cool of a beautiful Tempe evening, we all felt lighter and happier for the time we had with Scott. David Saar also took the occasion to let the cast know that he and Scott Withers had found a replacement: Jeremiah Neal agreed to take on the role. Jeremiah is an accomplished musician with his own band and has worked at Childsplay in previous seasons.

So this week we are back in rehearsals creating a new show. It will be a new Androcles and the Lion. We are all determined to continue, as Scott would have wanted us to. Our new cast member, Jeremiah, has spent the last two days trying to learn a complex and demanding part and is doing wonderfully. He has already started to give the show new life with passionate accompaniments and some new comic choices that have us all laughing. We plan on performing this weekend with shows on Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 4 PM. We are all grateful to have Jeremiah with us so we can continue the show and complete our tour.

Scott Jeffers died doing what he loved. He ended his life with a beautiful expression of joy, love, friendship and true artistry. Everyone who witnessed his final expression here on Earth will hold it sacred. Thank you, Scotty! We will carry you to every performance in our hearts.