By Michelle Gao
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Thursday, March 30, 2006, The OG, arts

“Can someone please do my blush for me?”

“OK, who stole my eyeliner? I can't find my shirt, either!”

“Can I borrow your hairspray?”

“Someone come help me spray my hair black!”

That's what I heard Tuesday as junior Nicole Gong and I walked down the stairs to the dressing rooms in the basement of the Virginia Theatre for a rehearsal of the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company's production of “The King and I,” which will open tonight and run through Sunday at the Virginia in downtown Champaign.

And soon enough, we were caught up in that chaotic frenzy as well, trying to put on makeup, do hair, and get into costume all at once. It was around 6 p.m.

After I got finished loading my face up with greasy stage makeup (my skin is going to die this week), I took a second to catch my breath and look around. In the makeup room across the hall, others were getting their hair, already twisted high into severe buns, sprayed black. I helped Leslie Williams spray a platinum blonde Kjirsten Walt into raven-haired glory, and it was with some amazement that I realized that she didn't look half-bad.

Being already Asian (Nicole and I are the only Asian wives, and there is only one Asian royal child), I didn't need to spray my hair black. However, after Kirby Toalson helped me pile my obnoxiously thick hair onto the crown of my head, I had to use copious amounts of hairspray to make it hold. I felt like my head was a very solid mass of concrete.

The actual rehearsal was a blur, and I don't want to give anything away. However, as expected, a few things went wrong. The zipper on one of my dresses completely broke, and so I had to be safety- pinned into it; while on stage, one of the safety pins popped, and it was a very uncomfortable me that ran offstage at the end of the scene.

By the end of the night (11 p.m.), everyone was tired. After running through the entire show, and then going back to fix a few problem scenes, I was ready to go home and collapse. But then there was the problem of my homework.

After getting home at 11:30 and trying to muddle through some of my English reading, I scrubbed off all my makeup and spent another half an hour in the shower, getting all the hairspray out. I went to bed sometime in the wee hours of the morning, completely and utterly exhausted. I am extremely thankful that I have first period free, and my mother let me sleep until 8:30 Wednesday morning.

I'm really glad that I joined “The King and I,” because it's been an amazing experience, and I've met really wonderful people. However, I'm never doing a show outside of school during the school year ever again.

The people directing and producing the show think that “The King and I” should be my top priority, and while I love doing musical theater, I'm not going to let my grades drop because of it. I think I'll stick to summer and school shows, which are just as enjoyable. In addition, I've had to drop a singing contest and Spring Fling because of it. Well, pooh.

For everyone who wants to see the results of hard work and dedication from everyone in the cast, “The King and I” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, and Saturday, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Ticket prices are:

• Adults $17
• Seniors (55+) $15
• Students (through college) $15
• Child (12 & under) $8

I realize that this is pretty expensive. However, I truly do believe that the show is worth it. We have a really fantastic cast, and everyone has sacrificed a lot of time and energy to put it together. To order tickets, call the Virginia Theatre box office at 217-356-9063, or talk to either Nicole Gong or me. We would be happy to set you up.

If you really can't come to the show (and I will be very disappointed), you can check out the classic 1956 movie version from Blockbuster, or the Champaign Public Library. I would be a lot happier if you came to the show, though. It's an entirely different experience seeing it live.