If Rachel Michelberg accidentally walked into the wrong rehearsal room while preparing for her latest show, she could easily be forgiven.
For many years, Michelberg would cruise over to rehearsal for Palo Alto’s West Bay Opera, a company for which she has performed a multitude of roles as a lyric mezzo-soprano. But now, she has been sauntering into a rehearsal room next door to prepare for the Palo Alto Players’ production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” which opens Nov. 4.
“It’s very strange, but it feels really good,” said Michelberg.
In the production, Michelberg plays Madame de la Grande Bouche, essentially an opera-singing chest of drawers, which she says is a fantastic role for her. The demands and expectations of opera performance are clear cut and include having all music, often in a foreign language, fully prepared on day one. Michelberg is enjoying the different demands of musical theater while keeping operatic flavor in her performance.
Michelberg has become quite the multi-hyphenate in the past few years. She is a highly sought-after vocal instructor who mentors in many styles. And recently she added published author to her lengthy curriculum vitae.
“Crash: How I Became a Reluctant Caregiver” is a memoir that chronicles her challenges in providing care to her then-husband after he suffered a traumatic brain injury from a plane crash in 2005 and was left with severe brain damage, which made him irrational and seizure-prone while dealing with incontinence, They had a daughter and son who were elementary school age, which heightened the stakes greatly.
It was a few years later that Michelberg, who is trained to use her talents to tell other people’s stories on stage, realized she had a very personal one of her own to tell.
“A few years after the accident, I really started thinking that I want to write this,” said Michelberg. “I didn’t know how to do it, but I knew that if I didn’t try, I would regret it.”
Her path took her through many classes, workshops and writing retreats, which led to the release of the book in April 2021. Despite the different muscles that are required for those penning a narrative, for Michelberg, her theatrical training greatly informed the new skill she was attempting to master.
“In writing, there’s a scene and narration, and I was able to make these mini plays in my scene to write the memoir. In writing they always encourage you to bring in the sensory details, so I feel like that came pretty easily for me, and I think that’s because of my theater experience.”
Nowadays, Michelberg has achieved balance in her life. At 61, she has just celebrated her fifth anniversary with her scientist husband Richard Partridge. She is highly committed to spending her spare time as a foster youth advocate. And she can add breast cancer survivor to her list of achievements.
While she has no intention of writing another book, Michelberg has made it clear to her husband that one of her passions will continue to get her attention.
“He loves theater, but I think he’s always surprised by how much rehearsal is required, particularly musical theater,” said Michelberg. “But I think he knew what he was signing up for when he married me because I was clear that I wasn’t done performing.”
“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” runs Nov. 4-20 at Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Tickets are $10-$40 at paplayers.org.
Source: www.mercurynews.com