Simone blog: Sing the Truth: POLAND

Greeting Everyone!

I am tired!! It's 2 am here in Poland and I should be going to bed but I wanted to share what was yesterday's events with you while it's still somewhat fresh.

The entire Company spent the day at Congress Hall, the theatre we performed in. We, Divas left the hotel at 1:45 pm headed for the theatre for a day of rehearsal, interviews and the show. We ran down FOUR WOMEN first - here's the lineup: Angelique = Aunt Sarah, Lizz = Saphronia , Yours Truly = Sweet Thing, and Dianne = Peaches....Imagine THAT!!!!

Congress Hall is impressive!! High ceilings, expansive, red velvet chairs, lots of gilded designs on the walls and ceiling and as soon as I walked on it's stage for rehearsal I felt a huge lump in my throat. I had to keep from crying as I greeted the gentlemen I've known since I was a baby. To share the stage with them, once again, in this place and to be doing so in the name of my mother just became overwhelming. I still cannot adequately put into words everything I felt at that moment. One thing I know, while others can jump on board for a brief time and go back to their lives, this IS mine. I walk it every moment. That so many would come together to pay homage to my mother still makes me choke up, and often when I least expect it.

Anyway, rehearsal went well and the day went by fast. The doors opened at 7:30 and the show began at 8:15. Lizz Wright opens the show with I LOVES YOU, PORGY and follows up with OLD JIM CROW. I'm next and I begin with the WORK SONG followed by I HOLD NO GRUDGE. Angelique then goes on with SEELINE WOMAN and NE ME QUITTE PAS. Dianne brings it home with BE MY HUSBAND and DO I MOVE YOU. Then it's back to Lizz and the rest of us do two more songs each before our finale , FOUR WOMEN. Tonight as Dianne took her Peaches verse, she said "I'll kill the first motherFUCKER I see" - I was aghast even though we all know that's what Mom meant. Something happened, the air shifted and my mother began to channel through Dianne, that's the best way I can put it. It was powerful. We came back for 3 bows and Dianne said some words into the mike that I believe is yoruba, then she began to chant NINA as the audience responded then she chanted SIMONE and the audience responded, and I burst into tears. LORD!!!!! And, this is just the first show - we've 11 more to go!!

Dianne has been sharing many memories about my mother. It seems she studied her, related to her and feels a kinship that was evident tonight. During her second round of songs she recited a poem she'd written about my mother as an intro into one of the songs. It's beautiful. I can hear Dianne Reeves doing an album of Nina Simone songs - she would do them justice and I would be first in line to purchase it, such is my belief in her ability to pull it off. I told her so.

Well, Ya'll this Diva is ready for bed. I will sleep well after this and enjoy a day off tomorrow - it's one of 3 scheduled days off between today and July 17th, so I plan on enjoying it.

I hope all of you are well:-)

Stay that way!
Simone