A last minute email
Tickets available today! 
Free! 
A sitzprobe 
(Sit and play) 
of Dreamgirls 
Conducted by Seth Rudetsky 
At the New York Library for the Performing Arts
Featuring musicians from MUSE 
Musicians United for Social Equity 
An organization with a mission
To diversify music in theatre 
And a starry cast of performers 
Sharon Catherine Brown
J Harrison Ghee 
Brenda Braxton
Among many others   
Attended by a small but mighty audience 
Who spent the afternoon in the rapture 
Of a 35-piece orchestra
Playing a fabulous score
With some of Broadway's best
Belting to the rafters 
It almost felt like church
It was glorious 
And in between the songs
Seth regaling us with stories from the original production
How the show was made
The work of the actors and dancers 
The decisions to include songs and cut others 
Michael Bennett, Bob Avian, Henry Krieger, and Tom Eyen
The devastation of AIDS on the original company 
The devastation of AIDS on the artistic community of NYC 
The power of the music
Sharon Catherine Brown absolutely slaying 
"And I'm Telling You"
The way the other leads held her in an embrace as she wept at the end 
The way Seth asked her to describe what it was like
To sing the song with a full orchestra instead of a 
GarageBand of tracks 
The way the tears streamed down her face and she said
"You cannot replace what is real" 
You cannot replace what is real.