GO GRANNY GO !

Local theatre heavyweights gathered at the space, pooling their respective talents together to prepare for what would be a stellar performance on Fantastic Friday come February 13 when Hot Mouth Granny goes up against other contenders in the Power Soca Monarch category.

And while Granny is prepared to bring her ‘A’ game for the competition – such as working with a masseuse to loosen her waist and acquiring a special “snake oil” potion from soca star and performer, Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alavarez – Crosby’s performance is being done out of love, evident by her dedicating her Soca Monarch final performance to calypso icon, Leroy “Black Stalin” Calliste. Former performances were dedicated to slain journalist, Marcia Henville, but this performance will pay tribute to the man whom, she said, told her she would be something after seeing her perform.

She said, “To me this is an eight minute theatrical production. This is what I do. I put on plays, Penny (Penelope Spencer) and I produce and write plays, etc. So I am looking at it as an eight minute production and I think that is how all artistes should look at the performance on Friday, as an eight minute production.”

She said she wanted to work out what Granny will be doing, every single second of her performance. In short, Crosby said, she wanted to ensure that all her actors and musicians are prepared as well as, “ (ensuring) all technical stuff is in place and the sound cues, lighting cues are ready. That is how my mind works all the time in terms of producing.” Crosby said for her it was simply a matter of putting a production together.

“I hate not to be ready for a stage production like this. So we will get the rehearsals in for Friday,” she explained. Her biggest challenge, she said, is considering if her voice would be ready for Friday’s event. But she has opted to rest her voice leading up to the big day, after performing in several events over the short Carnival period.

“That has been my challenge and that actually is what I have been worried about. Most people sing from their diaphragm while Granny sings from her throat, which any musician will tell you is madness. So I have been kind of worried if my throat would last through this season because I never expected it to be like this, four gigs in one day...so next week (Carnival week) I think I have one performance for Granny...”

Crosby, who entered the Soca Monarch competition purely as fun, said her co-writer, Shafter Jason Bishop was the one who encouraged her to compete since he felt it was a good song for that arena.

“So I said yeah, let’s just do it. I was happy when I got in the semis. I thought that would be it. I thought I would go perform in the semis, say we had a good time and that was it. And then I found out I came fourth in the semis and was like, ‘What? How did we get here?’ You know when they talk about a joke get carried away, this is a typical example of a joke getting carried away,” she explained.

Crosby said Granny’s hit was done out of pure love and fun but under every joke, there is that hint of something deeper, and the song, while it solicits much laughter from Trinidad and Tobago was also borne out of Crosby’s love for senior citizens.

She beamed as she spoke about her 97-year-old grandfather, whom she affectionately referred to as Pa Crosby, and described him as, “the love of her life.”

The character Granny, Crosby said, was not meant to offend senior citizens in any way. Some, she admitted, were offended to see Granny in a diaper while Crosby performed but it was also the reality for many senior citizens in the country.

“It can be embarrassing to some but it was all done in fun and to make people laugh. And I think that is why Granny has been so successful,” she said.

Crosby is undeterred by detractors who say Granny should not be in the finals given the importance of the character in highlighting the society’s aged and in bringing back old values.