ADA – Lindsey Alley indeed has some stories to tell.
Alley may have not achieved the glamour of some of her fellow Mouseketeers from the All-New Mickey Mouse Club, but she certainly describes her life as fascinating.
She will be performing her one-woman, comedy-music show titled “Blood, Sweat and Mouseketears” on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at East Central University’s Ataloa Theatre in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The show, with Rick Leonard as musical director, is recommended for mature audiences and is free and open to the public.
“It’s story-telling with jokes, along with songs you might have heard or not heard,” Alley said. “It’s a nice marriage of comedy and music. It’s kind of like standup (comedy) with music and story-telling on the side.”
Alley’s stories tell about what she terms as an amazing life. She was one of only three Mouseketeers, who was part of the All-New Mickey Mouse Club’s entire five-year run from 1989-94.
“It was a huge part of my childhood,” said Alley, who is now 35.
Her brush with future entertainment megastars - Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears – also made for an interesting life as a child entertainer.
“They were 12 years old when they joined (the Mouseketeers) and I was 16,” Alley said. “They were kind of like a separate group when they came in. But we felt like they were our little cousins or little siblings. They were delightful talents at 12.”
Alley particular remembers a booming voice from Aguilera, now a recording star and coach and judge on NBC’s The Voice.
“She had this crazy big voice that was amazing,” said Alley. “You wondered how this big voice could come out of a tiny person like this. But all three were very charismatic and talented kids. They were nice kids and very sweet.”
Alley also mentioned working with another star in Ryan Gosling on the All-New Mickey Mouse Club.
“I don’t know where I went wrong. I don’t know where I made my mistakes” Alley quipped about not achieving the same level of success.
But those type of stories will be part of her upcoming show and she doesn’t seem to mind the path her life has taken.
“It’s not what I thought it would be, but it’s been fascinating,” Alley said.
She received her B.A. in theatre from the University of Missouri, where she met Kurt Edwards, current ECU assistant professor of communication and performance studies.
“Kurt and I did a few shows together,” said Alley. “I then went to New York ready to take it by storm. But being a big fish in my small hometown (Lakeland, Fla.) was a lot different. The belief is that you go to New York and immediately be on Broadway. It was a bit of a rude awakening, because New York has the best from all over.”
She didn’t regret her decision to go to the Big Apple as she served as an understudy for a Broadway show, Hollywood Arms, written by Carol Burnett. After a short run, Alley performed in regional productions. After spending seven years in New York, she moved out to where she currently resides in Los Angeles and has continued performing on stage and on cruise ships.
Alley recently married Lee Turvey, who is in the software sales business.
“He’s not an actor thank God. We met on a blind date. He’s got the stable career and I’ve got the circus-life situation,” she said. “I’m looking forward to coming to Ada and I’m happy to share my experiences.”
NOTE: Master classes will be offered in conjunction with Alley’s performance on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6. They are free and open to the public. On Nov. 5, The Business of Show Business will be held from 10 a.m. to noon in Faust Auditorium. Also on Nov. 5, Auditioning Workshop will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Faust Auditorium. On Nov. 6, Putting It Together Workshop will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Faust Auditorium.
-ECU-