I'm walking on sunshine...
Amanda Green, lyricist for High Fidelity, flew in from New York today just to see our show. Afterwards, we introduced her to the deep-fried mac-and-cheese balls at the Cheesecake Factory. My favorite! You can just feel your arteries clogging!
Having her come see us was cool for me not only because we'd get to hang with one of the show's creators (and she is fun to hang with!), but also because to me, Amanda Green is Broadway Royalty. For those not in-the-know, her mother is Phyllis Newman, stage and screen actor, who's done a number of Broadway shows, including Bells Are Ringing, Subways Are for Sleeping, The Apple Tree, On the Town, and others. And her father was a real Broadway God, Aldoph Green, co-writer with Betty Comden of the screenplay to Singin' in the Rain, as well as lyrics for On The Town, Wonderful Town, Bells Are Ringing, The Will Rogers Follies, On the Twentieth Century, Applause, and many other shows. Amanda comes from strong musical theatre stock.
But she kicks ass and takes names all by herself. Her lyrics for High Fidelity are smart, honest, emotional, funny, beautiful, all of it. Like her two collaborators, she was exactly the right person to write this show.
But the best part of all is that Amanda really, really liked our production. She complimented us so profusely, and was particularly complimentary about Jeff, Kimi, Zak and Aaron, Margeau, Nikki, and Todd. She talked to me at length about how much she loved Jeff's performance, how real the character feels, how beautifully Jeff navigates Rob's ricocheting emotions. If you haven't seen Jeff's performance yet, you really should before we close on July 5. The whole show is terrific, but Jeff is giving the best performance I've ever seen from him.
I think she was really pleased to see that the show works this well when it's pared down to a very minimalist production. She was happy with the humor of it and the sadness of it. A whole lot of her compliments started with "I was so happy to see --" and she told me several times that she could see that we "got it." That's my favorite thing to hear. Sondheim always says the most important thing for a show is not to be liked, but to be clear. I think with this show we found everything important and wonderful about it, everything the creators labored so hard to weave into the fabric of this story, and we figured out how to communicate that clearly to an audience.
I think that's my job, first and foremost.
Amanda was also very pleased to see my background and analysis essay in the lobby. I think it means a lot to both her and Tom Kitt (the composer) that we've taken their show seriously, that we've treated it with respect and love. I think they were both very hurt by the show's nasty reception in New York, and I think in a small way we've redeemed the show for them, and proved to them that what they wrote is as good and smart and true as they thought it was. What a kick to be able to give them that!
Plus, since we announced our production, five other companies from around the country (and I think one might have been in London?), have contacted us to find out how to get the rights to produce the show. So I've been sending them all to Tom. And again, it feels so great that I can help other people find their way to this amazing piece of writing, and help keep Hi-Fi alive and kicking. I've also been lobbying one of the New York licensing agencies pretty hard to get them to represent the show, so that more people will produce it.
For me, this is a show like Bat Boy, A New Brain, Floyd Collins, Sunday in the Park -- living inside this music is such a damn fucking JOY that it will hurt like hell to close it. We only have four shows left, and closing night will be hard. This one has found a place deep in my heart.
Which is why it was so wonderful to have Amanda at the show tonight, especially since she seemed to really, really love it. It let me know that we have done justice to this beautiful writing, and that's the best thing of all.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Top 5
We had our first two sell-outs this weekend! People continue to fall madly in love with our little show, and we're all happy as hell about that.
So we're at a cast party Saturday night at Jeff's (a big shout-out to Jeff's awesome dog Roxie!), and I asked Aaron, then later Jeff, what their Top 5 Moments in the show are. And they both asked for 10 slots instead of 5. It was really hard for both of them to narrow it down. Like most of the cast, they just love every second on stage -- even the moments they aren't directly involved in.
So, now here are my Top 5 Hi-Fi Moments...
1. All of "Last Real Record Store on Earth" (which is now on my list of Top 5 Coolest Theatre Songs Ever).
2. This little word-less mini-scene we created late in the show -- after Rob loses Dick, Barry, TMPTITW, and Liz, he is left alone in his empty record store. It's the first time it's been empty the whole show, and there's this beautiful, sad instrumental underscoring that quotes "Terrible Things" (this music shows up frequently in the show each time Rob gains a little self-knowledge -- very cool!). We really sense the emptiness of Rob's life at that moment. He has hit Rock Bottom. He has lost everything (or at least it feels that way to him). He pulls out The Mother Lode and he can't even find comfort there. Jeff's playing of that scene is fucking powerful.
3. The guys doing the Four Seasons slides in "9% Chance of Your Love."
4. The scene in which Dick rejects Anna's gift of a John Tesh CD. It's such a sad, tense scene, and even if the audience is laughing about John Tesh at the beginning, they shut up fast when they see the struggle that Dick goes through. Aaron handles some long, heavy pauses with real skill, and he just breaks your heart (as do Jeff and Kimi, also with weighty pauses galore, in their break-up scene early in the show).
5. maybe my favorite of all, Rob's Top 5 Things He Misses About Laura. Late in rehearsals, we decided to leave Laura on stage while Rob talks about her, then during Hell Week, I asked Jeff to play almost the whole monologue directly to Laura, and Jeff absolutely nails it. There is such love and pain and loss in that monologue and Jeffrey holds the audience in the palm of his hand every night. Great writing and a great performance. Bravo, dude!
6. If you'll indulge me... I can't help myself. Who the hell says you have to limit yourself to only five, after all? Huh??? So... 6. When Barry is cock-blocking Rob from talking to Marie, Dick steps in with a Clever Ruse and says "Hey, corn nuts!" which sends Barry off in search of said corn nuts, we get a laugh from the audience, and then as Dick walks away, he gives Rob this subtle but hilarious "You're welcome" look... Utterly priceless.
I'm sure I could keep listing more of them, but I'd end up listing everything and you might as well just come see the show, right? So if you haven't already, come see us -- I promise you'll have a blast!
And oh, by the way, we're already half done with the run! Holy Shit!!
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
So we're at a cast party Saturday night at Jeff's (a big shout-out to Jeff's awesome dog Roxie!), and I asked Aaron, then later Jeff, what their Top 5 Moments in the show are. And they both asked for 10 slots instead of 5. It was really hard for both of them to narrow it down. Like most of the cast, they just love every second on stage -- even the moments they aren't directly involved in.
So, now here are my Top 5 Hi-Fi Moments...
1. All of "Last Real Record Store on Earth" (which is now on my list of Top 5 Coolest Theatre Songs Ever).
2. This little word-less mini-scene we created late in the show -- after Rob loses Dick, Barry, TMPTITW, and Liz, he is left alone in his empty record store. It's the first time it's been empty the whole show, and there's this beautiful, sad instrumental underscoring that quotes "Terrible Things" (this music shows up frequently in the show each time Rob gains a little self-knowledge -- very cool!). We really sense the emptiness of Rob's life at that moment. He has hit Rock Bottom. He has lost everything (or at least it feels that way to him). He pulls out The Mother Lode and he can't even find comfort there. Jeff's playing of that scene is fucking powerful.
3. The guys doing the Four Seasons slides in "9% Chance of Your Love."
4. The scene in which Dick rejects Anna's gift of a John Tesh CD. It's such a sad, tense scene, and even if the audience is laughing about John Tesh at the beginning, they shut up fast when they see the struggle that Dick goes through. Aaron handles some long, heavy pauses with real skill, and he just breaks your heart (as do Jeff and Kimi, also with weighty pauses galore, in their break-up scene early in the show).
5. maybe my favorite of all, Rob's Top 5 Things He Misses About Laura. Late in rehearsals, we decided to leave Laura on stage while Rob talks about her, then during Hell Week, I asked Jeff to play almost the whole monologue directly to Laura, and Jeff absolutely nails it. There is such love and pain and loss in that monologue and Jeffrey holds the audience in the palm of his hand every night. Great writing and a great performance. Bravo, dude!
6. If you'll indulge me... I can't help myself. Who the hell says you have to limit yourself to only five, after all? Huh??? So... 6. When Barry is cock-blocking Rob from talking to Marie, Dick steps in with a Clever Ruse and says "Hey, corn nuts!" which sends Barry off in search of said corn nuts, we get a laugh from the audience, and then as Dick walks away, he gives Rob this subtle but hilarious "You're welcome" look... Utterly priceless.
I'm sure I could keep listing more of them, but I'd end up listing everything and you might as well just come see the show, right? So if you haven't already, come see us -- I promise you'll have a blast!
And oh, by the way, we're already half done with the run! Holy Shit!!
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
We're the Experts Here on Everything
The show just couldn't be going better. Almost a full house tonight, on a Thursday night and with a show most people have never heard of! (It's amazing how many people have never seen the movie or read the novel.) Not bad!
Then I get home from the theatre and I have an email from Paul Friswold, one of the reviewers at The Riverfront Times. I had written him thanking him for his review of High Fidelity and disagreeing with him about one of the things he wrote (I really believe reviews are part of a conversation and that reviewers are part of the theatre community, so I regularly engage in debate/discussion with reviewers over their reviews. I think a few of them hate this, but most seem to be cool with it. I love it.)
Anyway, Paul had written a 2,000-word review of High Fidelity, but the RFT had cut it down to about a quarter of its original size. I had asked Paul if we could read his full review, so he got the RFT website guys to post the full review on their blog webpage.
So now you can read the full review. And Jesus is it fun to read! Not only is it a very positive review of our show, but it's also an incredibly intelligent, funny, thoughtful essay about the show and the issues it raises. Paul's a hell of a good writer! I wish more theatre reviewing in St. Louis were like this. Don't we deserve that? Shouldn't the people judging our work take it as seriously as we take the work itself?
Also... Steve Woolf, artistic director of The Rep, emailed me to say he's coming to see us. He doesn't often get out to other companies' shows because he's always so crazy busy with the Rep's own 11 or 12 shows a season, plus auditioning, etc. in the off-season. But he wants to see High Fidelity and I'm delighted. Steve is a very good guy, and we've got some wonderful performances in this show that I'd love for him to see. Maybe we can get our actors some work that actually pays a living wage!
Also... last night several of us went to see this band from Illinois, Elsinore (listen to some of their songs on their MySpace page). Aaron Lawson ("Dick") is friends with the guys in the band (from college, I think) and he had played me some of their songs -- which are all incredible. But it was so much more fun seeing them live, you know, really feeling that bass and drum beat right in the solar plexus. Not only are they a great band, but the songwriting is fucking outstanding. Truly some of the most interesting, well-wrought music and lyrics I've encountered in a rock band in many moons. Plus, it was very cool to be at a club hearing a lesser known band right in the middle of running High Fidelity. I so felt like "Rob," especially with "Dick" and "Barry" there at my side. On the way home from the club, I called and left a message for Joe Edwards (owner of Blueberry Hill and the Pageant). I got to know him a few years ago working on a new theatre that never opened, but we've remained friendly -- he's such a nice guy. Anyway, I left him a message gushing about Elsinore and telling him he had to book them at Blueberry Hill. I doubt Joe will blindly follow my instructions, but maybe it'll put Elsinore onto his radar. These guys are fucking AWESOME!
That's all for now. This show -- and all the experiences that have come with it -- has been one of those amazing, once-in-a-lifetime things. I will never forget this and I will always feel lucky to have worked on it.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Then I get home from the theatre and I have an email from Paul Friswold, one of the reviewers at The Riverfront Times. I had written him thanking him for his review of High Fidelity and disagreeing with him about one of the things he wrote (I really believe reviews are part of a conversation and that reviewers are part of the theatre community, so I regularly engage in debate/discussion with reviewers over their reviews. I think a few of them hate this, but most seem to be cool with it. I love it.)
Anyway, Paul had written a 2,000-word review of High Fidelity, but the RFT had cut it down to about a quarter of its original size. I had asked Paul if we could read his full review, so he got the RFT website guys to post the full review on their blog webpage.
So now you can read the full review. And Jesus is it fun to read! Not only is it a very positive review of our show, but it's also an incredibly intelligent, funny, thoughtful essay about the show and the issues it raises. Paul's a hell of a good writer! I wish more theatre reviewing in St. Louis were like this. Don't we deserve that? Shouldn't the people judging our work take it as seriously as we take the work itself?
Also... Steve Woolf, artistic director of The Rep, emailed me to say he's coming to see us. He doesn't often get out to other companies' shows because he's always so crazy busy with the Rep's own 11 or 12 shows a season, plus auditioning, etc. in the off-season. But he wants to see High Fidelity and I'm delighted. Steve is a very good guy, and we've got some wonderful performances in this show that I'd love for him to see. Maybe we can get our actors some work that actually pays a living wage!
Also... last night several of us went to see this band from Illinois, Elsinore (listen to some of their songs on their MySpace page). Aaron Lawson ("Dick") is friends with the guys in the band (from college, I think) and he had played me some of their songs -- which are all incredible. But it was so much more fun seeing them live, you know, really feeling that bass and drum beat right in the solar plexus. Not only are they a great band, but the songwriting is fucking outstanding. Truly some of the most interesting, well-wrought music and lyrics I've encountered in a rock band in many moons. Plus, it was very cool to be at a club hearing a lesser known band right in the middle of running High Fidelity. I so felt like "Rob," especially with "Dick" and "Barry" there at my side. On the way home from the club, I called and left a message for Joe Edwards (owner of Blueberry Hill and the Pageant). I got to know him a few years ago working on a new theatre that never opened, but we've remained friendly -- he's such a nice guy. Anyway, I left him a message gushing about Elsinore and telling him he had to book them at Blueberry Hill. I doubt Joe will blindly follow my instructions, but maybe it'll put Elsinore onto his radar. These guys are fucking AWESOME!
That's all for now. This show -- and all the experiences that have come with it -- has been one of those amazing, once-in-a-lifetime things. I will never forget this and I will always feel lucky to have worked on it.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
All a Record Store Should Be
More great reviews coming in -- this is one of the best reviewed shows we've had in a long time. Usually our shows are just weird enough that some of the critics really can't deal with them, even though audiences are usually very enthusiastic. I think too many of our local critics are still mired in a "classic" musical theatre mindset, wanting every show to be either Mame or South Pacific.
And we don't do that.
But this time, despite the weirdness of the show, everybody -- and I mean everybody -- is falling in love with our production. The latest are a rave review from TalkinBroadway.com and a short review from The Riverfront Times that loved our show but had problems with the original novel being "sexist." Why that criticism is in a theatre review, I don't totally understand -- and also, isn't that sort of the POINT of the story, that Rob is immature and selfish, and since he's the only source of information in the story, doesn't that automatically make the storytelling sexist... on purpose...?
Still, both very nice reviews of our work. So if you haven't come seen us yet, what in hell are you waiting for?
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
And we don't do that.
But this time, despite the weirdness of the show, everybody -- and I mean everybody -- is falling in love with our production. The latest are a rave review from TalkinBroadway.com and a short review from The Riverfront Times that loved our show but had problems with the original novel being "sexist." Why that criticism is in a theatre review, I don't totally understand -- and also, isn't that sort of the POINT of the story, that Rob is immature and selfish, and since he's the only source of information in the story, doesn't that automatically make the storytelling sexist... on purpose...?
Still, both very nice reviews of our work. So if you haven't come seen us yet, what in hell are you waiting for?
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
I'm approaching infinity and happiness...
The good times just keep a-rollin'...Two more rave reviews, from KDHX and The Ladue News. Wow, people really love this show! We should still be getting reviews coming from The Riverfront Times, TalkinBroadway.com, and maybe a couple others...
And today I got an email from Amanda Green, the show's lyricist -- she's flying in from New York to see our production! This information will freak out some of the actors so I won't tell them when she's coming, but it's very cool that she wants to see our show. I've been sending her and Tom Kitt (composer) our reviews and a few production photos...
This is one of those shows I will always feel lucky to have worked on... It's just that wonderful.
"And I wouldn't change a thing about it..."
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Why Am I Feeling So Good?
The first weekend of the show is over and we are off and running! We had such a great opening! The show had been going well in rehearsal -- very well -- but the Final Dress Rehearsal on Weds. night just suddenly exploded with energy and emotion and my favorite thing of all... wait for it, wait for it... Truth.
Overnight, the show went from really good to Totally Fucking Amazing. Everybody in the cast is doing such a strong job, and poor Jeff Wright, who literally only gets to leave the stage at intermission, is just On Fire for two hours and fifteen minutes every night, both in terms of energy and joy, but also in the depth of his acting. I just can't imagine a better Rob.
And everybody who's seen the show just seems to fall in love with it. My parents, who I thought would enjoy it but wouldn't really relate to it, likewise fell in love with the show and with Jeff and Kimi and Aaron. Which makes me think maybe the show's target audience isn't an narrow as I thought it would be... Which also means we're gonna get boffo word-of-mouth for this show of ours... Opening Night brought us an almost full house and a rousing standing ovation. What more could we want?
We got a slightly odd but very nice review in the Post-Dispatch today, and the other reviews will be rolling in over the next week or so.
And lest we forget, we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tom Kitt, Amanda Green, and David Lindsay-Abaire for creating this beautiful, quirky piece of work, and for allowing us the first production after Broadway.
I could not be prouder of this show. It's an absolute joy to watch every night. And I'm extremely grateful to this wonderful cast. People kept saying to me after performances this weekend that every single performer in the show was "so perfect" for their part, and it's really true. We didn't have the biggest turn-out at auditions, which sometimes scares me (and in fact scared me this time as well -- this show has really specific casting requirements), but holy shit, did it turn out great! It's like every single actor was just born to play these roles -- Jeff, Kimi, Aaron, Zak, Margeau, Nikki, Robb, Todd (as a frighteningly authentic Springsteen), and everyone! We're often very lucky about finding the right people for our shows, against seemingly gigantic odds sometimes, but we really hit the Big Fucking Actor Jackpot this time.
I love us!
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Overnight, the show went from really good to Totally Fucking Amazing. Everybody in the cast is doing such a strong job, and poor Jeff Wright, who literally only gets to leave the stage at intermission, is just On Fire for two hours and fifteen minutes every night, both in terms of energy and joy, but also in the depth of his acting. I just can't imagine a better Rob.
And everybody who's seen the show just seems to fall in love with it. My parents, who I thought would enjoy it but wouldn't really relate to it, likewise fell in love with the show and with Jeff and Kimi and Aaron. Which makes me think maybe the show's target audience isn't an narrow as I thought it would be... Which also means we're gonna get boffo word-of-mouth for this show of ours... Opening Night brought us an almost full house and a rousing standing ovation. What more could we want?
We got a slightly odd but very nice review in the Post-Dispatch today, and the other reviews will be rolling in over the next week or so.
And lest we forget, we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tom Kitt, Amanda Green, and David Lindsay-Abaire for creating this beautiful, quirky piece of work, and for allowing us the first production after Broadway.
I could not be prouder of this show. It's an absolute joy to watch every night. And I'm extremely grateful to this wonderful cast. People kept saying to me after performances this weekend that every single performer in the show was "so perfect" for their part, and it's really true. We didn't have the biggest turn-out at auditions, which sometimes scares me (and in fact scared me this time as well -- this show has really specific casting requirements), but holy shit, did it turn out great! It's like every single actor was just born to play these roles -- Jeff, Kimi, Aaron, Zak, Margeau, Nikki, Robb, Todd (as a frighteningly authentic Springsteen), and everyone! We're often very lucky about finding the right people for our shows, against seemingly gigantic odds sometimes, but we really hit the Big Fucking Actor Jackpot this time.
I love us!
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
And in this light, you don't look so bad...
Just a quickie tonight... Just got home from rehearsal...
Monday night of Hell Week is often a bit rough, since so many new elements are all added at once. But tonight really wasn't rough! There are still small things to fix, to polish, to adjust, and the energy was good tonight but a tad uneven sometimes -- but really, all in all, it was a strong performance. There's nothing major to fix. It's all just fine tuning. What a relief!
The cast is doing a very good job, they take my notes well and they make the adjustments I ask for. They understand how this wonderfully odd show operates and they're all really on board. I think this has become a very personal show for many of us.
It's so nice having the band now, the lights, costumes, props, all that stuff. I feel so great about this show. I think we may have light crowds the first weekend -- after all, it's a show nobody knows -- but I think word-of-mouth will be very strong. It's such an original piece of theatre, very funny, very sad, very cynical, very rowdy, and oddly sweet now and then. All my favorite things. I really think audiences will embrace this as much as we have.
We shall see...
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Monday night of Hell Week is often a bit rough, since so many new elements are all added at once. But tonight really wasn't rough! There are still small things to fix, to polish, to adjust, and the energy was good tonight but a tad uneven sometimes -- but really, all in all, it was a strong performance. There's nothing major to fix. It's all just fine tuning. What a relief!
The cast is doing a very good job, they take my notes well and they make the adjustments I ask for. They understand how this wonderfully odd show operates and they're all really on board. I think this has become a very personal show for many of us.
It's so nice having the band now, the lights, costumes, props, all that stuff. I feel so great about this show. I think we may have light crowds the first weekend -- after all, it's a show nobody knows -- but I think word-of-mouth will be very strong. It's such an original piece of theatre, very funny, very sad, very cynical, very rowdy, and oddly sweet now and then. All my favorite things. I really think audiences will embrace this as much as we have.
We shall see...
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Where the Music Took Me
I have now officially gotten through the most difficult rehearsal -- the Stizprobe.
For those who don't work in musical theatre, the Sitzprobe (I hate that word but everybody uses it) is a rehearsal in which we just run the score with the band for the first time. No dialogue unless there's music under it. It may not sound like that difficult a process, but it really is. We get just four hours to run every number, correct problems, warn the band about pitfalls and surprises, small cuts, etc. It's the only time we get to focus exclusively on the band, and as with most of our shows, the band has a very challenging score to navigate.
The Sitzprobe rehearsal yesterday actually went okay. It's always a thrill for the actors to hear the whole band -- and we have very good musicians -- particularly when we're doing a rock/pop show. But it stresses me the hell out. It's an incredible amount of work to get done in only four hours. Plus, the less experienced actors don't always have the discipline to be patient and quiet while we work out various problems. Which means that while I'm talking to the musicians, figuring out cues, entrances, tempos, etc., I have to keep turning around to (a few of) the actors and asking them to be quiet so we can work. It was even worse yesterday because we have four stand mics in front of the stage, so whenever the actors were chit-chatting, it was coming through the mics and into the band monitor, making it very hard to have a conversation with the band.
So I'd ask them to be quiet. Then ten minutes later, I'd ask them more loudly. Then ten minutes later, I'd bark at them to be quiet. And finally, I'd compare them to Second Graders and throw in a "Jesus Christ!" for emphasis. I don't usually get to that last level at Sitzprobe, but I did yesterday. And now they all think I'm a Cranky Son of a Bitch.
Which I totally was yesterday.
But we got through the score (barely in time) and the musicians are in pretty good shape. I think we tackled all the bigger potential probs and we have three more nights to fine tune. But it really was one of the more stressful Sitzprobes we've had in a long time. Ugh. But I gotta give a shout-out to Steve Massey, our sound guy, who always solves every mic problem and never seems to get the slightest bit flustered; and to Chris Petersen, our pianist, who went four straight hours yesterday without a cigarette, god bless him...
Then later, Kimi and I drove out to Maryland Heights to pick up 300 LPs from Michael Dorrin, a former co-worker of Matt Korinko's, to dress the set. It was the last thing I wanted to do last night, but a record store's gotta have some records, am I right?
Buddha willing, the rest of the week will go much more smoothly than yesterday did, and I will be much less stressed out. I think our show's in pretty good shape, but now this week all the various elements come together, and it's a hell of a ride for the actors from here till opening.
I'll keep you posted.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
For those who don't work in musical theatre, the Sitzprobe (I hate that word but everybody uses it) is a rehearsal in which we just run the score with the band for the first time. No dialogue unless there's music under it. It may not sound like that difficult a process, but it really is. We get just four hours to run every number, correct problems, warn the band about pitfalls and surprises, small cuts, etc. It's the only time we get to focus exclusively on the band, and as with most of our shows, the band has a very challenging score to navigate.
The Sitzprobe rehearsal yesterday actually went okay. It's always a thrill for the actors to hear the whole band -- and we have very good musicians -- particularly when we're doing a rock/pop show. But it stresses me the hell out. It's an incredible amount of work to get done in only four hours. Plus, the less experienced actors don't always have the discipline to be patient and quiet while we work out various problems. Which means that while I'm talking to the musicians, figuring out cues, entrances, tempos, etc., I have to keep turning around to (a few of) the actors and asking them to be quiet so we can work. It was even worse yesterday because we have four stand mics in front of the stage, so whenever the actors were chit-chatting, it was coming through the mics and into the band monitor, making it very hard to have a conversation with the band.
So I'd ask them to be quiet. Then ten minutes later, I'd ask them more loudly. Then ten minutes later, I'd bark at them to be quiet. And finally, I'd compare them to Second Graders and throw in a "Jesus Christ!" for emphasis. I don't usually get to that last level at Sitzprobe, but I did yesterday. And now they all think I'm a Cranky Son of a Bitch.
Which I totally was yesterday.
But we got through the score (barely in time) and the musicians are in pretty good shape. I think we tackled all the bigger potential probs and we have three more nights to fine tune. But it really was one of the more stressful Sitzprobes we've had in a long time. Ugh. But I gotta give a shout-out to Steve Massey, our sound guy, who always solves every mic problem and never seems to get the slightest bit flustered; and to Chris Petersen, our pianist, who went four straight hours yesterday without a cigarette, god bless him...
Then later, Kimi and I drove out to Maryland Heights to pick up 300 LPs from Michael Dorrin, a former co-worker of Matt Korinko's, to dress the set. It was the last thing I wanted to do last night, but a record store's gotta have some records, am I right?
Buddha willing, the rest of the week will go much more smoothly than yesterday did, and I will be much less stressed out. I think our show's in pretty good shape, but now this week all the various elements come together, and it's a hell of a ride for the actors from here till opening.
I'll keep you posted.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
A to K Rack, L to Z
So we had our first rehearsal in the theatre last night. That's always such a weird night, though I'm not exactly sure why. Even when the dimensions are exactly what they were in the rehearsal hall, even when there aren't giant set pieces that change the logistics of things, even when you'd think nothing would really be different, it's still always weird. It's that way with almost every show.
Still, all in all, the cast did a good run-through last night. We ran through all the set changes first -- every set piece is on wheels and they all move at some point. But god bless this cast for never being impatient or difficult.
One weird thing is that we're not on a physical stage -- the playing space is the floor of the blackbox, and the audience is on risers. What that means is that until we get the mic stands to delineate the front edge of the playing space, it's very difficult for the actors to always notice the little blue taped X's, and they keep coming too far forward (which in a few days will mean out of the light). I spent a lot of time last night standing on the audience risers frantically gesturing at the actors to move back into the "light."
It really is fun to be working on the real set at last. Jeff has gleefully taken ownership of "his store." He already looks so comfortable hanging out at "his counter," reshelving albums, moving through the store. Even though it's not a naturalistic set, it really does wonders for the actors to have the set to work on now.
There are still things to adjust. For instance... The set piece configuration for Rob's apartment just didn't look right the way we were planning it. So after rehearsal, Trish and Kimi and I played around with the set pieces and eventually found a really good look for the apartment that I don't think will change any of the blocking. (We'll see tonight...)
That first night in the space is always hard for me. The actors are struggling to find their bearings in this new environment and so the show is never quite as smooth as it was the previous rehearsal. The focus temporarily moves away from character, relationships, and emotion; and it changes to just getting around the set without tripping. Which means I have to be patient and let that night just be what it is -- time to adjust. Especially when we only have a week in the space before opening (usually we have two weeks), it's scary to me that the show isn't perfect that night. But rationally I know that that's just the way it is, and everything will be fine later.
In fact, a lot of these last two weeks will be spent with my fear and my brain battling each other. Every show feels at some point like it might not come together, but my brain knows that this one is so strong (as are most of our shows) that it will come together beautifully. They always do.
It really is incredibly hard making theatre, and even harder making musical theatre. I don't think most people truly understand the complexity of what we do. But I'm working with some of the best performers there are, and I know they'll all be wonderful. Stay tuned...
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
Still, all in all, the cast did a good run-through last night. We ran through all the set changes first -- every set piece is on wheels and they all move at some point. But god bless this cast for never being impatient or difficult.
One weird thing is that we're not on a physical stage -- the playing space is the floor of the blackbox, and the audience is on risers. What that means is that until we get the mic stands to delineate the front edge of the playing space, it's very difficult for the actors to always notice the little blue taped X's, and they keep coming too far forward (which in a few days will mean out of the light). I spent a lot of time last night standing on the audience risers frantically gesturing at the actors to move back into the "light."
It really is fun to be working on the real set at last. Jeff has gleefully taken ownership of "his store." He already looks so comfortable hanging out at "his counter," reshelving albums, moving through the store. Even though it's not a naturalistic set, it really does wonders for the actors to have the set to work on now.
There are still things to adjust. For instance... The set piece configuration for Rob's apartment just didn't look right the way we were planning it. So after rehearsal, Trish and Kimi and I played around with the set pieces and eventually found a really good look for the apartment that I don't think will change any of the blocking. (We'll see tonight...)
That first night in the space is always hard for me. The actors are struggling to find their bearings in this new environment and so the show is never quite as smooth as it was the previous rehearsal. The focus temporarily moves away from character, relationships, and emotion; and it changes to just getting around the set without tripping. Which means I have to be patient and let that night just be what it is -- time to adjust. Especially when we only have a week in the space before opening (usually we have two weeks), it's scary to me that the show isn't perfect that night. But rationally I know that that's just the way it is, and everything will be fine later.
In fact, a lot of these last two weeks will be spent with my fear and my brain battling each other. Every show feels at some point like it might not come together, but my brain knows that this one is so strong (as are most of our shows) that it will come together beautifully. They always do.
It really is incredibly hard making theatre, and even harder making musical theatre. I don't think most people truly understand the complexity of what we do. But I'm working with some of the best performers there are, and I know they'll all be wonderful. Stay tuned...
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
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