Climbing Up the Charts

Just a quick entry today. I leave for rehearsal soon...

...But I just had to log on and rave about our "5 Ex-Girlfriends," High Fidelity's Greek Chorus, Katie, Lori, Amanda, Margery, and Mary. We learned "She Goes" and "Number 5 with a Bullet" Tuesday night, and these five women sound so terrific together, a really rich, ballsy, Girl Power kind of sound that's just right for this score. It's always something of a crap shoot casting a show -- how someone does at an audition is usually only a slight indication of how they'll do in the show -- but we lucked out with these broads! They rock!

Still... these young folks apparently didn't know what a bullet on the Billboard charts means. For those reading this who do not (or did not) follow the Billboard charts (I did, but only from 1981-1984), a bullet (a black dot, really) next to a song on the chart means the song is higher this week than last week. So in the context of the song, Laura is teasing Rob -- in his own lingo -- declaring that though she was lower on his chart before ("Desert Island Top 5 Breakups"), she has now risen up into his Top 5. Pretty funny. Also very "insider," something this show does awfully well...

And tonight, The Bitches Are Back. (I can call them that because in "Conflict Resolution," they and the guys are called "Bitches and Pimps" in the score...) Tonight, we're working on "Desert Island Top 5 Breakups," "Cryin' in the Rain," and "Goodbye and Good Luck." That'll be fun!

It sure seems like the actors are having as much fun as I am. I can't tell you how awesome it is to play "She Goes," "Desert Island," "Last Real Record Store," and so many others. This is one of those scores that just feels good in your fingers. Jason Robert Brown's music (Songs for a New World, The Last Five Years), Bill Finn's music (Falsettos, A New Brain, Spelling Bee), and Larry O'Keefe's music (Bat Boy, Legally Blonde) are all the same way. All those scores are a hell of a handful and contain some monstrously difficult songs, but once you "get" them, once you find the patterns and contours, they feel so exactly right.

The only thing that sorta scares me is the three-part "Conflict Resolution," which I put off till next week because I'm something of a coward. The three parts evoke Guns N' Roses, the Beastie Boys, and Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre, none of which are within my normal realm of musical experience. Not even close. So I have to do my homework and listen to some "Welcome to the Jungle," "Ch-Ch-Check It Out," and of course, "Ain't Nothin' But a G Thang." Oh yeah, dawg!

Long Live the Musical!
Scott