I Ran and I Ran

Monday Night of Hell Week...

We almost never stop in the middle of a run-through during Hell Week. If a really big mistake happens, and there's no getting out of it, we'll stop and reset, but it happens very rarely. But tonight, I told the cast that this time we might stop, because this show is much more tech-heavy than our usual fare, and it's better to fix problems now.

And then we didn't have to stop.

There were some minor tech issues, a few flubbed lyrics, a couple jumped music cues, but nothing major, nothing that couldn't be fixed quickly and easily, and nothing that needed for us to stop. The funniest mishap was that the band started early on one song late in the show, and later, we found out it was because there was a misunderstanding about how many screams they were supposed to wait for.

Bet that never happens in a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

The band sounded so beautiful tonight. They're much more comfortable with the feel of the songs, having played through everything together Sunday, with how the score works structurally, how their parts interlock, and how the vocals line-up with their parts. We've tackled some really hard scores lately (and some very messy arrangements), but this one plays like a dream, and the arrangements by Christopher Youstra -- created specially for New Line's production! – are really wonderful. Very emotional, and here and there, very creepy.

Despite a few brain farts, the show was outstanding Monday night. The acting gets better every night. The fights get more intense and more confident. The songs get more emotional. And the things that make us all jump still make us all jump.

Seeing the whole show for the first time with a finished, dressed set,  full lighting (which adds immeasurably to the suspense), full costumes (Marcy and Sarah have nailed it), Kerrie's sound effects, the band, all of it -- the show was really transformed. Even in the rehearsal hall under work lights, it was a very cool show, we all knew how much we loved the music, and we could imagine how well it would play. But I don't think any of us understood how cool it was gonna be when all these pieces came together. The idea of doing a horror musical is just so incredibly cool, and it has really energized me, the actors, the designers, and the musicians, and so all the pieces really fit together perfectly.

And most of all, now that all the actors have mics, the choral pieces are almost overwhelming. We always have big-voiced actors at New Line, but these harmonies Matt Conner has given us are so dense and so evocative. The actors love singing them, and that comes through.

Also, some friends of Marcy's from the local indie film community came to rehearsal Monday night and filmed us, to make us a really cool promo video. After they shot big pieces of the show as we ran it, we then restaged some things for them so they could get really up close. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

An awesome side benefit of this show is that it runs only about 80 minutes, so we won't have any late nights this week...!

The adventure continues!

Long Live the Musical!
Scott