Well, dear readers, I’ll have to keep these here notes short and sweet or, at the very least, sweet and short. First of all, she of the Evil Eye will be here bright and early and perhaps even early and bright. So, I shall have to leave the home environment for a few hours. Then, when I return at noon-thirty, I shall shower and shave and prepare myself for the reading/signing. So, let’s just jump right in and get to yesterday. Yesterday, as already noted, was a day. A day in which I tried to relax and take care of some things that needed taking care of. I typed up a log of the clips we’ll be editing, to make that job a bit easier. I had several important telephonic conversations, and then I finally hied myself to the Ahmanson Theater to attend opening night of The Drowsy Chaperone. First, my guests and I ate a lovely supper outdoors. Ed Begley, Jr. stopped by our table and we had some fun conversation with him. Prior to going in the theater, I saw photographer Bruce Glickhaus, who photographed me with Mr. Kevin Spirtas. I also met the delightfully delightful Miss Millicent Martin. On the way in, I caught up with Mr. Harry Groener and his ever-lovin’ Dawn Diddiwick. Just what up was doing with Mr. Groener and his ever-lovin’ is anyone’s guess. Mr. Blackwell was there (Mr. Blackwell will go to the opening of a door), and I was even asked for my autograph on the way in.
And then there was The Drowsy Chaperone. I’d already seen the first sixty-five minutes of the show in run-through (the day Sutton Foster broke her wrist). What I saw was in excellent shape, but I felt there were certain problems that I hoped the creative team would address. Of course, those problems are from my perspective, but it’s how I felt after seeing the run-through. I was pleased that the recording of the overture, the session of which I produced, really worked in the theater – we made it sound like an old LP, and it was completely accurate. My first nitpick was when the real band takes over – that should be a powerhouse magical moment, but instead it just sort of happens. It would have been fun to have a lighting change or have a spot hit the conductor or whatever. I also felt, and still feel that the setup of the show needs a beat added – the conceit of the show is a narrator telling us about a favorite show of his – he plays the record, and suddenly the LP overture melds into the real band overture, and soon we’re “seeing” the show (the show taking place in the narrator’s apartment, with new pieces coming in constantly until, by the end of the show, the apartment has pretty much been transformed). I wish there were a line, something like, “I’ve been listening to this show forever and for years I’ve been picturing it in my head.” That gives what he and we are seeing, some context. Still, the audience (opening night crowd, of course) was completely with the show from the beginning. The actors are all very good, although some of them get short shrift. Sutton Foster stopped the show with her “I Don’t Want To Show Off” number, and several other numbers landed really well. But somewhere along the hour mark a malaise starts to set in. It’s basically a one-joke premise, but it’s an amiable one with lots of dancing and singing. But, as usual with one-joke premises, it begins to stretch thin, and you can feel the audience wanting to love it but pulling away. There is a long dream ballet number (the conceit of which is that long before Agnes DeMille there was this concept ballet number) – it just goes on forever, and the joke of it wears thin after one minute. The show is in one intermissionless act, but there is a “faux” intermission, and the number that follows it, while amusing, makes no sense other than they thought it was clever. It would or could be clever if you saw the narrator actually putting the second LP on the turntable, but you don’t and so it just comes out of nowhere. Also, I think there’s a big laugh to be had at about the forty minute mark if the action stopped when side one of the LP comes to an end (apparently the one side of the LP that’s played lasts a good eighty minutes). Then the record could be flipped, and as soon as it started playing, the action could continue. I was waiting for this gag – they should put it in. The character of the Trix the Aviatrix is a complete waste – she appears at the top of the show, and then at the very end, but her character is meaningless to both plot and action, so if you’re not going to make us know her then why have her? But, I’ll say it again – the audience, for the most part, really ate up the show and it received a very hearty ovation afterwards. Is the show ready for Broadway? Not quite – but if they do some good work while they’re here, then it might just go in and take people by surprise. Of course, the question is, will work be done? The tryouts of today are completely unlike the tryouts of yesterday. I mean, they might adjust a line here, or a bit there, but they tend not to do the sweeping changes they did in days of old. So, shows don’t really get better or fixed in these sorts of tryouts, which is a real shame. You’ve got the theater, you’ve got the cast, and you’ve got a nightly audience, and they should be fixing things every day of the run. I’m always told, well, it’s all computerized now and it requires major work to do changes. If that’s where theater has come to, then it hasn’t come very far at all. The show’s the thing, not the computers. The computers shouldn’t dictate, the creative team should. I’ve been reading this Gower Champion book, and it’s just amazing to read of the out-of-town tryout of Hello, Dolly, to see how they added numbers, threw out numbers, changed sets and lighting, and just did whatever it took to get the show to work. But, that was then and this is now. I wish everyone on the show well, and it was an entertaining and enjoyable evening.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because these short and sweet notes have already put me to sleep twice.
Perhaps these here notes should be sweet and sour instead of short and sweet. Perhaps not.
After the show, we went to the big opening night party on the fifth floor of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. While we were waiting for the elevator, I ran into Mr. Henry Winkler. We hadn’t seen each other in thirty years, but he remembered me instantly, and we had a lovely and warm chat. He’s truly one of the nicest people in the show business. The party was jam-packed, and it was impossible to move around the room the way I usually like to. I did see my pal Danny Burstein, who is excellent in the show. I saw my pals Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel, I said hello to Lenny Wolpe, who’s also excellent in the show, I even ran into my friend M’Lisa MacLaren’s daughter. And then I left. On the way out of the party I was stopped for the second time to give an autograph.
Today, of course, I’ll be doing my book signing at Mystery and Imagination aka Bookfellows, in Glendale. Already, I had several people call and tell me that something had come up and they couldn’t attend. I do hope I have a decent crowd and that we even sell a few books. I’ve pretty much chosen which sections to read, although this book is difficult in that regard, given the plot and the different first person narratives. I may even play Getting Away With You from the Guy Haines CD, at the point where it occurs in the book. I will, of course, have a full report upon my returning. At five I have a little rehearsal here at the house, and then I’ll be supping with Mr. Richard Valley and his ever-lovin’ Tom, along with the Pogues.
Now wait just a darned minute. I do believe we’ve got us a little celebratin’ to do – so, put on your pointy party hats and your colored tights and pantaloons, serve up some cheese slices and ham chunks, dance the Hora or the Texas Two-Step, because today is the actual birthday of actual dear reader Jason. So, let’s give an actual big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to actual dear reader Jason. On the count of three: One, two, three – AN ACTUAL BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO ACTUAL DEAR READER JASON!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a reading/signing, then I must rehearse, then I must sup large at Musso and Frank. Today’s topic of discussion: Cheese. We’ve never discussed cheese. So, today is cheese day here at haineshisway.com. What are your favorite cheeses – I know very little about cheese, so I’d like to know what it is you like, what the flavors of the various and sundried cheeses are, what exotic cheeses you like, what you like to eat with the cheese. You know, all things cheese. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and do make them cheesy.