Well, dear readers, it is ever so late and so I must write these here notes in a trice before I fall asleep at Ye Olde Keyboard. So, let me cut directly to the chase or, conversely, let me chase directly to the cut. Either way, yesterday sped by like a gazelle eating a pheasant under glass. Have you ever eaten a pheasant under glass? I tried to eat a pheasant under glass but I couldn’t get to the pheasant because of the fershluganah glass. I did gaze longingly at the pheasant under glass, but that was about it. In any case, I arose early (my internal clock seems to be set at eight), answered e-mails, jogged, did some errands, and then toddled off to rehearsal. We reviewed what we did yesterday and I’m happy to say that everyone seemed to remember their blocking, which was great. However, their harmonies are still eluding them and I’m hoping it will sink in one of these fine days. My alternate plan is to put everyone on melody and let the four strong singers take the harmony notes. I’ll give it another week before making that decision. I then jumped right in and staged the very long finale to act one. I laid the whole thing out and it looks fine – over the next few days I’ll start adding some layers of movement to it, but the basics are there. There is only one more major ensemble number and that one is being choreographed by a real tap choreographer. After rehearsal, Kevin, Lauren, and I drove to the Pasadena Playhouse to see Sister Act.
Before the show, I had a nice chat with Sheldon Epps (he always loves that I have incredibly beautiful young women with me whenever I’m there – in this case, Lauren), and I said hey to the show’s director, Peter Schneider. Cheri Steinkeller, one of the show’s authors, came up to me and asked if I remembered her, which of course I did and do, since she played a newscaster in The Creature Wasn’t Nice (under her maiden name of Eichen). We had a lovely chat. I saw Mr. Alan Menken wandering around, but I never got over to him to say hello. I will preface the following comments by saying that I know people involved with the production and that they are all pros and working very hard. When they did the workshop of Sister Act I had never heard such amazing buzz – as if the show was basically perfection and ready for mounting. The last time I heard such amazing buzz was for the workshops of Suessical and Sweet Smell of Success. The problem with these endless workshops is that the invited audiences are invariably made up of friends, well-wishers, and cheerleaders, so of course the creators get marvelous “second coming” feedback. At this stage, I will only say that Sister Act is not the second coming and needs attending to. Certain aspects of the show are fine and land well. It takes too long to get going, and the opening number is trying to impart too much information in too haphazard a way – the opening is like the Preludium from Sound of Music crossed with the opening of Dreamgirls. The audience (which I will have to say seemed very “friendly”) ate some of it up, and sat there like so much fish for other parts. So, there is work to be done and that’s all I will say, other than the cast works very hard and do a fine job. Where I wish to rant is about the lighting, sound, and orchestration. I have become weary of this new trend in musicals, where the show becomes about the lights, sound, and orchestrations designed to smack you upside the head so you will cheer every number. It’s phony baloney and I’m bored to tears by it. Same with the lights – in this case there are exposed moving lights that swivel and sway and dance at the end of each big number – it’s like saying to the audience, “Applaud, damn you!” And, not only that, every time they do it it takes you right out of the play. It’s like a sub-par Vegas extravaganza, lighting-wise, and they should rethink it in a major way. The play’s the thing, not the lighting – the lighting should complement the play, not take on a life of its own for its own sake. The sound is loud, loud, loud (that is three louds), and when did it become fashionable for certain cast members in a book show to have long microphones and earpieces (presumably acting as a monitor)? Somehow, Broadway performers got along without monitors for the last seventy years – why do they suddenly think they’re doing a concert where they need monitors? The orchestrations all have that “modern” touch, where they beat you over the head into submission at the ends of the big numbers. Every show sounds the same now, in that regard. You either trust your material and dole out the big moments carefully, or you tart it up and prod the audience in an unpleasant way. End of rant. I think if the right work is done, then it may have a shot on Broadway. And that is as much as I’m going to say and that is my two centimes.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because if I don’t get these here notes posted, I’m going to not get enough sleep and if I do not get enough sleep then I shall be cranky and an ornery ol’ cuss.
Today we start blocking the book scenes and songs with the principals, with the entire day being devoted to family scenes with Kevin, Lauren, and the girl who plays their daughter. We’re only scheduled to block two of them, but knowing how I work, we may get to a third. I’m really having fun with this show, but the big numbers take a lot of energy, and it will be nice to now have two days of simpler scenes and songs to work on.
Today I must also begin writing a piece for Frontiers Magazine, a gay publication here in Los Angeles. I’m calling it Brain Matters. I shall be very chatty and wicked, I’m sure.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, write, rehearse, eat, and do an errand or three. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you dear readers get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we? I, of course, will attempt to eat a pheasant under glass – if I can figure out how to do so, I will be the Houdini of haineshisway.com.