Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because, yes, you guessed it, she of the Evil Eye will be here bright and early. So, let me cut to the chase and say that yesterday was a day and a half. I awoke before nine, wrote a couple of pages, then had to attend a two-hour rehearsal with Miss Merissa Haddad. We continued where we’d left off – doing detailed staging work and work on the intent of the lyrics. When we finished that, we then ran the show from start to finish. The first half went really well – she’d really studied her notes from the previous night, and it really showed. The second half the energy waned and we discussed ways in which to keep the momentum going. She’s really very talented and I think that in a week’s time she will have a killer show. I then came home and wrote five more pages, then had to shave and shower and toddle off to the Hills of Beverly to pick up tickets for Sacco and Vanzetti and to grab a bit of supper before the show. After supper, Miss Adriana Patti and I toddled over to the Music Hall, where I met the divoon Miss edisaurus and her ever-lovin’ Greg, along with many of their friends. We then all went into the theater.
Last night, I saw a motion picture documentary entitled Sacco and Vanzetti, the story of Sacco and Vanzetti. The story of Sacco and Vanzetti and their trial is compelling, riveting, shameful, infuriating, and the film presents the story cogently, compellingly, and thoughtfully. It’s mostly talking heads, intercut with newsreel footage, clips, voiceovers by actors John Turturro and Tony Shalhoub reading the letters of Sacco and Vanzetti – it’s interesting to see how well it does what it does, considering every third-rate hack is now doing precisely this style in these awful DVD “documentaries” that adorn practically every DVD release these days. So, it’s lovely to see that this form can actually work when done by pros who have a point of view and intelligence. The director, Peter Miller, does a fine job in laying out the story, and our very own edisaurus’ editing is seamless and expert. The issue of whether the pair was guilty or not isn’t really relevant – what is relevant is that they so clearly did not receive the fair trial they were entitled to. I hold no love for the justice system in this country, and this film points out what a sham it is in certain instances. I look forward to the DVD and hope it has some nice extras.
After the film, I came right home and wrote another two pages and got to the end of the penultimate chapter. I think I’m within five to eight pages of finishing the book, which I’ll do today or tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll have some smoothing out to do (what else is new), and after I finish, I’ll print out the final batch of seventy or so pages, Xerox them and get them to my muse Margaret and hope that she likes them. Like all mystery fiction, the ending is very important – all the explanations, which in the case of this book are extensive and complicated. Laying out all that stuff clearly is a challenge, and then it’s more of a challenge to keep it interesting because it’s a LOT of palaver. And this book has explanations from the protagonist (how the protagonist figured out everything), the killer (how the killer’s side and explanation), and then I have to jump backwards a bit and explain how it all came together. So, maybe today will be the day I’ll be finishing the book and I can say “look I made a book, where there never was a book.”
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon.
This morning I shall be going to storage and getting the second batch of CDs for our sale here at haineshisway.com, so check later and I’ll hopefully post the list in the afternoon. I shall then try to write a page or two, then I have a two-hour rehearsal, then I shall try to write a few more pages (and perhaps finish), and then I shall be supping with edisaurus at our very own Genghis Cohen.
Tomorrow, if I haven’t finished Ye Olde Book, I will. And then I will go back over the last seventy new pages and smooth out things, make additions and deletions and get it as good as I can, so I can then Xerox it. Otherwise, my Sunday is mine, all mine, baby, and they can’t take that away from me.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, rehearse, write, and sup. Today’s topic of discussion: What is the most romantic evening you’ve ever spent? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and perhaps today will be the day that I finish book number seven.