Well, dear readers, the this year’s Oscar bash is over. Whilst not as wildly popular as the last two, we still had an incredibly large number of postings (over 1100) and it was grand fun for everyone who attended. Sadly, the show itself was a snoozefest, but more about that later. Speaking of later, yesterday was a day that was sooner than later. I had to get up as the cock crowed to attend an early meeting at the Chance Theater. So, after the cock crowed, I arose, shaved, did my morning ablutions, and then got in the motor car and drove to Anaheim. It was very rainy and I really hate driving on the freeway when it rains, as the road is always very slippery and LA drivers basically lose what little sanity they have when they drive in the rain. But, even with the rain and the slick streets, I managed to get to the theater in about forty minutes. The meeting began at nine and I saw a very rough preliminary sketch of the set, which I thought very good – we all had notes about it, but I think it will work wonderfully and a lot better than the shoddy thing we had in New York. One thing she’s done is to provide things that actually do clever things – there are doors that slide, doors that open, doors that go up and down, doors in the false proscenium. So, I’ll have a lot to play with. We discussed the audition process and that was about it. I then drove across the street and had a very good breakfast, then I drove about two miles where there was a Panera. That’s going to be my official hangout on weekdays when we have rehearsals, because my plan is to be on the road by four and to Anaheim by five. Then I’ll kill time at Panera, where I’ll be able to get online and work. So, I killed a couple of hours at Panera, and then drove back to the theater, where I saw the Chance production of Assassins.
Yesterday, I saw the Chance Theater production of Assassins. I have seen two other productions of Assassins and both times I’ve loathed the show itself, as well as the productions. While I find a lot to like in Mr. Sondheim’s score, I really don’t care for Mr. Weidman’s book. However, this production, which was very well directed and performed, made me at least understand the material better. Other productions usually come with some artsy director “concept” and this director is smart enough to just direct the thing cleanly and stay out of the way and let the show breathe. There are things I’ve never really understood about the show before seeing this production. A good job all the way around. A teeny-tiny three-piece band did fine and the actors were all very good. Several of them will be auditioning for The Brain. I keep forgetting that with one possible exception the Brain cast is going to be all new, but after seeing the Assassins cast I was feeling much better about the level of talent we’ll be seeing.
The show did not start on time, it started about fifteen minutes late, which was not a good thing for my tight situation in terms of getting home in time for the beginning of our Oscar bash. So, instead of getting out of the theater at 3:50, I got out at 4:11. Thankfully, there was absolutely no traffic coming home except for an inexplicable jam-up downtown for no reason whatsoever. I mean, we slowed to a crawl for three minutes, and just as I was beginning to despair about getting home in time, suddenly all those bumper-to-bumper cars just disappeared off the face of the Earth and I continued zooming and got home just before five, and in plenty of time for the start of the show.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got a very busy day ahead of me tomorrow, with many errands to run and things to attend to before heading out to Anaheim for our first day of casting.
Last night, I watched the Oscars whilst attending the best Oscar bash on the planet I like to call Earth. It was the most boring Oscarcast I can ever remember. I just don’t care for Mr. Jon Stewart and missed the endearing wackiness of Ellen Degeneres. There were no real high spots, none of those classically bad or great Oscar moments we all know and love. Nothing was really that funny, nor was anything that touching. The winners were, for the most part, completely predictable, at least for me. There were, as always, to many clip tributes. And the musical number performances were just not very good. Amy Adams fared best with Happy Little Working Song from Enchanted, but they should have had something else going on, some CGI rodents or something other than the spinning rings that were making me nauseous. Why do they have these horrible set pieces? The rising and falling dildos were bad enough, but then we had the Lord Of The Spinning Rings for poor Amy. I must say, for me Miss Adams is the poster child for how to dress and present yourself at the Oscars. She looked beautiful, her hair was done simply, her gown was simple and elegant and she didn’t look like a twelve-dollar hooker. The Kristin Chenoweth number was pretty terrible. You could tell they were trying to do the number the way it had been done in the film, but it really should have been rethought, because it was just terrible and made the song actually sound lame. Miss Chenoweth, who I adore, was not at her best here, but I’m sure that wasn’t really her fault. They really need to get a director in there who knows what they’re doing. I hated the gospel number, and the Once song didn’t really come off well. All in all, a three-hour-and-twenty-minute bore.
Today, I have many things to do, although I can’t really remember what they are. I’m sure I’ll figure it out, though. After I do whatever it is I’m doing (well, I know I have to finish proofing), then I’ll be on my way to Anaheim at four, I’ll kill some time at Panera, then attend our first casting session.
Tomorrow will be the same.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands, proof, do some other things I can’t remember, and then attend a casting session. Today’s topic of discussion: What was the first Alfred Hitchcock movie you ever saw? Where did you see it, what did you think of it, and did it make you want to see more of his movies? And what is your all-time favorite Hitchcock film and your least favorite Hitchcock film? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we get our beauty sleep and wait for the cock to croweth, signifying it’s time to get out of bed.