Well, dear readers, it has been my good fortune to have had every play or musical I’ve written performed and in a full production – except one. It was the BK show that got away and the story, at least for me, is very interesting. After The Good One, I had the idea for a new musical – I was in one of my “moods” and wanted to write a show about friendship – a long, enduring friendship that’s shattered by a lack of judgment on one character’s part, and then the eventual reunion between the two friends. I knew instantly what I wanted to call it – Pals – and I knew instantly that it would be a two-hander, and I knew instantly that it would be about two girls rather than two guys. And I had the idea that we’d start with the girls at seven, have one long sequence with four songs, then have a montage, then have the girls at sixteen in one long sequence with several songs, then have a montage and the act would end with a short sequence, the rift, at nineteen. Act two would open with a really long musical sequence chronicling the next fifteen years, and then we’d have the sequence with the reunion at thirty-five. And the same two actresses would play the girls at all ages. I wrote a first draft quickly. I really liked the songs a lot, and the book seemed good to me – it was just the two girls and the off-stage voice of one of their mothers (the scenes all took place at one character’s house). I did a reading at my house with Marsha Kramer and Heather Lee – it was a real treat hearing them sing the songs and read the show. I invited a bunch of friends and, being friends, they all loved it. I would have gone directly to LACC to produce the show, but at that time they had a head of the department who was behaving like a despot (really nice guy, but he was in his own world) and for the first time since leaving the school, I was turned down for doing a show of mine (I’d already done several – all successes). We did a few more readings – friends always loved it. But, nothing happened. I sent it to a few people and they just didn’t respond to it, which baffled me. In my final season of Totally Hidden Video, I gave the show to the producer, who loved musical theater and loved me – Mike Miller was his name. He seemed to like the show and he wanted to have a reading of it, so I got Marsha and Heather together again, and we did it at his house for HIS friends, not mine. This time it just didn’t feel good, didn’t work, no response save for a few of the jokes and the numbers. But they were not with the show from minute one. We did a second reading at his house – same story. I was baffled because I thought it was really good. Mike wrote me ten pages of notes – all of which I wanted to just toss in the trash until I calmed down and realized he was absolutely right on every single note. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it before – it may have been having all my friends tell me how great it was, which can be really harmful in the long run.
His problems with the show were fascinating to me – his first comment was about the first scene with the girls at seven. I couldn’t figure out why people weren’t with the show right off the bat and going with the conceit of the show, and he rightly said it was because I hadn’t prepared the audience for that conceit and they just sat there wondering why two adults were acting like children. Of course he was dead on. Once I understood that, so many of the problems became clear to me, and I knew if I could solve the opening of the show I could probably solve the show. He felt that the long sequences were too linear – they were basically self-contained one-acts in one setting and he said I should start thinking more like a musical and have it be multiple locations and non-linear – scenes from a childhood at seven, sixteen, nineteen, and then it was okay to have the end sequence be what it was. That too completely freed me and I totally saw his point. Before the reading, he’d felt the title song was weak and with that I agreed and I rewrote it. He also felt we needed more plot songs and less of the girls “performing” (we had the seven-year-olds do a tap routine, as they were both in tap class and we had them at sixteen rehearsing for a number in a talent show).
I went to the beginning and came up with what turned out to be a really good idea – to set up the show and its conceit I’d start at the end, with each girl on opposite sides of the stage, getting dressed, getting ready for this reunion – it suddenly became magical – we knew they were having this reunion and that they were scared about it, we knew they’d had a rift, and we knew they’d been best friends since they were seven. It was all done musically except for a handful of lines to off-stage characters. And during the end of this little opening sequence as they assuage their nervousness by remembering how great it had been when they’d first met and how one character was always waiting for the other to come over, the lights fade on them as they start to remember, and we have a series of projections of them de-aging, from their rift age of nineteen, to sixteen, to twelve, to seven, all with the adult actresses in different costumes and makeup, and THEN they enter as the seven-year-olds. The audience is totally in on the conceit and with it and it worked really well and Mike loved the whole thing when I played it for him. Then I went to work on making the first long sequence, which all took place in the bedroom of one of the gals, non-linear, so that we got the beginning in the bedroom, then later instead of them rehearsing the tap number in the bedroom, we actually “do” the tap number as if they’re performing it onstage at a recital – much more theatrical and fun. All the while, trying to put some plot in there and set up certain things that will lead up to the rift. And then, I began producing CDs and put Pals away, never finishing the rewrite. In 2002, I found a cassette of the demo I’d done, a really nice demo, actually. I’d sent it to a few people back in the day and Michael Kerker from ASCAP had loved it, as had Peter Filichia. I played it and once again liked a lot of the songs. I took out the script again and read it, and saw that I’d been on the road to fixing it. But I just had no desire to continue doing the book – I talked to two women writers, both seasoned with lots of credits. One had terrible ideas, the other had interesting ideas and she even wrote some scenes that intrigued me, but somehow it just all fell by the wayside. I still like the songs, but I’d need someone to totally take over the book and I’m afraid my interest has probably waned for all time. It’s the show that got away and I’ll always have a little place for it in my heart. Back in 2002 the other project that I took out and reread was a screenplay that I’d written called Plan Ten From Outer Space. We’d almost made the film back in the early 90s but the money had fallen through. I read the screenplay and thought it was just awful (things fall through for a reason, thankfully), but I showed it to my pal David Wechter and he saw its potential and agreed with me that it could make a fun musical if we really threw out most of it and just kept the idea of it – that, of course, became The Brain From Planet X.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must write the next section and then try to clear out the windmills of my mind.
Yesterday, was a very pleasantly pleasant day. I got up, did the long jog (and very briskly, I might add, cutting about eight minutes off my usual time), then headed over to Langer’s to lunch. The food was amazingly amazing, especially the latkes. My lunch partner was the lady I’ve been licensing titles from at MGM – she was a complete delight, and we had a great time talking of this and that and also that and this. I think there’s going to be quite a few other titles coming on Kritzerland, and some very interesting ones. I wish I’d done this two years ago before most of the catalog had been picked clean by the other soundtrack labels, who descended on the catalog like vultures. I’m surprised there was anything left, frankly. We’ll see what happens, but I’ve put in for about eight titles (it was more, but several of them are being “held” by other labels and have been for too damn long – do ’em or don’t do ’em – that’s what she likes about me – we make a deal, do the contract, and the CD is out five weeks later).
After lunch, I picked up the Illya and Seesaw tapes so I can return them to the MGM vaults. Then I came home and the helper arrived and entered the rest of the e-mail addresses into Constant Contact. We now have over 2000 names in there. I then finally sat on my couch and watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Roman De Gare (Tracks), a French film from France, a recent film from BK favorite, Claude Lelouch (made in 2007). It’s a terrific film, wonderfully plotted, and filled with great Lelouch direction. As always, he plays with time a lot and it takes a while to figure out how the puzzle pieces connect, but he constantly leads you to believe one thing and then you suddenly realize what’s going on and you have to reexamine everything – it’s beautifully done and held my interest for each of its 101 minutes. The acting is superb and I’m telling you it’s worth seeking out. The box would have you believe it’s a thriller, but there’s no way to really categorize this film – other than to say it’s pure unadulterated Lelouch. The scope transfer is okay.
Today, I’ll do the long jog, attend to some errands and whatnot, and then I have a working lunch at Hugo’s at two, which will probably continue at my house for another hour. Otherwise, the day is mine, all mine. But I must prepare for my Monday Cabaret and Singer Workshop. I’ve been making notes for the last few days but must type them up and organize them. I’ve got to talk for almost two hours so I must be very prepared.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, do errands and whatnot, have a working lunch, and then relax and watch a DVD or two. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, a few tracks from our upcoming soundtrack release, plus some jazz CDs. DVD, next up is Woody’s latest, Victoria Christina Barcelona or whatever it’s called. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and don’t let any posts get away.