Well, dear readers, it’s already one in the morning and I’ve just now returned from an opening night and a partay and I am quite tired and yet she of the Evil Eye will be here bright and early and also early and bright and therefore I will have to write these here notes in a hurry because my eyes are blurry and soon I must scurry to get my beauty sleep.
Last night, I attended the opening night of a show entitled Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Ahmanson Theater. The show is a revue that features the music of Fats Waller. I’d never seen the show before, so was very interested to see it, as I knew it had been a hit on Broadway, had had a revival, a tour, and now a new tour (different than the Ahmanson production). The show was the baby of Richard Maltby, Jr. and he’s back at the helm for the current tour and this production. It was a fine evening’s entertainment with a very good company, including Armelia McQueen and Roz Ryan (I left the program in the car so don’t have the other performer’s names handy, but they were all excellent). The staging is cute, the show moves right along – I found it all perfectly pleasant, but there were times when I wished for something more, somehow, like a stronger point of view. The band was terrific and I’m always grateful for a show with a good pace. The set and lighting and especially sound were also very good. The audience was your usual opening night types who whoop and holler at every tiny thing. In fact, after one excellent number in act two, a number with a great vocal arrangement, several nincompoops up front stood up, as if they’d seen one too many episodes of American Idol – what a bunch of jerks and yokels – sit the hell down, the show’s not over and quite obviously so. What the HELL is with audience stupidity these days? I had to be restrained from standing up myself and yelling at the yokels. I saw quite a few people I knew, but I think the days of the star-studded Ahmanson openings are done – there were very few people there that I recognized.
I’d been invited to the Founder’s Circle to have a drink with the Ahmanson’s managing director, and that was fun. I met the producer of the film Milk and several other interesting folks. After the show, we all moseyed over to Maria’s Kitchen for the opening night partay. I spoke to several interesting folks and had a further conversation with the managing director, who’s promised he’ll come to see our reading of Nudie Musical. I stayed at the partay for about forty-five minutes, and then headed home. I was sort of hungry and had only eaten a turkey sandwich and a few fries and about two bites of Pad Thai, so I stopped at – you guessed it – House Of Pies, where I had a nice slice of their yummilicious peanut butter pie (my new favorite thing). After that I came home, sat down, and began writing these here notes.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I ain’t misbehavin’ and must write the next section.
I got a lot of things done yesterday, did a lot of errands and whatnot, and even got a tiny bit of relaxation in, and I also did the long jog. I did notice that there were more crazy drivers driving crazily than usual – absolutely sickeningly stupid driving, dangerous driving, and driving while under the influence of texting. I hope all those idiots slam into a wall somewhere, rather than causing others harm.
Today, I shall be up bright and early, do the long jog, and then head over to the Hollywood Collector’s Show in the Bank of Bur – I’ll hang out there for a couple of hours, and then I have a partay to go to – a Totally Hidden Video reunion partay, which I think will be weird and fun, rather like the show itself.
Tomorrow I have a two-hour rehearsal with Jan Abrams, the lady whose doing her act at the Metropolitan Room on May 9th, and I do encourage all our East Coast hainsies/kimlets to book their reservations soon. The upcoming week is incredibly busy, with work sessions, two casting days for Nudie Musical, the official announcement of the next Kritzerland release, the prepping of the release that follows that, and on and on.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, go to the Hollywood Collector’s Show, and attend a partay. Today’s topic of discussion: I love the revue format – what are your favorite musical revues, ones you’ve actually seen, or ones you’ve heard on disc. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, because I ain’t misbehavin’ and shall now go hit the road to dreamland.