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February 3, 2010:

THE HOME STRETCH

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I have survived the treacherous territory and am here to tell the tale or, at the very least, the tail. Yesterday, I pretty much knew I’d be getting to the part of my life that was pretty much the darkest hour for me. And I didn’t know how I would deal with it, how long it would be, or how difficult it might be to write. I got a nice night’s sleep, got up and spent the first hour of my day on the phone with Apple dealing with some Time Machine weirdnesses. I lucked out and got a nice and knowledgeable gal and she put my machine through its paces and then tried a solution that seemed to do the trick. And since then the computer has been running really fast and like it used to. I suspect that at some point something in my cache file got corrupted, because the minute we nuked that everything worked perfectly. I then went over what I’d written the day before, made changes, smoothed things out, and did some minor additions and subtractions. I then wrote two new pages. After that, knowing what was coming, I went out to have a sandwich. I then returned and dove in. I wrote ten pages quickly and then I was at the point of no return and somehow the form of it just came to me and what I was really sort of dreading ended up being short and to the point. Yes, it was very emotional to revisit that, but it ended up being only a page and a half for the actual part I was worried about. I was a bit of a basket case when I was through with that section and I had to take a little break. I went and picked up one package and no mail and then came back home. I then moved on and wrote about seven more pages. I’m flying now and am into the home stretch. I can now definitely say that I will be through this week. I can now definitely say the book will be over 500 manuscript pages (how many over remains to be seen, but I’m guessing it will end up between 530 and 550, but that doesn’t include two eight-page photo sections and I haven’t made up my mind yet about doing an index – I’m of two minds about it). I wrote a little over twenty-one pages and then I had to go sit on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched another forty minutes of The Music Man on Blu and Ray. It’s really wonderful to see this looking so sharp and clean. The yellow cast does sort of get better after about forty minutes, but it’s just a shame they didn’t just adjust the color a little. Then I switched to the documentary Every Little Step on DVD. My love for A Chorus Line knows no bounds, so of course I enjoyed some of it very much. But the problem is when you turn a camera on people they perform, and that includes Mr. Avian and the creative team. The most interesting aspect of the film is to finally hear some of the original tapes that Michael Bennett made. And I found Marvin Hamlisch very interesting. All the archival footage was terrific and Donna McKechnie and Baayork Lee are always a treat. But there was one person in the audition room that I found so annoying there were times I just wanted to throw something at the TV. In fact, this person is just about everything that I don’t like about this business today. I did find the Jason Tam audition very interesting. When he finally breaks down and weeps like four hundred of his closet friends have died, and then it cuts to Avian and company weeping, you just know that the one person who would not have been weeping is Michael Bennett. And then they show footage of Sammy Williams doing it, albeit very early in the run at the Public (he got much better) – he just is so honest and real and never weeps copious tears, which is why the thing is so affecting. I’m sure that’s what Bennett wanted – to let the actor play it real and honest, and let the audience do the rest of the work. If you have an actor weeping copious tears, then I, at least, shut off. And as much as I enjoyed most of Tam’s performance when I saw the show, that moment simply didn’t work at all for me and for one of the few times I’ve seen that show, I was not moved. I think Bennett would have asked him to not do it, but the wonderfully talented Bob Avian is not Michael Bennett. It’s always wonderful to see that choreography, and Baayork teaching the dances is a highlight.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got to get my beauty sleep as I enter the home stretch.

Today, I shall have another full day of writing, with a break for some errands and whatnot, some food, and then more writing. Same for tomorrow. I’m still waiting to hear if I’m seeing Camelot tomorrow night.

On Friday I have a lunch, but mostly I’ll be writing. The weekend is pretty free, although I’ll have a little work to do on the long musical, plus I have to write the new liner notes and prepare to announce our new title. We’ll also be shipping out Elmer Gantry, so all those packages have to be addressed.

I hope nobody took off their pointy party hats and colored tights and pantaloons, I hope everyone saved some cheese slices and ham chunks, I hope everybody can still dance the Hora or the Locomotion, because today is the birthday of our very own edisaurus. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own edisaurus. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN EDISAURUS!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, do errands and whatnot, eat, and write. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you 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, whilst I head into the home stretch, after which I will stretch in the home.

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