Well, dear readers, it is December. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it is December. And to think we are sometimes criticized for not having important news. And, for me, the first of December starts the happy holidays, and I am already feeling festively festive in more ways than one. One, for example, only feels festive in one way, which is typical for one. But I, unlike one, feel festive in more ways than one so there you are. What the HELL am I talking about? Isn’t it December? So, let us take a moment and say that we hope and pray that December is a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. I’m sitting here at the computer like so much fish breathing in the fresh scent of manure. Yes, Virginia, you heard that right – I, BK, am sitting here like so much fish breathing in the fresh scent of manure. That is because yesterday was apparently Manure Day and the gardeners spread their manure here, there, and everywhere and it is, I must tell you, POTENT manure. Potent Manure – that’s the title of my next novel. I am extremely exhausted right now and my voice is pretty hoarse thanks to only having gotten about three hours of sleep the night before. I hate when that happens. I fell asleep at twelve-thirty or so and then was up around four and could not get back to sleep – too many things swimming around in Ye Olde Braine, like visions of sugarplums, said sugarplums were dancing in my head doing the Swim and the Monkey and singing Kites Are Fun. I refused to get up, though, so I just stayed in bed until eight-thirty. I then got up and, as always happens when I only get three hours of sleep, I began to get hoarse. That’s the way it is – like clockwork. I moseyed on over to the Studio Café for a breakfast meeting and was more than a little shocked to find that I was the only patron in the jernt. This place is normally a jumpin’ jernt at that time of morning – it’s mostly a breakfast place, but yesterday there were no people there save for me and the person with whom I was meeting. The meeting was interesting, and I had one of the scrambles, fruit, a bagel, and hot tea with honey and lemon. After the meeting, I came right home and relaxed. I listened to music, I did some stuff on the computer, and then I went to the mail place where I picked up zero packages and zero mail – I did, however, ship a package. I then came back home, then went to CVS to get more Ricolas. I took a huge bag of pennies that have been accumulating in a bowl and they have one of those coin machines there and by the time I finished dumping all those fershluganah pennies in there I had fifteen bucks. I came back home again and sat on my couch like so much fish, still trying to rest my hoarse voice.
Yesterday, I watched the first twenty-five minutes of the new restoration on Blu and Ray of Fritz Lang’s monumental Metropolis. I’d seen the former restoration a few years ago and while I’m not a fanatic about the film, it was great to finally see the whole thing – or at least as much as they’d found at that point. Since then, they found another twenty-five minutes of the film so it is now somewhat close to its original premiere length, before they began hacking away at it. I’m running the region B Blu-Ray, but I’m told the US release by Kino is the same transfer. But since I find Kino a bit spotty I opted for the UK version. The bulk of what I saw is wonderful-looking – great contrast, very sharp, and, at times, absolutely breathtaking in its clarity, which is saying something given that the film was made in 1927. It’s very easy to see where the found footage is – because that footage was from a 16mm print in not so hot shape and in the wrong ratio. But the added shots and scenes are fun, so I’m really enjoying it. And the film’s musical score written in 1927 for symphony orchestra, is fantastic and sounds great here in a new recording. I’ll finish it tomorrow.
After that, I showered and got ready for rehearsal. One of our singers got stuck in horrendous traffic and was an hour late, so it wasn’t the smoothest stumble-through we’ve had. The singer missed her first number (Lanny played it though, so we could see how it felt within the running order). Bruce Vilanch came and we ran the duet with Jason. It’s going to be pretty hilarious – the two of them are so damn funny. However, neither of them really seemed to know the second half of the song (the song goes all the way through twice), so we decided to do one time through, patter, and then cut right to an extended ending. It should work fine. I’m happy to say that the show order worked wonderfully. But it felt long to me in two places and unfortunately both of those places were songs Juliana was singing. I asked her to stay after and I quickly made cuts in each of those two numbers, which just seemed endless and without point. I couldn’t tell it when she was just running the stuff at her own rehearsals, but within the context of the show itself they just went on and on. I made some tiny pull-ups in one song and in that same song a significant cut of one full verse and a half. That really helped and now it plays wonderfully. Same with the second number – on the CD it’s great, but as a number in a show it just felt way too long, so I made simple cuts in the vamps, asked for a faster tempo, and then made one significant cut of one entire verse – and that’s all that was needed. So, I think we’ll be fine now.
After that, I went over to Jerry’s Deli and had a big bowl of chicken soup, which made me feel a little better. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I am weary and bleary and in need of a really good night’s sleep in this December of happy holidays.
Today, I shall try to sleep as late as possible. Then I have a couple of errands and whatnot to do, and then I’m on my way to our two o’clock sound check at the Gardenia. I’m told we will have a very nice crowd, which means I don’t have to sit there and be worried about it all day. After the sound check, I’ll come home and rest and relax and run my patter, and then at 6:45 the helper and I will mosey on over to the Gardenia, where I’ll have a light supper, and then it’s show time. Oh, I have to say that all our singers did wonderfully, but the biggest hand at our rehearsal went to eight-year-old Lucy Taylor, who just belted the bananas out her number. She is so cute and sings so well – a real little engine that could.
Tomorrow, I have a lunch meeting in the Bank of Bur, and I hope that’s all I’ll need to do, as I’d love to just be able to have most of the day to recuperate, because then I must begin prepping January’s show, which is huge – Unsung Sondheim. I have to choose the songs very carefully, then get the charts, then cast it. I have some other really important meetings about something really important to me, and so please send excellent vibes and xylophones for those meetings to be successful, as everyone here will be very happy should they be – at least I think everyone here will be very happy – I know I will be.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, sleep as late as possible, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up a package or three, do a sound check, sup, and then do our fourth Kritzerland at the Gardenia show. 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 we hope and pray for a December filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful – welcome to the Happy Holidays of December.