Well, dear readers, March is already flying by, like a gazelle reciting Joyce Kilmer’s Trees, which is, I suppose, better than reciting Val Kilmer’s Trees. To put the horse before the cart I think I’ll tell you how our stumble-through went before talking about other things. Is it the horse before the cart or the cart before the horse? I can’t remember, which, of course, always puts me in mind of Val Kilmer’s Trees. Aside from a little brief performer drama it all went swimmingly. The performer drama had to do with being put in a time crunch, but it all worked out fine. I must say that the stumble-throughs are really fun for everyone. It’s the first time the cast is together, everyone gets up and sings their stuff in show order and for the first time everyone sees the structure and the feel of the show, and the support everyone shows is wonderful. The songs are working really well, the order is fine, and it went very smoothly with only a couple of flubbed lines and a couple of musical hiccups, which we fixed after the stumble-through. Prior to the stumble-through, I’d had a very good night’s sleep. I got up, answered e-mails, had a couple of telephonic calls, finessed some patter for The Singer’s show, had some bacon and eggs, picked up a couple of packages and some bills, printed some orders, and did a few errands and whatnot.
After rehearsal, I had a couple of low-fat, low-cal hot dogs (with red cabbage and cheese) and then watched a documentary on Blu and Ray entitled Genius Within, The Inner Life of Glenn Gould. I found it very interesting – I didn’t really know much about Mr. Gould so it was basically all new territory for me, but it made me come away with wanting to hear more of his work, so it certainly succeeded in that regard. It was nicely done but at times seemed more like one of those DVD extras than a documentary. There was lots of great archival footage, though, and the music was superb (all Gould, all the time). The transfer is nice and the sound crisp and clear.
After that, I finessed my patter for the Gardenia show and then printed it out. I read it aloud a couple of times to get used to it. I also began prepping our next cast album release, just organizing all the information I need to do the liner notes. It’s a UK cast album of a Broadway show, and a score I’m very fond of. The performances on the UK version of the show are very different and fun, and it’s just got a whole different feel to it, so I’m hoping it will be of interest to collectors and lovers of this particular show. I’ve been very pleased with how Gone With The Wind has sold, and if this does equally well, that will be wonderful.
Oh, and young Melody Hollis, who is not only a terrific performer but also an accomplished baker of treats, made me some oatmeal chocolate chip squares – not quite brownies and not quite cookies, but they look like the former and taste like the latter. They were extremely yummilicious.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must try and get another good night’s sleep for today shall be a very busy day and evening.
Today, I shall do a few errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up a package or two, do a sound check, and then do our seventh Kritzerland at the Gardenia shows. I will, of course, have a full report for you.
Tomorrow, there’s some Kritzerland business to attend to, and I’m taping a radio show with our very own Mr. Donald Feltham. I may also go down to LACC for a little meeting. Friday, I think we’ll begin working with The Singer on her show, getting it up on its feet. I don’t know what the weekend will hold, but I’m hoping one of the things it holds is dinner at Genghis Cohen – I’ve been away from there much too long. And we start planning the eighth Kritzerland at the Gardenia show – The Alan Menken Album.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands and whatnot, have a sound check, pick up a package, and do a show. Today’s topic of discussion: Who are your favorite classical solo artists – piano, violin, whatever suits your fancy – those virtuosos who you feel really bring artistic triumph to their work. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where instead of counting sheep I shall recite Val Kilmer’s Trees.