Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because I’m supposed to post them in exactly two minutes. That, of course, will not be happening, but I shall write like the wind and get them posted forthwith. Does anyone still use the word forthwith? That is two words for the price of one. Anyway, we had a lively and fun stumble-through yesterday. We do love our stumble-throughs – there’s just such wonderful energy in the room and it’s the first time the singers all here each other and it’s the first time I see the show from start to finish. Happily, the structure was sound, the show played beautifully, and there were so many laughs it wasn’t even funny. Well, it was funny. But the ballads also were sprinkled through and played beautifully. We only had two little lyric flubs and each performer got through it fine – always best when that happens at the stumble-through. What a wonderful cast we have – Susanne Blakeslee, Chelsea Emma Franko, Caitlynne Medrick, Jane Noseworthy and Robert Yacko, along with our mighty guest stars, JoAnne Worley and Nancy Dussault.
Prior to that, I’d arisen at nine and had a stream of visitors – the tape transfer guy, a local dealer, the helper, and Mike Matessino, who dropped off our next Kritzerland master. Once all that was done, I went and had a big boy bowl of matzo ball soup, which was wonderful – also had a bagel. Then I did some banking, picked up some packages and came home. I listened to the master, which is amazing-sounding. I think fans of the film and score will be blown away by this CD. Then it was time for the stumble-through.
After that, Adryan Russ and I went to Mo’s for dinner. I had a new dish – sautéed sole and veggies – really good and really low-cal. No bread, no butter, no dessert. Then we moseyed on over to some theater in the Bank of Bur to see a new musical. The music is by an actor/performer I’ve worked with several times – the other writer I don’t know at all. In the cast were the two actors who played Fred Bunson and Yoni in the Chance Theater production of The Brain From Planet X and the show’s director played Joyce Bunson. So that was fun. As to the show, it’s in the development phase and I’m sure they’ll be looking at it if they’re planning to move on from here. There is nothing more difficult than writing a musical. Everyone thinks it’s simple, but it ain’t. Just deciding how to musicalize things, what the tone of the music needs to be, fleshing out characters both in scene and song, making us care, having momentum, and never letting the song be a repeat of what we’ve just heard in the scene. Especially difficult is getting the opening of a musical right. It seems like it should be easy to figure out, but it’s the single most wrong thing I see when I see new musicals. It’s a real art to get that right. The opening of a musical has to do many things – introduce the story, set the world of the show, introduce us to characters, and most importantly, let us know what kind of an evening were in for.
I must say, in my own musicals, it’s the one thing I usually get right, right from the get-go, but I think that’s because I understand the importance of what it has to achieve. Here are some examples of perfect show opens, each for different reasons: It’s a Typical Day from Li’l Abner (one of the greatest of them all – in which you not only establish the world of the show, you meet every single character and understand what their deal is – it’s absolute perfection), Comedy Tonight from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Wilkommen from Cabaret, the entire opening sequence of A Chorus Line, Company – and then there are real oddball openings that work for other reasons and that don’t follow any rules at all – South Pacific being one of the most famous.
It was fun to see The Brain alums. Then I stopped at Gelson’s and got some low-fat, low-cal ice cream for a snack and then I came home and printed out my contextual commentary for tonight’s show, after making a few final little fixes. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a really good night’s beauty sleep.
Today, I shall relax, I may try a jog, and then it will be video and sound check and then show. We have quite the stellar crowd coming tonight and I will, of course, have a full report for you upon my return. The show is oversold and there’s a waiting list, so it will be fun.
Tomorrow, I relax and then see a show entitled Shirley Valentine at the Falcon Theater. Next week is very busy with meetings and meals and going and doing and writing and planning and whatnot.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, maybe jog, hopefully pick up some packages, do a video and sound check, and then the show. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite show openings from musicals and why do you think they work? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, and then I shall look forward to our show.