Well, dear readers, after this whirlwind creating of Pure Imagination, I thought you might like to see some actual photographs from our production, just to give you a hint as to what it looks like and what we’re up to. First, here’s our merry troupe doing the second number of the show, which was the first number I staged and the first that I had a very specific concept for. It’s A Wonderful Day Like Today, and left to right we have Robert Jacobs, Dana Dewes, Jane Noseworthy, Shaun Baker and Sami Staitman.
Next up, we have two photos of Sami doing her first solo number – it’s a nice surprise popping out of one of the risers and always gets a nice reaction.
Here we have our group doing a number people really enjoy, but I’m not telling what it is because next thing you know someone else will be doing it. Suffice it to say that Robert Jacobs is conducting Lloyd Cooper at the piano and our merry troupe.
Here’s the number that comes at the exact halfway point of the show – It’s a Musical World from The Good Old Bad Old Days, and yes, our merry troupe makes merry music.
And here’s a few shots from a number you can probably guess – hint, look at what Robert Jacobs is holding.
Here’s Sami doing her beautiful ballad, Once Upon a Bedtime, which is coupled with This Dream.
Here’s Jane doing one of her beautiful ballads.
Here’s Shaun Baker about to tap up a storm. This number routinely stops the show. He’s pretty amazing.
Here’s Dana Dewes on the piano doing a sultry number and the number would probably surprise you.
And here’s Sami and Jane doing their really fun Where Would You Be Without Me number.
So, that’s a little look at our show. Yesterday, I woke up around eight, turned on the heat, and didn’t get out of bed until ten, when it was a bit warmer in the home environment. It’s been really cold in LA these last few days – the temperature last night was 42 and I kept involuntarily saying, “Brrrrr.” Once up, I answered e-mails, printed out a few orders, and then went and had a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich with no fries or onion rings. After that, I picked up one package then came home. I spent the next few hours working on the benefit, choosing some more songs and just getting organized. At some point I wasn’t aware of, some nice soul left me a birthday present outside my front door – homemade latkes. I ate them later in the evening (all of them) and boy were they yummilicious. After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Murder on the Orient Express, Sidney Lumet’s quite marvelous film of Agatha Christie’s quite marvelous book, featuring a quite marvelous cast including Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael York, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Dennis Quilley, Jean-Pierre Cassell, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Colin Blakely, Rachel Roberts, Wendy Hiller – a hell of a cast. The film is very stylish and wonderfully acted. There was a US DVD from Paramount that for a DVD looked quite good and more importantly quite accurate. Then there was a four-disc Agatha Christie box set from overseas on DVD, and that transfer from Studio Canal had color that wasn’t quite accurate. This new four disc set is from Spain (and soon to come out in France) and it’s Studio Canal, but in the case of Orient Express, they’ve either done a new transfer or really cleaned up the DVD transfer, which had lots of little dirt specks that are now completely gone. It’s a very problematic film for home video, as cameraman Geoffrey Unsworth shot with really heavy diffusion, but the detail is okay, contrast seems a bit light, but I’m afraid the color is still a little too brown and off. After I finished, I checked out the Paramount DVD again, and that color is just perfect – there are a couple of early sequences where the color timing is really off in the Blu-ray and nothing like the Paramount DVD, which was, of course, off a properly timed element of the US release prints. Still, it’s nice to have this on Blu-ray and I’m looking forward to sampling the other three Christie films, Death on the Nile, The Mirror Crack’d, and Evil Under the Sun.
After that, I watched a screener that had arrived yesterday, entitled Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest film from the Coen Brothers. I run hot and cold on the Coen Brothers – I quite like Raising Arizona, and I’ve enjoyed a handful of their other films. This one, which has the Greenwich Village folk music scene in 1961 as a backdrop, I thought was fine. It held my attention, the acting is really good from everyone, especially the lead fellow, whose name I don’t recall. John Goodman is his usual weird self, F. Murray Abraham has a nice scene, and it moves along quickly and you can actually understand and hear all the actors. Carey Mulligan has a nice part and she’s amusing. The production design and period detail is very well done.
After that, I just did some work on the computer, listened to the new CD of the original soundtrack to Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the first release of the actual score tracks, which are just so beautiful.
Today, I shall do more benefit stuff, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, including a couple that are a little too overdue for my taste, and then I’ll mosey on over to the theater to have our put-in rehearsal, which I think will just be about two hours – my goal is to be out of there and on my way home by nine. We’re not running the show, as one of our actors is out of town, so we’ll just do the stuff our cover is in – her solos, her duet and trio, and her group stuff. It really shouldn’t take all that long – I think she’s very prepared and she taped all her stuff on her iPhone and has worked with Lloyd Cooper, so all should hopefully be well and well should hopefully be all, not necessarily in that order.
Tomorrow is more benefit stuff, Thursday we resume performances, Friday we had to cancel as Lloyd couldn’t find a sub – we’ve known from the beginning he’d be out that night, and in all of LA there is not one pianist who’s available on that night, which I find astonishing. Then we resume on Saturday.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Hustle, for today is the birthday of our very own Mr. Bollywood, MBarnum. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own Mr. Bollywood, MBarnum. On the count of three: One, two three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN MR. BOLLYWOOD, MBARNUM!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do benefit stuff, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, have a put-in rehearsal, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Perkins? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall heat up the home environment so I don’t have to say “brrrrr.”