Well, dear readers, we had our second choreography day with Kay Cole and it was, I’m sure, not a walk in the park for her, but for me, just sitting there like so much fish, it was really fun to watch the kids struggle, get stuff, do stuff, struggle, get better until they finally were able to get through what she’d given them. No, they’re not professional dancers (well, one or two of them may have had a lot of dance experience) but as long as they give it their all, I’m as happy as a clam (malc, spelled backwards). Kay spent three of our four hours on Rag Offen the Bush – Kay made it very energetic and designed it around couples – completely different to what Michael Kidd did. The Mammy and Pappy solo section is really a hoot and Pappy even flips Mammy at one point. Then we reviewed Jubilation T. Cornpone – they remembered most but not all of it, so we cleaned that up and it’s a really great number. Then I showed Kay my restaging of the first part of the opening number and she liked it and “got” what I wanted the number to do – so on Friday we’ll continue to finesse the second half of it. Our next choreography day IS Friday, our big Sadie Hawkins’ Day ballet, plus reviewing everything, finishing the opening number, doing The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands, the finale, and Put ‘Em Back – that will be almost all the numbers, then it’s just the rest of the endless book scenes. We have some very busy rehearsals ahead and we had to move the designer run up by one day because next week’s insanity is doubled because of the two weekday Kritzerland rehearsals.
After the rehearsal, a few of us went to Genghis Cohen, where I must say we gorged ourselves on orange chicken (two orders decimated by six people), two orders of Kung Pao chicken (also decimated – we do have some hungry students, a hungry Marryin’ Sam and a hungry director), green beans, Crackerjack shrimp and some white rice, all amazingly amazing, as always. Then I came home, listened to the final master for one of our next two projects, and tried to relax a little.
Prior to all that, I’d had a little less than eight hours of sleep, after which I got up, did my morning ablutions, and then it was time for the Sandy and Lanny work session. We played through all fifteen songs – I think this is going to be a really nice album – her voice just suits my songs really well. She and Lanny had just a few musical ideas to run by me, and I was fine with most and a couple we adjusted so we’d all be happy. Sandy asked me to consider rewriting two little things in one of the songs – I see her point – the song was written for a male and these two little things are just not sitting well with her, so we talked about the intention of the song and how universal it really is, but I said I’d look at those two moments and see if I could find an alternate line or two that I was comfortable with. I cannot wait to hear Lanny’s orchestrations – his sensitivity to my music on Sandy’s first two albums was extraordinary, as I’m sure it will be here. The earliest song on the CD I wrote when I was barely sixteen – dear reader Jane would probably remember it. And the latest song is, of course, Two Roads, the song I wrote with Richard Sherman. We have one song from Nudie Musical, we have one song from The Brain from Planet X, one song from my musical of The Comedy of Errors, one song from my very first musical, Start at the Top, one song from my unproduced musical, Pals, one song from Stages, one song from Together Again, and an assortment of others.
That lasted quite a while and when we finished I had to leave immediately for our Abner rehearsal.
Today, I’ll have the morning to myself – I’ll try to do a jog, I’ll do some banking, I’ll finish the commentary, I’ll post the Kritzerland event page (we’re very late this month), then I’ll mosey on over to LACC for our Abner rehearsal. We have a lot to do and we’re not in our theater, so we’re in a big room with a grand piano in the girls’ gym. I’m sure I’ll eat something fun after.
Tomorrow is another busy rehearsal and I still have another work session with Shelly, either then or on Friday. Friday is our longest rehearsal day yet, from ten to five, but we have a ton of stuff to do and I’m hoping it will be our big catch up day. The weekend is pretty clear, I think, and then comes our crazy Abner/Kritzerland week. Once I survive THAT, then it’s just Abner.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to do a jog, do some banking, hopefully pick up some packages, finish the commentary, rehearse and eat. 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 hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall hopefully have another day in which I am happy as a malc.