Well, dear readers, I don’t think it’s much of a secret that music-learning rehearsals are my least favorite part of putting on a musical. I really would rather not be there, but I have to be to answer any and all questions that might arise. Musical directors are usually patient people – patience is not something I’ve ever really had, but thankfully our MD, Wayne Moore, has plenty of patience. And so, yesterday was our first music-learning rehearsal for Li’l Abner. We are dealing with a lot of students who haven’t really done a musical before, but boy are they willing and eager. On the parts where they all sing together, they have strength in numbers and even at his incredibly early stage it’s fun to hear them. In smaller groups the security isn’t there but will be. As long as they record and listen to their parts they’ll be terrific. One thing that’s already abundantly clear is how great our Abner, Daisy Mae and Marryin’ Sam are going to be. And I’m having fun “creating” Sami’s track for the show and she’ll be fun. I think we got through most of the group stuff, save for the Matrimonial Stomp. And we also got through Put ‘Em Back, Namely You, Druthers and Past My Prime. We were there for four hours and for all four of those hours I just marveled at what a great, tuneful Broadway score sounds like. There’s just nothing like it. Mercer’s lyrics are so brilliant in this and Gene De Paul’s tunes are toe-tappers and so melodic that you simply cannot get them out of your head. Someone who played Pappy Yokum at Reprise posted on one of our threads on Facebook that he hoped we were doing a little updating, since so many of the jokes in that production fell completely flat. I responded that it was I who suggested the show to Reprise but they did it without me – had they done it with me, none of the jokes would have fallen flat because I knew and know how to fix that problem. I wonder when people see this how many will instantly try to rip off what we’ve done. We shall see.
Prior to that, I had a nice eight hours of blessed sleep, after which I got up, answered e-mails and fielded some things that needed fielding, had a few telephonic conversations, and prepared the blurb and got everything ready for our new release announcement, which will be on Thursday morning. Then I picked up some packages, after which I moseyed on over to LACC.
After rehearsal, a few of us went to the House of Pies. I had a short stack and eggs benedict, as did our Abner. Others had other things. We hung out there for about ninety minutes, then I came home.
Once home, I had to answer another huge volley of e-mails from various and sundried people, and then it was too late to watch anything, so I just did stuff on the computer.
Today, I shall be up by nine probably, and then I have to prep the new release announcement’s eBlast and do some errands and whatnot. I’ll get to LACC a bit early to try and figure out a date for a special event I’m doing for the Academy – An Evening with Richard M. Sherman, moderated by my very own self. I’ll have lots of fun questions for him, he’ll play and sing, and we’ll do our new song. It will be open to anyone who wants to see it. We’re just trying to decide whether it will be in the big theater or our black box space. Then we’ll have our second music-learning rehearsal. I may have food before that, so I can come right home after the rehearsal.
Tomorrow we begin staging – I think we have six scenes to do and hopefully we’ll get through them all. I do think we’ll sup after rehearsal. Friday Kay Cole joins us and we have three big numbers to stage, so that will be a fun and long day for everyone. We’ll also have a work session with Sandy and Lanny on Friday in the morning. Not sure what the weekend holds, but I’m hoping I can relax.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, prep our release eBlast, do errands and whatnot, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, set a date, and then rehearse. 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, where I shall undoubtedly fall asleep humming the tunes of Li’l Abner.