Well, dear readers, we were completely sold out for last night’s performance and now we’re completely sold out for both of today’s shows. I assume that a small part of that is due to the rave reviews and some to word of mouth. The show went very well, although for me it wasn’t quite as sharp as the previous night. Still we had us an extremely boisterous and fun audience who gave the show huge and I mean huge laughs, one of which we get every night and which actually shakes the room. Obviously the gag is in the script, but I’ll take a wee bit of credit for the way I staged it. Looking around during the show, people just sit there with wall-to-wall smiles on their faces. Abner is one of the great feel-good shows, but with moments of wonderful sweetness. Our audience also had a bunch of Abner fans because almost everyone who has a solo in Typical Day got entrance applause, which was great fun. Both Jubilation T. Cornpone and The Country’s in the Very Best of Hands continue to stop the show, as does Put ‘Em Back. I just could not be more proud of my work, Kay Cole’s work, the work of our mighty cast of players, our band, our design team of sets, lighting and costumes, our sound person, our stage manager, our crew and the house staff and box-office person. It is the production I’ve dreamed about for way too many years and I’m glad, in a way, that the two groups to whom I suggested doing the show, Musical Theatre Guild and Reprise, both went ahead and did it but without me. Because to do the show in a twenty-nine hour reading deal would not have allowed me to do what I’ve done here, and I’m not sure I could have quite pulled this off even with the longer Reprise schedule. And since numerous people who attended both those productions told me that neither of them was very funny, well, I’m just glad to show how much life there is left in this show if you’re clever and you understand its essence – and the jokes, of course. Here is our mighty cast and all but one of our band.
Prior to seeing the Friday night performance, I’d gotten a pretty good night’s sleep, then had a really good and productive work session for the Kritzerland show. Then I briefly joined Kay Cole and producer Ed Gaynes at a nearby coffee shop, after which I did some banking and ate a meatless Cobb salad and a bagel. Then I came home and buckled down, Winsocki and finished quite a bit of the Kritzerland commentary – only another three songs to write about and that will be that and I can move on to writing more Richard Sherman questions. And then I moseyed on over to LACC at around 6:45. We did have some really fun folks in our audience, including several alums, director Rick Sparks, my pal David Wechter, a nice lady who told me she was a huge fan of my work, which I really appreciated, Juliana Hansen and her dad, my pals Sara Ballantine (she was in Stages) and John Kirby (he was in The First Nudie Musical), John Massey’s wife and two boys, Barry Pearl’s ever-lovin’ Cindy Dellinger and Barry’s best friend Kenny Morse, and many others.
After the show, a few of us moseyed on over to Genghis Cohen for some food. When this show is over tomorrow night, I am on a serious diet again – must lose this ten to fifteen pounds I’ve put back on due to the writing of Red Gold and going out to eat so much during rehearsals and the show.
Today, I’ll finish the commentary, then be on my way to LACC around 12:15, as I want to run a couple of things prior to the two o’clock matinee. Then we have our matinee, then some of us will go to a coffee shop between shows, although I won’t eat much, and then we have our final performance. It’s a real shame that it never occurred to, well, the fella in charge, that we’d be a hit like this. We should have had several more performances or they should ask us to come back in the summer to play for three or four weeks. But, that won’t be happening, I’m sure, and so we’re searching for somewhere to move for a month in August. If there’s a theatre available where we’d fit, then I’d do a little Kickstarter campaign to fund the move. I’m told by Sami and her mom that they’re taking me somewhere special after the final performance, so that will be fun whatever and wherever it is. The students are all going to some bowling alley thing downtown, but that’s just not for me, I’m afraid.
Tomorrow, I intend to sleep as late as possible, then I’ll write questions for the Richard Sherman event, but mostly I’ll be relaxing. Monday is our first Kritzerland rehearsal, then I’m probably going to meet the president of the LACC Foundation to discuss a few things. The rest of the week is meetings and meals, our second Kritzerland rehearsal, the Richard Sherman event on Friday, our stumble-through on Saturday and sound check and show on Sunday.
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 Rag Offen’ the Bush, for today is the birthday of our very own dear reader Jeanne. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own dear reader Jeanne. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN DEAR READER JEANNE!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, attend the matinee and final evening performance of Li’l Abner, which ends THIS part of its journey this evening, but which will hopefully have a long and glorious life hereafter. Today’s topic of discussion: What are you currently reading? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, still basking in the glow of our Friday night show.