Well, dear readers, first things first: That queasy feeling is finally gone. I know you were all waiting on pins and needles as well as needles and pins. It finally went away around four in the afternoon yesterday. Second things second: We had our sitzprobe and it was grand fun for the cast to hear the orchestrations and the band and I think everyone was really jazzed by it. The fiddle player has his work cut out for him, but he’d already practiced by himself and had several of the harder sections pretty much aced. We are going to have to be very careful in terms of their dynamics – the bass player had his amp way too high, so we turned that down after the first number but it was still too hot and it will go further down. Ed, our drummer, was also playing full out and that wasn’t going to work, so I talked to him after the first number and he cut back and it was better, but still has to come back more and we’ll put some blankets down for baffling. Where they are in the room is very “live.” Thankfully, we got them all fitted where they needed to be. There’s only one time in the show where the bass actually has to move to a different place and that’s the Druthers song, due to how I have it staged on the platform above the band. An easy move and he’s already prepared for it. We got through the entire score in about eighty minutes – running most things once, but a few things a couple of times for tempo fixes. After hearing the overture, we’re going to cut about ten measures of the opening – it just takes too long to get where it needs to get – with a full orchestra that’s fine, with this group you really just want a quick open and then into the first song (our overture is comprised of only three songs).
After we finished, since we still had some time with the band, I had everyone run the ballet so they could get used to it with the band, and it went perfectly. Then we did the same for the opening number and that was fine, too. The band left, and Kay and I began doing clean up work. We ran a few of the big numbers, then I ran some scenes. I tried one little cut and I kind of liked it, but missed part of it so I redirected it a little and fixed the way it was being played and it’s better now. It wasn’t a long cut anyway – just about a minute.
After rehearsal, a few of us went to the California Pizza Kitchen. I was famished by that time so I took a chance and had a meal – small Caesar salad and cedar plank salmon. It was very good and I really needed it. Then I came home and buckled down, Winsocki and got a few of the singers their music, and almost finished assigning the songs. We’re still without a guest star and frankly the search for that month in and month out is beginning to bore me so unless someone magically turns up, we’ll do without.
Prior to that, I’d gotten a little over ten hours of glorious sleep. Then the helper and I did a Costco run – I got more Claritin D, some Skinny Cow low-cal candies and a few other things, but mostly waters. And we got approval on one of our two new titles. If I get the other title approved, we’ll announce both on Monday morning.
Today, before I leave I will finish assigning songs, I will get the remaining singers their music and if I have time I’ll go to the mail place – it’s been six days since I’ve been there. At two, we have a paper tech – that will probably take a couple of hours. Then at five we have a full-out performance level run-through. Our lighting guy will do his “light over” – all that means is he’ll be running lights on his own, just testing things out. We’ll also be futzing with our five mics and see how that’s going to work. There definitely does have to be sound reinforcement when the band is playing and the songs are solos and duets. Also, from two to four, the cast is going to run their quick changes, of which there are many.
Tomorrow, we begin at nine with a cue-to-cue – I’m really hoping this goes smoothly, and I have every confidence in our stage manager to have that happen. IF we finish that in four or five hours, then we’ll take a thirty-minute break and do another run-through. I would love that to happen, as we need it. Saturday is a dress rehearsal – not sure how long we’re going or what that will entail, but I hope we have at least one shot of running the entire show without stops. Sunday is a day of rest, save for seeing Terri White at The Federal at seven. Monday is our dress rehearsal with band, Tuesday our preview, and then we open.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, assign songs and get singers music, I must do a paper tech, I must have a run-through and I must find a moment to eat something. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite show orchestrations? And which shows that have had new orchestrations done for subsequent performances do you think have bested the originals? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, having experienced yet another magical stizprobe.