Well, dear readers, I’m just back from having gone bowling. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I, BK, am back from having gone bowling. No, not that kind of bowling, no, I am back from the Hollywood Bowl, where I have seen and heard an evening of Bernstein (Leonard, not Elmer) and Gershwin (George and occasionally Ira). Back in the 1970s, I went to the Bowl quite often – there was a lovely ticket broker in Hollywood who procured great box seats for me and at that point in time they weren’t terribly pricey as they are today. I was invited by the Staitmans – Steve, Karen and Sami. They picked me up and Steve drove us down there. The way they have people directing the Bowl traffic is shameful and totally stupid. Once we were off the freeway, we should have been turning into the bowl one minute later – instead it was twenty minutes later thanks to their ineptitude. Steve had a little parking trick he did and I was quite surprised to see it worked like a charm and we got a prime parking space instantly that was going to enable us to leave quickly. Color me amazed. They’ve had an incredible box location for a long time, which they don’t use much and sell to friends of theirs. For last night’s show they purchased another box a little ways back but still very nice. We had some Chinese chicken salad from Chin-Chin and I had a peanut butter cupcake that was amusing.
The featured performer was advertised as Megan Hilty, but for whatever reasons, she obviously canceled and was replaced by Dee Dee Bridgewater. I just looked at the press release for the cancelation and it says “scheduling conflicts” – sorry, don’t buy it or understand it. She was booked long in advance so how could there be scheduling conflicts? In any case, she wasn’t there and that was that. Sami was very disappointed. The concert began with the Overture to Candide – the orchestra was the LA Philharmonic. It was an okay reading of a fantastic piece of music. Then came the three-movement suite of dances from On the Town – nicely played for the most part. Then we had a surprise: Two cast members from the upcoming Broadway revival of On the Town came out and did I Can Cook, Too. If this is an indication of what that production’s tone and feel will be, count me out. We had an actress who riffed her way through the song and got not one laugh, and choreography that was really poor, I thought. They left the stage after the number, only to come back and do more of it, this time with the sailor guy in what looked like American flag Calvin Klein snug boxers – you know the kind, basically underpants in the shape of skin-clinging boxers. If that’s what’s going to be in the show, I think we know how true they’re going to be to the period – not at all. Both these actors were in whatever recent workshop was done, so it is the director and choreographer of the revival. I just have no desire to see it based on what I saw, and Sami really didn’t like it at ALL. That ended the Bernstein portion of the show. Next came the act ender, Rhapsody in Blue. The conductor, who was like a conductor Victor Borge (he was better at being funny than as a conductor, frankly), told us he’d be playing AND conducting for that piece.
Now, I love Rhapsody in Blue. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more ragged performance from soloist and orchestra. Of course, the Bowl audiences love everything and many stood after it, but I thought it was poor.
After intermission, we had four Gershwin songs sung by Dee Dee Bridgewater, in arrangements by the conductor. I didn’t like the arrangements, the keys seemed more suited to Megan Hilty than Miss Bridgewater, and she seemed befuddled much of the time, went up on the opening verse of the second song and finally was so confounded by it that she amusingly went into the audience and borrowed a glass of wine from someone. I do like Miss Bridgewater, and I’m sure she was great the previous night with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, but this was not a good match. The program ended with An American in Paris – brilliant Gershwin and as fresh today as the day it was written. Again, not what I’d call anything but serviceable. I have a lot of Gershwin recordings and my favorites always seem to be conducted by the great Eugene Ormandy on Columbia Records. There was no encore. Even though nothing was really stellar, it was a beautiful night out and being at the Bowl is a lovely way to spend an evening. Because of our great parking space we were out of there in no time flat.
Afterwards, they took me home and I went and had a cup of soup and one scoop each of chicken salad and egg salad, which was not too heavy.
Prior to all of that, I’d gotten eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails, did some work on the computer, had some telephonic calls and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I did manage to watch a motion picture entitled Sleeping Beauty – not the Disney nor any other version of the fairytale – this was an Australian film from two years ago, a weird, dreamlike film with a lot of nudity, a young heroine who just somnambulistically walks through the film kind of doing whatever is asked of her (want a line of cocaine? Sure, why not. Want to sleep with one or both of us? Sure, why not.), and then ends up working for a company catering to old, impotent men. The film wants to be very Stanley Kubrick and it does attain a certain mood, but in the end it just sort of sits there like so much fish and then is over.
Today, I shall hopefully pick up some packages, I have to make an appointment for after July 23, I’ll finish choosing songs, then I’ll relax, after which I’ll have a light supper, then attend the opening night of Always Patsy Cline at the El Portal Theatre. I’m not sure the show is my cup o’ tea, but Sally Struthers is in it and she’s definitely my cup o’ tea.
Tomorrow we have our pick-up session for And the World Goes Round – we have a bit to do in the first three hours with the trumpet, trombone and reed, but really only three or four things of any length, the rest being two bars here or four bars there. Once they’re done, our musical director will be redoing his vocals, then we have three songs where we’re replacing the synth strings with a better sounding patch, and then we have several piano fixes to do, and that will be that.
Sunday, my engineer and I will attempt to get all the fixes into the mixes or, conversely, all the mixes into the fixes, then the musical director, if there’s time, will come by so we can edit the things that are in pieces together. Our goal, which we may or may not achieve, is to finish – if we don’t, then we’ll work another evening during the week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, hopefully pick up some packages, finish choosing songs, relax, sup, and attend an opening night. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, who knows. Blu and Ray, maybe Max Ophuls’ film Caught. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland after a lovely evening of Bowling.