Well, dear readers, it is the fourth of July and that’s all there is to it. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad and, conversely, I’m glad and I said it. I do believe there shall be fireworks all over this nation of ours, there will be partays and barbecued wieners and baked beans and corn on the cob as well as cob on the corn, there will be cakes and pies and parades and all because it is the fourth of July, Independence Day, which is also the title of a song from The Brain from Planet X.
Yesterday, which was not the fourth of July, was a very nice little day any way you look at it and I looked at it askance, just because I could. I got a wonderful nine hours of blessed sleep, got up, answered e-mails, did some work on the computer, and then had a brief visit. After said brief visit, I went and had some luncheon – specifically a meatless Cobb salad with 1000-Island dressing and a bagel with cream cheese. It was all good. Then I picked up some packages, about three days’ worth and there were a few of them, including something I did not order from Amazon, so I have to send that back. Then I did some banking, then it was time for rehearsal to begin. Just prior to that happening I noticed that some of the neighborhood kids were out front on my corner selling lemonade and cake pops. I went out and bought seven cake pops for our singers, and Adryan Russ bought a few lemonades for our singers.
The rehearsal was most excellent. Everyone’s pretty up on their lyrics but still need to get them solid, but what a fun and tuneful show it’s going to be. I do love working with all our singers, and we keep asking back the same folks because a) they’re great, b) they are a breeze to work with, with absolutely no attitude, and c) they are fun. They learn their stuff, they come in prepared and they do an amazing job. This cast is filled with such performers – Brennley Brown, who is just a brilliant young girl, Kim Huber, who is not only a wonderful singer and performer, but a consummate actress, Maddy Claire Parks, who was so wonderful as our Daisy Mae, and who is just such a sweet and genuine person with a golden, pure soprano, Jenna Lea Rosen, who was always great but who, over the past two years, has grown even better – she could always belt the bananas out of any song, but my great joy was giving her some material that she could be softer on and watching the magic that ensued – Sami Staitman, whose performances have grown so much that it’s been astonishing to watch – she was also great in Li’l Abner and the Newley revue, but it’s in the Kritzerland shows where it’s really been evident recently – Robert Yacko, who has become my go-to guy for our shows – effortless, great voice, great actor and just easy as pie to work with – and I don’t really need to say anything about Jason Graae, who is simply one of the best performers I’ve ever worked with, or Rita McKenzie, who is just a powerhouse singer and comic actress. So, you can only imagine how much fun it is to sit and listen. I give only a handful of notes to our performers, but they know just how to take them and make them their own, just as every singer I ever worked with in the studio did and does.
After rehearsal, the Staitman people and I went over to Stanley’s. I didn’t really want to eat anything, but I ended up with a steamed artichoke and a small Caesar salad. Then I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched another “thriller,” this one entitled Along Came a Spider, starring Morgan Freeman. I’d seen the movie that preceded this, Kiss the Girls, and hated every minute of it, mostly due to the completely inept and irritating direction and a lousy script. People swear by the James Patterson “Alex Cross” books, so one can only assume that the people adapting them are simply not up to the task. Along Came a Spider starts out with what we’ll come to know as a completely unnecessary prologue. It doesn’t pay off, there’s nothing remotely interesting about it and it gets the film off on the wrong foot. In other words, typical Screenwriting 101 stuff. Then the film proper starts and we get a kidnapping plot that becomes old instantly. After that, it meanders along until we learn what’s really happening. But the writing is so poor and the plotting so by the numbers, that there’s nothing to even enjoy along the way. There’s one sequence that not only manages to completely rip off the Dirty Harry sequence where Harry is forced to run from place to place in a certain amount of time, but then follows that with a complete rip off of the train ride ransom toss from Kurosawa’s High and Low. All in all, almost a complete waste of time.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep, and then I’ll just relax and be independent on Independence Day. At four, I’ll mosey on over to neighbor Tony Slide and Bob Gitt’s fourth of July partay – that’s always a lively and fun affair with always interesting guests, and I will, of course, have a full report for you.
Tomorrow we have our stumble-through, and then I’m sure we’ll go eat something fun, and then Sunday is sound check and show. And then we dive right into the August show, which is a follow up to the Dorothy Fields show, this time highlighting the work of other excellent female lyricists, most especially Carolyn Leigh, but also including Lynn Ahrens, Carol Hall, Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer (can’t remember which actually was the lyricist), and a few others.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, then attend a fourth of July partay. 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 – I have no idea. Your turn. Also, here’s another topic: Who are your favorite female lyricists for the Broadway theater and for film. Since we’ve done Comden and Green, and since Comden always wrote with Green, we’re not including her in this show. And list your favorite songs by your choices. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall be a human fireworks – I will light up the sky and sparkle and make unseemly loud noises.