Well, dear readers, we’ve had our final dress. It kind of turned around a hideously hideous day, so that was nice, but it was not without its problems to solve. We had to stop right at the top of the show. I’d changed the opening music so everyone could get on stage and settled in their chair, after which the real music would begin. The problem is they’re coming out in total darkness and can’t even see the damn chairs. Everyone got out there okay but one, who, I think, took a slightly different path and crashed into a flat. She hurt her nose and lip but was a trouper and we just began again. But I’m just going to keep the stage lights dim instead of completely black so they don’t have these problems. The audience will be able to see them enter but it’s better that than having continued problems. There’s really no other solution. Once we were on the way, the whole first third of the show played beautifully, I must say. I’d given several very specific notes for comic things, and the actors involved took them and did them wonderfully. Then we had a couple of sequences where the energy flagged a bit and lines were fumfered, but then it picked back up again at the end of the act. All of our ladies made big strides last night and they’re just a wonderful group. The second act went mostly very well – a few staging things were not as sharp as they’ve been, but again the pace of the entire show really was great. The sound is working better now, too, and we added a wireless mic to the performance number that ends the show – it wasn’t at the level we set so we have to troubleshoot that with our sound guy. Almost all the light cues happened correctly. Aside from the opening light cue, I’m changing one other one drastically before tonight’s preview. So, I was very pleased.
Prior to that, the day had been pretty ratty. I awoke to an e-mail that so irritated me I was seething, having to do with the endless drama surrounding the recent cast album recording I produced. Doing this album was basically a nightmare from the day I said okay to the looooong time it took to finish it, thanks to bad decisions from folks who simply would not listen to my warnings. Dealing with this has been truly disgusting every step of the way, and it was just more horse manure – thankfully I have someone very good dealing with it so it doesn’t consume me. We’re trying to formulate a solution that will free me of this malarkey. We shall see.
As if that wasn’t irritating enough, my stage manager texted me to tell me she had a work emergency and couldn’t get to us until after eight o’clock, rather than the six o’clock call we had. That was exacerbated by the sound guy calling to tell us he had the flu and couldn’t come in, and that I’d have to go pick up the wireless mic we were buying for the show’s final number. I was obviously not happy about any of it. I went and had a Cobb salad and picked up the check for the Robby Awards event. Then I had to go pick up the mic, after which I picked up a couple of packages. Then I came home, did some stuff on the computer and then headed over to the theater.
Our mighty two-person band was there, so I gave a couple of suggestions, including the music change to the beginning. Then thankfully our sound guy did end up coming down, helped fix the piano monitor situation, and set up the wireless mic for us. The cast arrived at six and I did two small things with them and blocked the curtain call. Then they ran music with our MD until it was half hour. Thankfully our stage manager got there around seven-forty. We pushed the start of the dress to eight-thirty. The show, like clockwork, ran just under two hours with intermission. We still have a couple of costume issues to work out and we’ll be all set.
Today, I must be up early to attend a 10:15 dress rehearsal of Little Shop of Horrors at some school – I know the young girl who’s playing Audrey and her mom really wants me to see it and since their performances all conflict with Inside Out, this was the only time for me to go. After that, I’ll eat a little something light, then do stuff I need to do. I’ll get to the theater at five-thirty to work the two light cues that need adjusting, then we’ll scope out the wireless mic problem. At six, our ladies will arrive and we have about five things to run before half-hour. Then we play our first preview. I hope we have some kind of decent house – we’ve offered freebies so hopefully some folks will take advantage.
Tomorrow, I have stuff during the day, then we’ll convene at the theater at six to clean up anything that needs cleaning, and then we have our second preview. Saturday, I am relaxing all day right up until I leave for the theater and our opening night performance. Sunday is our first matinee and I’ll be there to give support to our understudy who’s going on.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, see a dress rehearsal, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, then attend our first of two previews. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite off-Broadway shows, both musicals and plays? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be done with the Mercury in retrograde obnoxious day and a nice final dress.