Well, dear readers, once again it is late and once again I must write these here notes in a hurry. In the stranger than fiction category, who knew that when I wrote yesterday’s notes and made the key them pie that it was actually National Pie Day. I mean, that is just too too, isn’t it? That is just beyond prescient, isn’t it? Well, in any case, I hope everyone had a nice National Pie Day. I even attempted to have pie after our show at the Coral Café, where they have a beautiful selection. That, however, was not possible because people came in all day and ate up all the pie, what with it being National Pie Day and all.
Yesterday was a very long day. I got about seven hours of sleep during which I had one dream that was quite lovable. Once up, I did some work on the computer, did some work at the piano, did some work on the computer and did some work at the piano, not necessarily in that order. Then it was time to mosey on over to the theater to have a put-in rehearsal for our two understudies.
We began by running an act two group number for the choreography, then we went back to the top of the show and began running it, stopping to clean up stuff for our new ladies and skipping numbers they’re not involved in. But we walked all the traffic patterns for costume changes and the two times when the chairs have to be off stage. We got through all of act one, but only about ten minutes of act two. When I saw we were running out of time, I just made sure we did traffic and all the group numbers.
Then a bunch of us went to eat. I had eggs benedict. Then we came back to the theater for our evening performance. We had about sixty people there, which is a decent-sized house. Many folks I knew, including Larry Rabin, Michael Kerker, M’Lisa MacLaren, and little Hadley Miller and her mom and dad, and others. The show was really good – pacing was excellent, comedy was sharp and the musical staging was also sharp. Lots of laughs, great applause, and it really was one of our best shows.
After, a few of us went back to the Coral Café for pie, but as previously stated there was no pie to be had. So, we had some nachos for the table and then I had a hot fudge sundae. It was fun.
Then I came home, answered e-mails, printed out two charts for two of the Sami songs so I can proof them, and that was my day and that was my night.
Today, I shall be at the theater at 12:30 so our two gals can run their solo numbers. I’ve already given both of them notes regarding energy and pace and how their characters have to function for the show to work. But they’ve both seen the show multiple times, so they really get that. I never ask understudies to copy performances like they do on Broadway – that just doesn’t interest me at all. The staging is tricky because they always watch it from the front but it’s totally different when you’re actually doing it FACING the audience. Then we have our matinee at two, in which only one of the understudies is on. Then we take a break, then we do our evening show with both understudies in. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do, but then we’re back to our full company until the closing matinee, where we’ll have one understudy on due to a new conflict we found out about yesterday.
Next week, I really have to get everyone their music and stuff – I’m quite behind on that, but we’re fully cast now and I just have to find the two hours to finish choosing the songs. We have three Sandy rehearsals this week, ALS stuff to do, I have to finish liner notes and packaging for a title we’ll announce on Wednesday, and then we have our final weekend of performances.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, run solo numbers, have a matinee, eat, have an evening performance and then come home and write. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall watch two performances with understudies.