Well, dear readers, the completely wacky and crazy week continues. Every day is an adventure and yesterday was no exception. I did get nine hours of sleep and that was a very good thing. Once up, there were a lot of e-mails flying back and forth and also forth and back, some impassioned telephonic calls and at the end of all that, we had the very wonderful news that Petula Clark is joining the cast of the ALS benefit. It took four solid weeks of nudging and keeping at it, and at the end of last week we all thought it was kaput, but then things changed at the last minute. But what also changed at the last minute were the prices of flights – that’s what we’ve been dealing with because it was double the cost it would have been the week before. But one of our wonderful producers was able to secure a comped room in a good hotel and that made everything doable. I am beyond thrilled – I haven’t seen Petula since she was here doing Sunset Blvd. and I adore her so this will really be fun.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, we also got word on the other performer I’d had up my sleeve – Melissa Manchester – and she, too, came on board. What a one-two punch that was. So, our little show just entered a whole new universe. This is the fiftieth anniversary of Petula’s Downtown, which she’ll be singing. And I love Melissa Manchester and she’s agreed to do my favorite of her songs, Through the Eyes of Love (Theme from Ice Castles). So, I spent time figuring out where all these new songs were going, I moved some stuff around and then locked the show order, as the program is going to print.
Then I went and had a quick lunch – a patty melt with no fries or onion rings. Then I came back home and we had a quick rehearsal with a singer named Bethany Joy Lenz, who, like Timothy Omundson, turns out to live only a few blocks away. She’s a lovely person and she’s singing On the Steps of the Palace, which she does very well. Once that was done, it was back to more e-mail volleys, a long conversation with Apple Care about my iPhone, which wasn’t connecting to the Internet – apparently the problem was on their end and had something to do with the recent update, but even as I was on the phone with them, it finally did connect, so they’ve resolved that problem. Then I had to once again reset my Cloud password and then everything was working properly again. I also approved all the designs for the ephemera that I get with the new book – business cards, post cards, posters for signings and bookmarks. After all that, I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled That Man from Rio. I wrote about it last year when I got the new restoration of a French Blu-ray that didn’t have subtitles. The new restoration, I felt, was really great but had some minor reservations about the color. The new US Blu-ray, which comes with another de Broca film called Up to His Ears (aka Chinese Adventures in China), uses the same exact transfer of the French disc and therefore I have the same minor color problems. Most of the colors are vivid and very much like Eastmancolor of that period. But the blue skies are never true blue, which they should be. They are more aqua (some wags will, I’m sure, cry TEAL) than blue and it’s not accurate and it’s completely unnecessary. But the film is so great and this is highly recommended by the likes of me. I do wish they could have included the English dub of the film – normally I don’t like them, but this one had a quaint charm of its own and Belmondo was dubbed by none other than Hal Linden.
After that, I watched the first of eight episodes of a Starz/BBC mini-series called The Missing. It’s very much in the style of the Danish/Swedish shows like The Killing and The Bridge in terms of its look and feel, but the story is compelling (a young boy disappears or is taken and the father will not give up the search, even eight years later). I’m looking forward to more episodes today.
After that, I went and had a cup of soup and a bagel with a friend.
Today, I have ALS stuff to do, hopefully some packages to pick up, and then a meal followed by a long Sami work session where we’re going to go through the entire show start to finish. Also, keep sending those excellent vibes and xylophones for some very needed miracles around these here parts.
Tomorrow we have one ALS rehearsal, and I may or may not go to the Pasadena Playhouse for the load-in of our stuff. I may do that on Saturday instead, just to make sure the band risers are where I need them. I’m kind of hoping that I can go sup with Petula and her musical director on Sunday night – that would really be fun. Then Monday is the long and insane day – I arrive at the Playhouse at eleven and we have to do all the tech stuff before the arrival of the band at one. Then we have to run about eighteen songs in three hours – daunting but doable certainly. Then there are projections, videos, speeches, and we have to map all of that out. And I have to give everyone their entrances and exits. And then, we fly by the seat of our pants and hope our show is the best it can be.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do ALS stuff, hopefully pick up packages, eat, have a work session, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: When you were a teen, what foreign movies did you love – ones you actually saw when they were released. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, so thrilled that wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles resulted in Petula Clark and Melissa Manchester.