Well, dear readers, Kritzerland at Sterling’s 58 went swimmingly – I’m not sure how the audience felt, although they seemed to really like it a lot, but for me it was everything Kritzerland is about and what makes us completely unique, despite the endless attempts to copy what we do. The well known songs went over really well, but it was the lesser known stuff and the anecdotes about that material that I think was so much fun. I had a really good time with this show. There were lots of laughs, and I had some rather juicy bits of tid to share, some of which people couldn’t really believe – for example, I read a quote about the On the Waterfront score from Films in Review at the time of its release. I asked if anyone knew who the critic was and then I told them the review was signed “Steve Sondheim” because Sondheim was a regular reviewer for the magazine for a year or so (at the same time he was selling scripts to the TV series, Topper). But in the end, it’s always the casts who make these evenings shine. I’m always very proud of the show structure, song choices and the put-togethers, but my goodness we have some of the best people and it’s such a pleasure to just sit there and listen to those voices do amazing material, wacky material, and downright outré material, and last night we had plenty of all of that.
We only had one reviewer with us last night, so I’ll just write my own little biased review. Our very own Robert Yacko was on fire last night – he opened the show with the lively Step to the Rear, then did a superb job with a put-together I wasn’t sure would work but that ended up working perfectly – Lonely Town and Something’s Coming. And Captain Hook’s Soliloquy brought down the house. After the stumble-through I felt we needed some comic business during the long piano stuff, and I gave Robert some stuff to do, and he did it brilliantly and embellished on it. Travis Leland, who had only done one other Kritzerland show, one of our April Fool’s show in which he was one of four ensemble people doing the What Ifs, did really well for his first time out with us as a soloist. He was personable and charming on Lucky to Be Me, and did a great job with True Grit/ Walk on the Wild Side, and then did a lovely Maria. Tory Stolper, also new to us, was just great and she can come back anytime. She was sweet and defiant on Walk Away from How Now, Dow Jones, actually managed to make the odd put-together of Hot Stuff and On the Waterfront work, and then she soared on Beyond My Wildest Dreams from Merlin, and at times sounded uncannily like the song’s original singer, our beloved Michelle Nicastro, and trust me that is a HUGE compliment. Sami Staitman did a great job on Gee, Officer Krupke playing all of the Jets. It was an almost impossible task for her, since I wouldn’t even let her look at the song until we finished our workshop last Sunday. So, she began learning it last Monday and it’s so damn wordy with so many changes of character. She fumfered a tiny bit with one lyric, but she was a pro and handled it beautifully and got a huge hand. At the bows I gave her a shout out for learning an entire one-girl musical of eighty-five minutes duration AND a complicated song like Krupke. Kimberly Hessler, like Robert, was also on fire, her best show for us. She began with the pretty Dream With Me – the tempo was a bit slower than I like, but boy did she do a captivating job on it so I ended up not minding at all. Then she did the very pretty Hello and Goodbye from From Noon Till Three – she was simple, honest, and her voice fit the song like a glove. But all of that was a preamble to the closing number, Glitter and Be Gay. When I was introducing it, I got a really good laugh when I said “Our next song is Glitter and Be Gay, which is also the title of my next memoir.” Well, she killed with the number – I’ve heard many people do it, but I really think Kimberly did the best version I’ve ever heard, nailing every impossible note with purity and clarity, plus a wonderful understanding of the number. Kerry O’Malley is simply one of my favorite people EVER and she’s so magical and such a pro. She did a great 100 Ways to Lose a Man, getting really good laughs throughout – she should play Ruth Sherwood. And her sultry I Can Cook, Too (we used Patrick Brady’s arrangement from the Sally Mayes Comden and Green album) was HOT. This woman knows how to light up a stage like nobody’s business. Oh, and Guy Haines was a no-show, so I had to sing Love With the Proper Stranger – one of the first songs I learned how to play on the piano and a song I’ve been singing since I was sixteen years old.
Alby Potts did a fantastic job accompanying everyone – he’s just become one of my favorite musical directors ever for a whole slew of reasons. John Boswell stepped in to play one number, I Can Cook, Too, and he was his usual wonderful self. Adryan Russ co-produced, as always, and we ended up with about seventy people. Here’s our merry troupe. Left to right: Tory Stolper, Adryan Russ, Kerry O’Malley, Kimberly Hessler, John Boswell, Robert Yacko, Sami Staitman, li’l ol’ me, Travis Leland and Alby Potts.
Prior to all that, I’d arisen at five, fell back asleep around six-thirty, and got about eight hours of sleep all told. I did some banking, picked up a package and answered some e-mails, a few of which were irritating. Then I relaxed until it was time for sound check. After the show, several of us went to Little Toni’s for some food. I had spaghetti with butter, one slice of pizza and a little salad.
Today, I think will be a day off for me. I’ll try to start casting the July show and I’ve already chosen a bunch of Paul Williams songs – if anyone has any great ideas for UP-tempo Paul songs, send ‘em along. I’ll eat, I’ll jog, and then I’ll relax.
The rest of the week is finishing casting and choosing songs, getting everyone their music, and having meetings and meals, as well as seeing a couple of shows and maybe even a movie. I think on Sunday, Sami will come over and we’ll read through the show so I can hear the changes and decide whether they’re working for me.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, choose songs, cast, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What was the show that introduced you to Stephen Sondheim? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had such a wonderful Kritzerland at Sterling’s 58.