Well, dear readers, I haven written a new full-length What If parody since we did the revue back in 2004. We’ve done almost all of those What Ifs in the Kritzerland shows, usually the anniversary show. So, I wanted to start the fifth anniversary show with a new What If. I had an idea and I wrote the first half of it – it’s funny but perhaps not funny enough and I think I would have to use more than one song to make it work, which I don’t really like to do. One song always works best. So, I went to bed around two and suddenly an idea popped into my head and it just made me laugh out loud, so I just pondered it and thought of the first four lines. I got up to write them down on the computer and just stayed up until four, finishing 90% of it. This one was really difficult for reasons you’ll understand when I finally tell you what it is – the pattern of the song and lyric is really complex and I always had to make the story work, you know, the wrong musical on the wrong song. I got back into bed intending to sleep until ten but some tree person knocked at the door at eight-thirty to ask me if the car parked in front of my house belonged to me. I told him no and to please go wake up the kiddies across the street, which he did. I went back to bed and got an additional ninety minutes of sleep, so maybe I got six hours total, not quite enough for the likes of me.
Once up, I read through the parody, dreading that I might find it awful, but it was pretty good, I thought. I finessed a bunch of lines then wrote the final ten percent, which was as difficult as the rest of it. Now that it’s done, I just forget how hard it was and look at and see it’s fairly clever. I have no idea how the audience will react, but I feel that if it makes me laugh I’ll have a good shot at the audience laughing, too. After that, I went and had eggs and bacon and toast, oh my. Then I went and picked up no packages, then came home, did a jog, and got ready for rehearsal.
Then it was time for our first Kritzerland rehearsal with all the singers but one. First up was Tyler Matthew Burk – he’s a friend of the Staitman family and they recommended him highly – he also helped Sami learn her lines for our show. He’s got two put-togethers – first up was The Easy Way (a cut song from Valley of the Dolls) coupled with Give a Little More (used in Valley of the Dolls). I made a couple of adjustments to the arrangement we’d done and we raised both songs one step, which were better keys for him. Then he did his second put-together, Time for Parting (from It’s Always Fair Weather) and Goodbye (from Andre and Dory Previn’s unused score for the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips) – they work very well together. Tyler was a little nervous but by the end of his work session he was much more at ease. Then Jeffrey Christopher Todd arrived and he and Tyler did their duet, Camaraderie. They really had fun and we went over the cockney accents – it should be a rousing opener. Then Tyler left and Jeffrey did his two put-togethers. First up was two Previn title songs from movies, The Swinger and Goodbye, Charlie – it’s a terrific little put-together and he loves doing those kinds of songs. Then he did Let’s Go Home and Coco from Coco.
After that it was Adrienne Visnic’s turn. I love working with her and one of the reasons is that she comes to the first rehearsal off book and perfect. She began with a really perky put-together of two Previn “Like” songs – Like Young and Like Love. She’s going to find a beret so we can do them all beatnik style. Then it was Thanks a Lot, But No Thanks from It’s Always Fair Weather. I felt the chords were a little funky so we cleaned that up and she’s just saucy as can be doing this delicious little number. Finally, she sang the title song from Valley of the Dolls, the most Bacharach song not written by Bacharach. I do love the song, though, and she does it beautifully.
Finally, it was Jill Marie Burke. She’s the only one in the show who doesn’t have any put-togethers. She began with the first collaboration of Previn and Dory Langdon, Yes. It’s a simple, beautiful song – I think we adjusted the key as well as some of what we’d done with the arrangement. Then it was on to Song from Two for the Seesaw (Second Chance), one of my all-time favorite songs. We found a better key and she sings it really well. Finally it was the Previns’ anthem You’re Gonna Hear from Me from Inside Daisy Clover. It was such a treat spending the afternoon hearing all those great songs. Our fifth gal comes on Wednesday, so I’ll tell you about her songs then. Guy Haines is with us and he’s singing the Previn song he featured on New Guy in Town – The Faraway Part of Town. Then I decided to attend the meeting I wasn’t sure about attending.
As Sally Durant Plummer said, I’m so glad I came. I sort of was first up speaking and I said my piece and one of the members of this group who likes to talk very loud, got very defensive and was really out of line – thankfully everyone knew it and a few called him on it. But it was shortly thereafter that the meeting took a great turn and we heard from some interesting folks and it was just the kind of meeting everyone needed to have. So, that was nice. Then I went to Gelson’s and got a tiny thing of mac-and-cheese, a little tiny lobster quiche thing, some super Chinese slaw and some melon balls and came home. I didn’t love the quiche thing and so only ate a few bites. I ate all the mac-and-cheese and the slaw, as well as the melon balls.
Today, I have an eleven-thirty lunch with Kay Cole to discuss song choices for the album we’ll most likely be doing. After that, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, and there may be a second meeting later. After that, I’ll relax.
Tomorrow I have a noon o’clock Kritzerland rehearsal with two singers – the one who missed, and one who can’t be there on Thursday. Thursday is our second Kritzerland rehearsal, but I have a lunch meeting prior to it. Friday I’m having lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in quite a while, Saturday is our stumble-through, and then Sunday is sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a lunch, hopefully pick up packages, jog, maybe have a second meeting, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What were your favorite soda pops and snacks growing up? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have finished a brand spanking new What If.