Well, dear readers, I am fighting the good fight, still, taking all my preventatives. I will do this until the show is over tonight, and then I will hopefully not get sick, but I will not be taking all my preventatives – but thank goodness, if I can get through this day and evening they will have served me well. So, send your most excellent vibes and xylophones for no sickness and a strong voice.
Yesterday was a day in which I took all my preventatives. I got just under ten hours of sleep despite the hammering and yammering that woke me at eight-thirty. I was up for twenty minutes or so, then fell back asleep until eleven. Once up, I printed out more orders (and no, Paypal still hasn’t caught up), answered e-mails, took all my preventatives, then went and had my chicken soup and a bagel. Then I picked up one package and came home. I then relaxed and did stuff on the computer until it was time for our stumble-through at five.
Rupert had e-mailed me saying he would be late due to some problems at his hotel – he had to have his room changed due to noise, and so he had to pack up and unpack. So, the cast and John Boswell arrived and we began the show. I must say, despite a couple of hiccups, lyrics-wise, it ran very smoothly. Rupert arrived about five songs in, so he was there for two-thirds of the show. The show order worked really well and then Rupert did his three-and-a-half songs. This is a very special show, unlike any other we’ve done and this cast is simply superb. After we finished, I gave my usual notes, we ran a few things, and then everyone left.
I had some rice, some low-cal, low-fat cherry chip ice cream, and relaxed some more before finally sitting on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched Jurassic Park, the original. I saw it when it came out and I have to say I wasn’t in love with it. I thought the effects were great but I never had any desire to see it again, and so last night’s viewing was probably the first since it originally came out. I enjoyed it more now than I did then. It’s funny how everyone thought it was so cutting edge with all the computer stuff, which looks positively archaic today. And no cell phones in sight. But again, what shines through is Mr. Spielberg’s ability to tell a story well, and his direction is superb. He knows when to pull the stops out and when to let you breathe, and he is always, always abetted by John Williams’ music and the editing of Michael Kahn. The screenplay is just okay, but the actors are wonderful and the effects, especially for their time, are pretty mind-boggling. All in all, a pleasant way to pass two hours.
I then watched the first ten minutes of Jurassic Park III, and you instantly, and I mean instantly, know you’re not watching a film made by a director with Mr. Spielberg’s command of storytelling and cinema. It’s competent and nothing more, at least so far. I suppose I’ll finish it, even though it’s supposed to be fairly horrible.
After that, I took another hot shower, took all my before bed preventatives, printed out everything for the show, and that was that.
Today, I’ll be up no later than eleven, I’ll relax and just try to get decongested as quickly as possible, then I’ll shower and get ready and I’ll mosey on over to The Federal and get there by three-thirty to hear the end of the band rehearsal. Then we do our sound check, and then we do our show. I will, of course, have a full report.
Tomorrow I begin catching up on other stuff and there’s a lot to catch up on. The week will be filled with meetings and meals, making notes on the musical I’ll be directing, seeing a couple of things, and then a production meeting for the musical next Saturday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, relax, take all my preventatives, relax some more, get ready, have a sound check, and do our show. 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, happy to have had a pretty smooth stumble-through without much stumbling.