Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
October 18, 2017:

FINALLY CAST AT LAST

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I’m just home from seeing a show called Cagney. Rob Stevens has reviewed it elsewhere on this here site, so I’ll only say the cast was hard-working, the tapping was fun and fine, and the storytelling was lazy and at times completely ludicrous. Sorry, when you do a number from the Bob Hope film The Seven Little Foys then have Jack Warner gleefully reading the bad reviews and then offering Cagney White Heat, well, they certainly lost me. The Seven Little Foys was made in 1955, White Heat was made six years earlier. Dear writer – it doesn’t matter that you wanted your show to have the Foys number first – it’s your job to figure that stuff out and it’s not brain surgery – but the whole show is filled with standard issue bio pic stuff. The new songs are okay, the Cohan stuff is the Cohan stuff. The band was fine, the set was a little cheesy for my taste, the lighting was not very good, but as I said the cast is mostly fine and the tapping is a real audience pleaser. We never really learn much about anything – strictly a to b to c kind of thing. The audience was filled with friends so the reception was rousing.

Yesterday was a productive day, although Indiegogo was NOT productive – we only have a certain number of days left and it would truly be wonderful to fund the cast album. Today I’ll start being relentless again, as I needed a relentless day off yesterday. I got seven hours of sleep, got up, did the usual morning stuff, had two telephonic calls with the authors of Levi – one with Larry Cohen and one with Richard Sherman. Now, don’t do this often, but I’m just going to ask that you all send your strongest and most excellent vibes and xylophones for Richard Sherman – really send them. He’s on the mend but still needs all the positive thoughts we can send him. Thank you.

Then I made two burgers – these are pretty low in calories, actually – here’s the breakdown according to the packaging: 190 calories per patty. 130 calories per bun, for a total of 320 calories for one burger, and 640 for the pair. Add two slices of low-calorie cheese and we end up at 690 calories. And they were very filling and very yummilicious. After that, I picked up one little package and came home. Happily we’re now fully cast for Kritzerland, so I chose the last of the songs and got all singers their music, which is a huge load off my already loaded mind.

I then took possession of new sources for our upcoming show album release – these are so much better than the previous CD and LP reissues of this title, I mean SO much better. Plus we now have some bonus tracks to add to it, too, so I’m hoping that the people who have the previous release (which probably is not too many) will want this for the improved sound and bonus tracks and the ones who’ve never had it will hopefully get it – it’s really fun. I then spent the entire afternoon writing the liner notes for it, which I finished and sent on their merry way. I also got the tracks to our mastering guy for mastering and making them sound even better with his special sauce. I also heard from my restoration guy who’s hard at work on the film-related release – he’s almost halfway through it now and I can’t wait to hear what magic he’s wrought.   And then after the show gets mastered we’ll master the next classical release, and that will give me one more release in October and at least two in November. Then we’ll probably have two more in December, maybe three. This turned out to be a busier release year than last year.

Then I had the invite to see Cagney so off I went. When I got home I hadn’t eaten since noon-thirty, so I made one more burger, which took me up to just under 1000 calories for the day.

Today, I’ll be up by ten, then I have to drop stuff off to Doug Haverty and from there I go directly to a lunch meeting, during which I’ll eat lunch. It’s at a restaurant I like so that’s good. From there I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, do some Indiegogo cheerleading, and then I head over to LACC for a meeting and then our very first rehearsal. Color me excited to begin this journey. After rehearsal I’ll come right home.

Tomorrow is more of the same – meeting, and then rehearsal two. Friday is another rehearsal. The weekend is all Kritzerland – making the show order and then writing the commentary. Then on Monday we begin staging Levi.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, drop stuff off, have a lunch meeting, hopefully pick up packages, have a meeting, then have our first rehearsal. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be fully cast at last.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved