Well, dear readers, our second Kritzerland rehearsal went very well. We had one singer missing due to recovering from a little cold, but she’ll come early on Saturday to run her stuff. Otherwise, everyone was in really good shape in terms of lyrics. I smoothed out some transitions and endings, but minor stuff. The music is so fantastic and just makes you smile. It was a very pleasant three hours or so. Guy Haines was a no-show so I rehearsed his song so the pianist could practice – he’s singing one of my all-time favorite songs, Harry Warren and Mack Gordon’s At Last, a song that also happens to play an important part in the new book. Speaking of the new book, when twelve-year-old Peyton arrived to rehearse she told me she’d finished GEE (I wanted her to be the first to read it) and she told me it was now her favorite book, even more than the Kritzer books. I was so pleased, and she was so sweet about it. After the rehearsal, she and her mom and I went to Casa Vega and she got very detailed about the book, quoted lines and things she loved, told me she laughed and cried and absolutely loved the ending. She’s a voracious reader, reads many books. We joked about her writing an Amazon review, and when she got home after dinner she did just that and it’s very sweet and I love having it there.
Prior to all that, I got eight hours of sleep, did the usual morning stuff, took a twenty-minute walk, did some work at the piano and on the computer, and then it was time for rehearsal.
After dinner (one taco, two cheese enchiladas), I came home, answered more e-mails, and then sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I finished watching Visit to a Small Planet. It began life as a TV special by Gore Vidal, then became a Broadway play starring Cyril Ritchard, and then someone thought it would be a good idea to make it a Jerry Lewis vehicle. But crossing Jerry and Gore doesn’t really work and the film suffers from not being one or the other, although it’s much more Lewis than Vidal. I saw the film at a sneak preview at the Village Theater in Westwood about a month before it actually began its run. Of course, like most kids my age I was a Lewis fan so I pretty much loved the film, and especially loved the music, which many decades later I actually got to issue on CD in its world premiere release. But today the film just kind of lays there in a netherworld – the cast is excellent all the way around, and Jerry has his moments. Happily, the transfer is pretty good and it was fun to watch it again.
I then began watching the second Maigret/Jean Gabin film, Maigret and the St. Fiacre case. I got halfway through that and am really enjoying it and happily this one is in its proper screen ratio of 1.66 and the quality is every bit as good as Maigret Sets a Trap (which isn’t in its proper screen ratio). I’ll finish that up tonight probably.
After that, I listened to music, had a telephonic conversation, read Peyton’s Amazon review, which made me smile, and then relaxed and did stuff on the Internet.
Today, I’m not sure what’s happening, but I’m praying an important envelope arrives or getting through this weekend will be a nightmare. And let me tell you, we don’t need no stinking nightmares around these here parts. Not sure if I’ll rustle up food here or go out (maybe I’ll lunch with Grant if he’s around) and then I’ll just relax and rest the vocal chords.
Tomorrow she of the Evil Eye comes so I’ll go have a light breakfast to tide me until dinner, which will be later than usual. Then I’ll relax until it’s time for the stumble-through at five, after which I’ll eat something, either alone or with some folks. We shall see. Sunday I’ll rest and relax until it’s time for sound check and then we do our show. I will, of course, have a full report for you.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do something, hopefully get an important envelope that I desperately need to avoid a nightmare weekend, I’ll eat, hopefully pick up packages, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, upcoming projects. Blu-ray, Maigret and then a set of Hammer thrillers from the UK – I’ve only seen one of the films in the set and the others are supposed to be really good. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a good second rehearsal and that GEE has its first review by a young reader (and, I just read, dear reader ChasSmith).