Well, dear readers, let’s get one thing straight, shall we? It’s May, it’s May, the lusty month of May. And it is my fervent hope and prayer that May will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. May is quite a popular month, you know. Just think: Mother MAY I? MAY the force be with you. Can I play my cross-hand piece? MAY I play my cross-hand piece. What Dreams MAY Come. I gotta tell you. Lusty I don’t know about these days. I’d like some lusty in my May for a change, but at my age lust can lead to shortness of breath and eating too much Thai food. Or so I’ve heard. Perhaps that’s an old wives’ tale. Or MAYbe even an old wives’ tail. So, I’ll probably watch the lusty from afar, which of course is rafa spelled backwards.
Yesterday, the final day of April, was pretty nice. I didn’t get enough sleep, only six hours, but I had to get up and announce our two new titles. And since there was a noon o’clock rehearsal there was no time to go back to bed. So, I answered e-mails and as orders came in I printed them out. I’m hoping for many more orders, but these Bagley titles seem to always do the same kind of first day business and then the orders keep dribbling in until it’s actually a decent amount. In the old days of just a few years ago, any show title would get three or four hundred website orders – these days we’re lucky to crack 100 – that is the sorry state of things, I’m afraid to say, although not too afraid since I just said it. But the good news is that releasing two at once to show collectors really does result in everyone ordering both. Out of all the orders that came in through the day and evening, only four people ordered one of the titles. And I got four or five really large orders from people who were catching up on the past show releases. I’m hoping that on this fine first of May day that we get at least twenty more double orders and more than that would be even better.
Then Ilene Graff and her ever-lovin’ Ben Lanzarone came and played me the too songs she’s singing – Children Will Listen and a jazzy A Wonderful Guy. Hearing the arrangements made me confident that I’d placed them well in the show. Then they left and I went and picked up no packages and no mail, then went to Corky’s for my favorite sandwich there – I had a bit of potato salad and a dinner salad with it and it was all very good. Then I came home, printed out more orders, listened to some music, had some telephonic conversations, and then went next door and had a haircut, which I desperately needed. I came home, left and went to Rite-Aid and got a pint of my cherry chip ice cream, which I hadn’t had in ages and ages, and some chips, then came home. There’d been a flurry of text messages and we were happily able to schedule the pick-up rehearsal for 8:45.
First to arrive was Adrienne Stiefel. We ran a put-together of Look to the Rainbow paired with my song, I See Rainbows, which I wrote when I was a mere lad of fifteen. She does both beautifully. Then we ran her other put-together of Sondheim’s A Parade in Town and Jerry Herman’s Before the Parade Passes By – they work perfectly together. Then Robert Yacko arrived – he’s going to be a surprise performer – no one knows he’ll be appearing. He and Adrienne are doing Move On from Sunday in the Park with George. They ran that a couple of times and it’s going to be great.
Then Eric Petersen arrived, and we ran his first song, Why Can’t I Walk Away from Maggie Flynn, then we plunked out Silverware for him and I sang it with him, too. Then he ran his number from the musical revue we’re doing on Tuesday, the political satire revue. As Trump, to the tune of Mein Herr he sings My Hair. It’s really funny. That was the end of the rehearsal. I checked to see if the latest Fosse/Verdon episode was up on Amazon, but it wasn’t. I don’t know when they put it up. Last week, I just went to Amazon around one in the morning and it was there. So, hopefully after I post these here notes, it will be. So, I just listened to more music.
Today, we greet the lusty month of May. I will hopefully print out a LOT more orders, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat 1000 calories, and then I think I can take it easy for the rest of the day.
Tomorrow, we have our second Kritzerland rehearsal, Friday there’s something going on but I can’t remember what, Saturday is our stumble-through, and Sunday is sound check and show. Monday we have a run-through of the revue, and Tuesday night we play our show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, welcome the lusty month of May, I will hopefully pick up packages, eat, hopefully print out a LOT more orders, and then relax. 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, as we welcome in the lusty month of May – and it is my fervent hope and prayer that May will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. MAY it be so.