Well, dear readers, this damn heat is supposed to abate and yet it has not abated. It has not abated and there is no debating the non-abatement because it’s HOT. I’m tired of it already. As Babs and Donna said so eloquently, Enough is Enough. I mean, I just had to turn on the air conditioning in the home environment because it was eighty degrees. Well, hopefully the damn heat will abate and that will be that. Other than that, I’m sitting here like so much fish listening to an American opera I’m thinking about issuing on CD – there IS a recording available of this opera on CD, a stereophonic recording that I’ve never been fond of, but I happen to come into possession of a well-recorded live performance of the original production and it’s like night and day from the song of the same name. We shall see what our ace mastering guy can do with it – if I’m happy with the result then we can issue it on CD coupled with another shorter opera by the same composer. The shorter opera is a real favorite of mine since I was ever so young. Why am I talking about American opera all of a sudden? Well, we did issue and hugely improve Robert Ward’s The Crucible so I suppose doing another would be a fine thing.
Yesterday, I was up at just before eleven after almost but not quite eight hours of sleep. Once up, I answered e-mails aplenty, I worked at the piano, I worked on the computer, I had telephonic conversations on the telephonic device, and I listened to some music. At some point, I picked up a package and no mail, went to Gelson’s and got
some chicken cutlets and the ingredients to make the faux chicken stroganoff over rice. I came home and guess what I did? Why, I do believe I made the faux chicken stroganoff over rice. I only made two of the chicken cutlets, so not much chicken in the scheme of things. It was quite good.
Then I did more work at the piano, more work on the computer, had more telephonic conversations, listened to more music, went out and got a couple of candy bars for the evening snacks, sat on my couch like so much fish and dozed off, began listening to the opera thing, which I’m STILL listening to because it’s an hour and forty minutes long. Doug Haverty made a nice Facebook event page for the return of the What If revue – or something resembling the What If revue, I “invited” 300 of my closest “friends” and hopefully we’ll fill both performances and make some dough for the Group Rep. We may even have a silent auction in the lobby – just ten or twenty items, but cherce items.
Then I relaxed. Oh, and booked the piano tuna – sorry, tuner – to come at nine this morning, which means I should try and get to bed at a decent hour.
Today, the piano tuna – sorry, tuner – will be here at nine and I do believe he’ll tuna – sorry, tune – the piano. I do believe that is the plan and when he’s done my piano shall be in tune – it certainly isn’t in tune now. After that, I’ll answer e-mails, do a bit of writing, hopefully pick up some packages, eat something light, and then I will do the entire dance for “Cool” from West Side Story in the hopes that the weather will take notice.
The rest of the week is meetings and meals and doing and going and then Friday night we do a table reading for The Man Who Came to Dinner. I don’t do table readings at all, but there are reasons to do this one and so we’re doing it, thankfully, well in advance of actual rehearsals. And speaking of The Man Who Came to Dinner, we’ve pretty much decided that Barry Pearl will do the first four weeks of the run, and then someone will do the final six performances – if we don’t find anyone, then that someone will be me – my third time playing the role. The first time being in early 1967, I think, then again around 1978 or 1979 – somewhere in there. That’s forty years ago, for those who are counting and over fifty years ago the first time. I may well be the oldest Banjo EVER if I do it, although Barry is not that far behind me. I’m not sure what’s what on the weekend, but we shall see.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a piano tuned, I must hopefully pick up packages, I must eat something light but fun, I must answer e-mails, do some writing, and then do the “Cool” dance, where I shall be cool, man, real cool. 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, where I shall be cool, man, real cool.