Well, dear readers, we had our first preview, with the usual first preview jitters. The show got better as it progressed and by act three it was sailing along. Everything at the top of the show was about a beat behind, so Kay Cole made the good suggestion that, like a fight call, we run the opening two minutes every night before the show, so everyone is in that mode. I’m sure it didn’t help that I ran quite a few things before we began. I also restaged the first third of the curtain call, so that’s playing very well and quickly now. I’d awakened at five in the morning with the idea on how to fix the opening and closing music cues for the show, so I wrote that e-mail and asked for the adjustments I wanted. When I got to the theater and we ran them, it fixed everything in terms of making the ends of the acts end with a bang and not a whimper, which was the case at our invited dress, where I had no music on the ends of the acts. I didn’t give notes after, just the general pacing note and picking up cues note. The show is running twenty minutes longer than I wanted it to, but it’s now up to the cast to pick up those minutes – it’s literally all picking up cues and not dragging lines out, especially in acts one and two. We had about thirty people and they were quiet but perked up in act two and by Barry Pearl’s entrance they were laughing regularly. And I had to impress upon the cast that we’re in a theater that just soaks up the sound, so you really have to project out.
Afterwards, I stopped at In-N-Out for a burger because I hadn’t eaten since 12:30 and I’d only had an omelet. I came home and ate that, caught up on e-mails, and, of course, the blank page was awaiting me to write these here notes.
Prior to all that, I guess I got about seven hours of sleep. Once up, I did the usual morning things – answered e-mails, had telephonic calls – and then I moseyed on over to Jerry’s Deli and had my bacon and cheese omelet and a bagel, both very good. Then I picked up some packages, including three DGA screeners – the best we’ve gotten so far – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Marriage Story, and Little Women. Looking forward to that batch. Then I listened to music and relaxed and dealt with a tiny bit of performer drama – as you know, all actors have their own way of processing things and you have to know how to get what you want and how to deal with things when there are misunderstandings. I’m pretty good at it, so everything worked itself out. Then I got ready and then moseyed on over to the theater.
As I said, once there, I ran quite a few things, including all the new sound cues with their light cue equivalents. And then we played the show.
Today, I’ll sleep until around eleven, do the usual things I’ve been doing, attend to the Kritzerland show, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, relax, and then we play our second preview. Even though the actor call time is six, I told everyone they could come at seven to run the opening – anyone who’s not in that can come at seven-thirty.
Tomorrow, I have to get some cards to write opening night notes, as I can’t find the ones I know I have – I hate when that happens. Mostly I’ll relax and then attend our opening night. I’ll know lots of folks, so that will be fun, and they have their usual little backstage bash after the show. Saturday will be mine all mine until I see the evening show, and after the Sunday matinee, I think there may be some kind of birthday dinner of some sort. Then on Monday we begin our rehearsals for Kritzerland. So, that becomes yet another killer week of stuff, and on Thursday night, in the midst of all that, I have to do a put-in for Barry, who’ll miss the second weekend of performances. The guy who’s doing that week and week five is very prepared. And all during that, we’re casting Doug’s play for January. I’m telling you, when December 15 rolls around, that is IT – no more anything for the rest of the year, save for getting ready to write a new book and the annual Christmas Eve Do.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, sleep until eleven, do stuff, plan Kritzerland and also figure out our final three releases of the year, and then we play our second preview. Today’s topic of discussion: What singers were you most enamored of when you were growing up? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to put our first preview behind us and hoping our second preview is fun.