Well, dear readers, we’ve opened The Man Who Came to Dinner to a full house and screams of laughter from beginning to end. Doing comedies like these are anything but easy, and now that we’ve opened, I’ll say that until the second preview I wasn’t sure which way the wind was going to blow. But I do understand this kind of comedy, it’s in my DNA, but you have to instill it in the actors. And that’s not easy because they don’t really write these kinds of comedies anymore. Of course, I’ve been beating myself up about not getting the run time down, but after watching our opening night, the pace was so fast and furious that there really isn’t any way for it to go faster. The hardcover first edition is something like 187 pages. Well, using the page a minute dictum, that’s three hours. Without intermission, I’d say we’re running around two hours and ten minutes for the three acts.
We could not have had a better or friendlier audience. The opening worked like a dream and then Whiteside’s entrance happened, and his first line exploded with a huge laugh. Of course, it’s one of the greatest character introductory lines in the history of the theater. And Jim just went to town as I’ve been nudging him to do, and every line got a great laugh in his opening speech, the biggest of them being his quips to Miss Preen. Once I heard those laughs, I knew that their stuff was going to kill straight down the line, and it did, and those laughs were incredible and went on and on – my favorite. I’m not a fan of little pockets of laughter – I want everyone laughing at the same time – there’s nothing like it. The actors all did wonderfully and found their fun energy. The comic bits which are peculiar to this production all landed perfectly, which made me very happy. I had several people come up and ask me about a specific bit, asking if it was in the script, which, of course, it wasn’t. I never read stage directions, so all the blocking and comic stuff is directorial and a collaboration with the actors.
Acts one and two went incredibly well, and then came act three and it was like listening to the audience of a classic I Love Lucy episode – you know, that screaming laughter that goes on for days. The minute Barry Pearl as Banjo entered the audience went crazy. He got so many laughs it was hard to catch one’s breath. And I gave Barry permission to do things off-the-cuff, which he did and all of that worked perfectly. But the interplay between Barry and Jim and Barry and everyone else was infectious and he got a huge hand on his exit. But then again, act three is designed for huge hands within scenes and on exits – I described it as one comic aria after another. Miss Preen’s exit speech brought down the house. And there’s one thing I came up with for her in act three that just came to me as I was staging her stuff – it was a crapshoot, but holy moley on rye, once the audience caught on and Kay and Jim just stared at each other, which I have them do frequently, well, it was comic heaven and I know they both felt great about it. So, it was a wonderful evening, and the after-party was really fun, although Kay and I both left it after about fifteen minutes.
Prior to that, I got eight hours of sleep, did the usual things, then went and picked up some packages (more DGA screeners), got a little Taco Bell for lunch, and then just relaxed and listened to music, wrote twenty-three thank you notes, and then it was time to get ready. Then I moseyed on over to the theater and the rest you know.
Today, I wish I could sleep in, but alas, she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and I shall go have a light breakfast. I’ll put gas in the motor car, and then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages. Once home, I may watch a DGA screener. Then I suppose I’ll attend our second performance, even though I’m tempted not to. I do know several folks who are coming.
Tomorrow, I may or may not attend the matinee. I may just need to relax, and it is, after all, my very own birthday. But I’ll find out if there are any people I know coming and that will be the decider, or if there are plans for a birthday dinner after the show. Monday, we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal and a casting session after it for the play I’m directing right after the New Year. The rest of the week is meetings and meals, Kritzlerland rehearsals, a put-in for Barry’s replacement next week, more casting, our stumble-through, and then the Kritzerland show on Sunday, which is going to be very tricky for me – there’s a talk-back that day and I like to do those, but there’s no way for me to even see the matinee, as our sound check is at four and our show won’t come down until four-thirty.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Monkey, for today is the birthday of our beloved dear reader Jane. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our beloved dear reader Jane. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR BELOVED DEAR READER JANE!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up early, eat a light breakfast, put gas in the motor car, hopefully pick up packages, perhaps watch a DGA screener, and then most likely attend our second performance. Today’s topic of discussion: What play or movie got the biggest laughs you’ve ever heard? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a rather spectacular opening night.