Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much delighted fish, listening to the full score of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s The Firebrand of Florence. I’d recently heard seven selections on the Kurt Weill on Broadway CD, but yesterday I found a copy of the full show in concert, starring Rodney Gilfrey, George Dvorsky, and many others, with narration by Simon Russell Beale, conducted by Andrew Davis. The recording itself, live though it may be, is excellent, and there’s quite a bit of truly amusing lines and the songs are fantastic. I have no idea why this was such a flop, although it had a mediocre director and that is always a problem. I should think this would have been right up Encores alley but these days they’d rather do Thoroughly Modern Millie. Anyway, it’s really fun and REALLY tuneful and perhaps someday someone terrific will stage it (I’m available, of course). And prior to that, I listened to a delightful opera by Johann Strauss entitled Das Spitzentuch der Konigin. There’s one waltz that’s quite famous, but all of it is very tuneful and fun and I enjoyed it very much. It’s on the CPO label. And prior to that, I watched a ballet on DVD entitled Notre Dame des Paris, better known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, this production was from 1996 (the ballet was created in 1967). The choreography is by Roland Petit, who had a lot of fame on stage and in film, and everything I’ve seen by him has been at the very least interesting and at the very best, brilliant. This one has some beautiful dancing, but it’s very “modern” and the Hunchback has interesting twisty choreography. The company is terrific, and it moves right along. Most interestingly, the music is by film composer Maurice Jarre and it’s very Jarre indeed. The costumes are great – Yves Saint Laurent. It’s all very theatrical and one wonders why Mr. Petit never came to Broadway. He was married to the ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire.
And, of course, prior to that we did our final performance of Revenge. We had about forty people watching, although the YouTube counter is very screwy. And then we had a really fun Q&A, which I was much more prepared for this time. I’m very proud of what we achieved and I’m even more proud of having written and directed two streaming things that were completely unique and unlike anything that’s been done during the pandemic. Of course, many of my close personal friends couldn’t be bothered to watch either of these or the Kritzerland shows. This I will never understand, just as I’m sure they’ll never understand when I won’t see anything they’re involved in. And so it goes. Of course, thanks to our super successful Indiegogo campaign, Tonight’s the Night will be preserved for the ages. I wish we could afford to stick on Revenge, but it’s too prohibitive, cost-wise. So, that one, like a play in a theater, will have to live in the memory. I can always air it again but that wouldn’t happen for a long time.
Yesterday was a fine day. I got seven hours of sleep, was up at eight-thirty and out the door by nine. I went to Hugo’s and had a great omelet with cheddar cheese and bacon, with some tomatoes on the side – no potatoes or fruit or toast, oh my. After that, I took a drive to Hollywood, California, USA to check out the new location of Amoeba on Hollywood Boulevard at El Centro, just by the Pantages Theatre. It’s been open for a week now. As I suspected, there was a line to get in. What I didn’t suspect was that that line was over two blocks long. I mean, seriously, are people nuts? That would be a two-hour wait, and for what? I’m happy to wait a few months till that insanity ends.
Then I drove back to the Valley and decided to go to a record store, a mini version of Amoeba in Reseda called CD Trader. No line there. I went to the classical section. They always have very cheap prices, like $3.99 for box sets, especially operas. That’s where I found the Weill and Strouse and I also got Smetana’s Dalibor, which I don’t know at all, was well as Delibes’ Lakme, which I know a little, and then Zemlinsky’s Es War Einmal, which I also don’t know. And the ballet DVD, too. They have huge amounts of used Blu-rays but I have no patience to look through that many titles. Usually, I check out the vocals, jazz, and soundtracks and shows, but I can’t be in a store that long with a mask, so I left and came home.
I listened to the Strauss, then got ready for our show and Q&A, and then all that happened, then I ordered a chicken Caesar salad from Stanley’s – that arrived about thirty minutes later and was absolutely fantastic. On the order, I said no croutons (not Keto friendly) and no bread (ditto). They got the no croutons right but included the bread and you have no idea how hard it was to toss that, because they have great bread. The rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll write liner notes, even though I really could use a couple of ME days – those will have to wait until the end of the week, I’m afraid. I’ve already ordered food – a Caesar salad from The Cheesecake Factory – they do a great one there. That will arrive around two. I’m not sure if I’ll start the crazy Indiegogo organization yet. I think might be tomorrow’s business, but that’s going to take a couple of weeks. Otherwise, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
This week is all of the above, I should be seeing a galley of the new book, which I hope I’ll be able to approve instantly, I’ll decide on the two new Kritzerland releases and we’ll announce those, and then at some point I will have at least one ME day, if not two.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, write liner notes, have a Caesar salad, and then I have lots to watch and to listen, and then at some point I’ll relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy we had a fun Revenge Redux.