Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon and I must get a decent night’s beauty sleep. So, let me just say that we had a good rehearsal yesterday – still struggling with lines a bit but it’s getting better. The nuances are playing well, the comedy stuff we’ve added is really working well and I think it will come out fine. Other than that, I watched the rest of Journey to the Center of the Earth – the film opened on December 16, 1959, the same day that Li’l Abner opened – I think you know which one I saw first run. So, I didn’t see Journey until the second week of January at the Stadium – thankfully, they had a big scope screen and stereo sound. I loved it back then, but I find it a bit of a slog now. Some of it’s still fun, the score by Bernard Herrmann is tops, but it’s too long for its own good and Pat Boone, who gets billing over James Mason, is kind of lightweight. Mason is great, Arlene Dahl is pretty one-note, Diane Baker gives a lovely performance, and Thayer David makes a fine villain – I was never able to watch him subsequent to this film without revulsion because, you know, he ate Gertrude. The effect are, how shall we say, not great, but the fun stuff is fun and the transfer is very nice for the most part. That initial release was city-wide, by the way, and I kind of wish I’d seen it at the Village Theater in Westwood – they had an amazing scope screen and incredible stereo there. But as with most movies back then, it played two weeks and went to the nabes, same as Li’l Abner. I did notice that during Christmas vacation the Stadium played a kiddie matinee of The Court Jester – not sure how I missed THAT. I also listened to Ormandy do his Bach transcriptions and Handel’s Water Music, which doesn’t seem very wet to me.
Yesterday was okay. I only got seven hours of sleep, if that, got up, answered e-mails and then had to get right over to the theater for our eleven o’clock rehearsal. We only rehearsed a little over an hour. After that, I came home, did whatever needed doing, our producer for the Group Rep came and picked up my patio chairs, which are going to work so much better than what they had. I finished the casting for the reading, so that’s all done now and just the final Kritzerland performer to go. Then I moseyed on over to Vitello’s for an early dinner with Robert Yacko. I had my usual Keto friendly small Caesar salad and the salmon in a light cream sauce atop sauteed spinach with some asparagus thrown in for good measure. I didn’t realize I could have had a chicken Caesar and I think I would have preferred that. But the salmon was excellent and ultimately probably less calories.
After that, I went to the mail place and picked up a non-important envelope of not much importance, then came home. I watched the rest of Journey to the Center of the Earth, had some telephonic conversations, and relaxed, until it was time to go back to the theater for our brief tech. It was brief, the brief tech was. We just ran it once. There are only two light cues – lights up at the top and lights fade at the end. We ran the sound cue and that was fine. The outdoor stage works pretty well, especially for our show, since I kept all the blocking confined to entering, sitting, a couple of really funny little bits here and there, standing for the song, then the exit. I added a little fun button to the exit, which I think will get a laugh, which will help the fact that the song has no ending or button.
Then I came right home and the rest you know because, well, you know the rest. If you didn’t know the rest, I’d be worried about you.
Today, I’ll be up by eight-thirty, and to the theater by ten-thirty to get the mic levels and music sound set. Then we rehearse for about an hour or so. I’ll hopefully pick up some packages and mail, then I have to sing through the songs of Nothing in Common to make sure all the lyrics are absolutely correct, after which I’ll do a new PDF. Then at six I’ll be having a cozy supper with the Jones people, which I’m very much looking forward to, and while it will be a cheat meal, I’m ready to have one and I don’t care who the HELL knows it. The fact that I’ve lost a bit of weight and not a lot more is constantly annoying to me. After the dinner, I’ll come home and watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I can sleep in, and I will, then it’s a ME day and night from start to finish. Monday, there’s a lot o’ stuff to do and then we’ll do a run-through with lights and sound at seven. Tuesday, we play to an invited audience, Wednesday’s off but will be devoted to getting ready to ship a LOT of stuff, Thursday is our opening night, and then we play on Saturday. Then it’s straight ahead to the reading.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eight-thirty, run sound stuff at ten-thirty, rehearse at eleven for however long it takes, I’ll hopefully pick up packages, I’ll sing through Nothing in Common, I’ll sup with the Jones people, then I’ll watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Mr. James Mason, one of the finest cinema actors of all time if you ask me. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have taken a journey to the center of the notes.