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June 22, 2021:

THE RESTING OF THE VOICE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, other than one telephonic conversation, I do believe I was able to pretty much rest my voice all of yesterday and last night, so that was a good thing. And now, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette, an opera about Romeo and Juliette. I’m in act two right now and thus far, save from a couple of pretty bits, I can’t say it’s my favorite opera. I can’t say it’s my least favorite opera either, so that’s a plus. Prior to that I listened to an Edouard Lalo opera completed by Arthur Coquard. That one I rather enjoyed. And a few soundtracks, too – first, 9/30/55 composed by Leonard Rosenman – the date is when James Dean died. Rosenman, of course, wrote the music for Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden. This score is mostly East of Eden but the producer of the recording, Sonny Burke, thought it a good idea to stick dialogue on the album as well as bits of songs – they’re always part of a longer track that has score music, so to say that’s a completely inept way to do a soundtrack album would be quite the understatement. The tracks that are all score are very nice – the East of Eden music is lovely and it’s nice to hear in stereo, since the other recordings of it from the time period were in monophonic sound. Then I listened to two count them two Dave Grusin scores – Absence of Malice and And Justice for All. The former has nice stuff in it but sounds like crap – mono, from some source that simply isn’t very good. And the latter, which is both mono and stereo, is simply a horrible listening experience. Grusin’s score in the film works fine – there’s not all that much of it, frankly. But on CD, it’s a real slog – the mono stuff doesn’t sound good, and the stereo stuff sounds better but is just kind of tiresome. And prior to all that listening, I’d watched Absence of Malice, starring Paul Newman and Sally Field, along with Luther Adler, Wilford Brimley, Josef Sommer, and Bob Balaban.  The script is very good and very ahead of its time in terms of its issues with the media – it’s 1000 times worse now – and Mr. Newman and Miss Field are really excellent. Miss Field has the harder job, as her character could come off as a real jerk, but she’s so human and likeable that it never devolves into her being a villain. It’s great to see Luther Adler in a movie again, and when Mr. Brimley shows up, he simply walks away with the entire film. Sidney Pollack directed well and the Grusin score is excellent. I’ve seen the film several times and yet I never remember its plot, so it’s always enjoyable seeing it again. I tried to watch Kelly’s Heroes, which I’ve never seen, but I really am not liking it at all. I’d much rather watch the film it’s ripping off, The Dirty Dozen.

Yesterday wasn’t much of a day, due to relaxing and resting my voice. I think I got about seven-and-a-half hours of sleep. Once up, I had lots of e-mails to deal with, I picked up a couple of packages, I had another Chinese chicken salad from Stanley’s – I am quite done with salads for a while – it arrived, and I ate it all up. Then I set up all the folding chairs for tonight’s private reading. I think I got it all done right, and I put the scripts where I want people to sit, leaving four chairs for the writers. I still have three more chairs if they’re needed. I’ve got the laptop and speakers set up, so that’s ready, too. Then I listened to the CDs I’ve talked about, then I watched the motion pictures I’ve talked about, and now I’m listening to the opera I talked about. Which means, if I’m assessing the situation correctly, you know the rest.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll rest my voice all day, if I eat it will be something very light, perhaps a chicken breast and wing, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, and then at seven o’clock we’ll have our private reading, which I’m very much looking forward to. We have a really good group of people reading – Noah Weisberg (he’s a regular, I gather, on Zoey’s Incredible Playlist), Kerry O’Malley, Robert Yacko, Michael Shepperd, Lisa Livesay, Peyton Kirkner, Lisagaye Tomlinson, Robert Almodovar, Gordon Goodman, Maria Kress, Harley Walker, and Daniel Bellusci. After the reading, I may want to go out and get a bite to eat but have no idea what might be open that late, since the reading won’t end before nine-thirty at the earliest. Of course, I’ll have a full report for you. Do send some excellent vibes and xylophones that my voice is strong and holds out through eighteen musical numbers.

The rest of the week is finalizing the Kritzerland songs and finding the last two people for the show, catching up on other stuff, perhaps a lunch or dinner engagement, and then I’m seeing the second evening of one-acts on Friday and our evening on Saturday.

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, do whatever needs doing, rest my voice all day, eat something light, hopefully pick up packages, have our private reading of Nothing in Common, and then perhaps get a bite to eat. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Mr. Paul Newman and Miss Sally Field? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, as we continue the resting of the voice.

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