Well, dear readers, second performance is done – about half a house – not the uproarious audience at opening, but in the end, there was hefty mitts and cheering and everyone I talked to said they really enjoyed it. Part of it, though, was one of our ensemble members calling in sick – vomiting all day – so we had to scramble to cover all his scene shifts, a line or two, and everything he’s in, which is a LOT. Happily, before I even arrived our dance captain was on it and had it all under control, so I didn’t even stress about it, and it was fine, and I don’t think the audience knew at all. I was amazed they got through it without any huge mishaps. But stuff like that does throw the usual energy slightly off, but again, nothing major and all the people played the show well. Friends Richard Allen and Jeremy Sunderland were there and they both said they really enjoyed it, so that was nice. Jeremy especially thought Sydney DeMaria was/is the real deal – I took him backstage so he could tell her that. Richard Allen came back, too, and of course, he’d played for Sydney back in 2015 when she did her Kritzerland show. Our own Amy and Mark were there but they seem to hightail it out very quickly. Hoping they enjoyed it. After the show, a few of us went over to the Coral Café for a bite to eat. Two of us had the chicken fried steak, then there was a Reuben consumed, and soup and a sandwich combo. Lots of fun gabbing and I’m hoping we can make it a once-a-week regular thing. Prior to all that, I got nine hours of sleep, got up and was greeted with a WOW review from Stage Scene L.A. That was a lovely first thing to see. Here are the highlights:
“WOW! Drat! The Cat! has been given fresh new life by director Bruce Kimmel in a delightful six-decades-postponed West Coast Premiere at the Group Rep Theatre … And so this tale of an anonymous cat burglar who fleeced Gilded Age New York rich of their priciest jewels … ended up known only by the most diehard of Golden Age Broadway aficionados … Kimmel’s sparkling revival makes abundantly clear, it didn’t deserve this fate … Sydney DeMaria makes a captivating Group Rep debut as New York heiress Alice Van Guilder … in an amusingly staged opening sequence that has all of upscale New York singing the catchy title song … Broadway had probably moved on from this 1950s-style fluff…but even in 2025 there’s still room for a musical that simply sets out to charm, and charm Drat! The Cat! does thanks to Kimmel’s sharp direction and a couple of charismatic romantic leads, and it doesn’t hurt that by shortening a couple of extended ballet sequences that would have necessitated a cast of Broadway-caliber dancers, Kimmel has brought the show in at under two hours … Leading lady DeMaria proves the perfect blend of ingenue appeal and bad girl sauciness, and she’s got Broadway-caliber pipes to boot, and as his irresistible star turn in Promises, Promises made abundantly clear, no one at the Group Rep does fresh-faced boy-next-door better than Reusch, who is once again a charmer as the hopelessly love-besotted Bob … Drat! The Cat! benefits enormously from Gerald Sternbach’s topnotch music direction, in particular from the production’s pitch-perfect five-piece band (Sternbach on piano joined by Tim Christensen, Paul Cotton, Tom Marino, and Craig Pilo … anyone in search of two hours of good old-fashioned musical theater romance, comedy, and all-around fun need look no further than the Group Rep’s latest crowd-pleaser.” Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA.
And, as promised, here are some photographs of our goings on. First, Alec Reusch and Sydney DeMaria in a makeshift cabin.
Next, Lloyd Petersen and Constance Mellors as the Van Guilders, Alice’s parents.
Next, Alec and April Audia as Bob’s Irish mom.
Next, Doug Haverty, Maxwell Oliver, the Japanese Idol with the diamond eyes, Samantha Mortenson, and Rob Schaumann.
Next, Lee Grober, Rob Schaumann, and Doug Haverty.
Next, Alec Reusch
Next, Steve Young, Lloyd Pedersen (he plays both Bob’s father, who expires after scene two, and then Alice’s father), and April Audia.
Next, Sydney and Alex singing “Let’s Go.”
Next, Sydney as Alice.
Aren’t those lovely and enticing photographs? Anyway, I answered the usual barrage of texts and e-mails, had tacos from the local Mexican jernt to tide me over until the Coral Café, snoozed for a bit on the couch, showered, and then moseyed on over to the theater.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven, will shave and shower and be at the theater by one, watch the matinee, which is pretty full but not quite sold out yet, do a talkback, eat, and then relax and get to bed as soon as I finish posting the notes.
Tomorrow, I have to be up by eight and out the door by 8:45 to drive over the hill to my eye doctor appointment at 9:45. I’m hoping that we’re now at the phase where he’ll do the surgeon referral so I can schedule the operation and finally get this eye thing fixed. I’ll come right home after the appointment. Then I really do need a few ME days to rest and get myself ready to perhaps begin writing this year’s second book, which I’ll be writing at my leisure over the next couple of months. The we resume shows on Friday night.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven, shave and shower, mosey on over to the theater, watch the matinee, have a talkback, eat, relax, and get to bed. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK 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, so happy to have gotten a WOW review.