Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening on the Tube of You to the Broadway cast recording of The Secret Garden, a production of which I saw yesterday at the matinee performance. I will admit here and now as well as now and here that I’ve never seen the show and I don’t know that I’ve ever even heard the entire score. I understand that the original production had beautiful settings and great performances – it wasn’t a smash hit but did run two years, a bit over 700 performances. The few tracks I’d heard from the cast album were okay – didn’t love or hate them, but thought the orchestrations were beautiful and that the album was well produced other than the actors playing the dialogue as if they were doing a radio play – a stage musical should sound like a stage musical. I’d heard not good things about this production here at the Ahmanson, but I always go in with an open mind. I went mainly to see one of our best Kritzerland kids, Ava Madison Gray, who was on as Mary. When the cast was announced, I was so thrilled that two of our kids were cast as Mary Lennox – Sadie Reynolds and Ava as her cover with guaranteed performances. Just a few days into rehearsals, the director, who cast her, replaced Sadie, who became an alternate, as well, splitting performances with Ava. The director brought in the Amaryllis from The Music Man he choreographed. Now, I shan’t go into it at length, other than it’s the director’s job to direct and expecting a performance after four or five days is nonsense, whether child OR adult. It simply didn’t sit well with me, the end. And there’s no reason to go into the production at length, other than to say I thought it wasn’t to my liking, especially the direction and the set, such as it was. The actors did fine – I don’t think any of them would make you forget actors like Mandy Patinkin or Robert Westenberg and especially Rebecca Luker. And our Ava? She was lovely, sang beautifully, took the stage, and made the part her own – and she did that without a single word of direction from ANYONE. The director left town after opening night and both Sadie and Ava had one put in and on they went – in the LEAD. Like every show done anywhere, they say pre-Broadway. I’m not sure this would fare well on Broadway, but what do I know.
It was really the first time I’d been out in six days. I did get eight hours of sleep, so that was good and that’s been the one good thing this past six days – catching up on sleep. I shaved and showered, then moseyed on over to the Music Center. The traffic once you got past Hollywood was appalling – on a Saturday. No reason for it, either. Once one got close to the off-ramp for the Music Center, suddenly there was no traffic. I got a good parking space in their parking garage, had a telephonic conversation with David Wechter, because I came up with a good idea for our project that would solve a little issue. Then I saw the show.
I saw a few people I knew, including Shannon Cudd, who played Donna in The Brain from Planet X at the Chance Theater. After the show, I waited to see Ava, gave her a big hug and told her how proud I was of her and that she’d be back at Kritzerland soon. Then I came home and thankfully the traffic was much better. I stopped at Gelson’s and got some lox, bagels, and cream cheese, and a top sirloin for today. I got home, made two lox and bagel sandwiches – the lox wasn’t as good as usual – and I had some potato chips left and I ate those, followed by the few Dibs that were left.
Then I watched half of a weird documentary about Ingmar Bergman from 2012, with a bunch of disparate filmmakers brought to his house to comment. It was such a weird group that, for me, it just became tiresome, especially listening to the insufferably stupid Lars von Trier. Then I began watching a British motion picture from 1962, starring Michael Craig, Janet Munro, and Patrick McGoohan, directed by Basil Dearden. I’m halfway through it and it’s very hard-hitting and very good, about a young girl who’s near death after a boating accident – the doctor says she must have a blood transfusion immediately or she’ll die. And the father won’t allow it because of religious reasons. The actors are wonderful and there’s a good score by one of my favorite Brit composers, William Alwyn. I’ll finish it after posting these here notes.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll have a ME day, I’ll see if there’s anything at the mail place and if there is I’ll go get it. I’ll eat the top sirloin steak and then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
This week is book stuff, Sami stuff, entering more festivals, hopefully getting a positive email from Amazon so we can get out publicist going once we have the firm date and we know all is well, we’ll wrap this iteration of the project with David Wechter and get that on its way, and there’ll be some meetings and meals, as well.
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, have a ME day, see if there’s anything at the mail place, I’ll eat, and then watch, listen, and 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 postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have been out at last.