Well, dear readers, we had us a second fun music rehearsal – one person MIA due to food poisoning – and everything is sounding really good. The MD drilled everyone – very strong and very good at it he is. We did that for two hours, then we did My Son, Uphold the Law and It’s Your Fault and Doug did his part of A Pox Upon the Traitor’s Brow. I just sit and listen and then I get some staging ideas in my head and I jot them down so I don’t forget them. After we finished, I got some shrimp sushi from Gelson’s – not very good and I don’t know why, other than it was probably sitting there like so much fish for a few hours. I came home, caught up on e-mails and then, what do you know, it was time to write these here notes. Prior to all that, I got a really good nine hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, had a few telephonic conversations, got an irritating text, had Panda Express for food – smaller portions than usual, which was fine by me – and then I watched part of a low-budget programmer called Finger Man from 1955, starring Frank Lovejoy and beautiful Peggie Castle. It’s standard issue bottom of the bill fare, running eighty minutes or so. Forrest Tucker is the bad guy. Poor Peggie Castle – an alcoholic and dead at forty-five. Lovejoy was a favorite of mine when I was a kid – he, too, died very young – heart attack – age fifty. I’ll finish it up today. After that, I showered, and got ready to leave and then I did leave, which is a good thing to do when you’re ready to leave. I did have one interesting dream prior to arising. Producers of the Broadway show A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum were not happy with star Zero Mostel, who was performing with low energy and not being sharp with the comedy and text, basically the definition of phoning it in. I was in the show, and they came to me and asked if I knew the part well enough to take it over. I said of course I did, and I sang through Comedy Tonight and they seemed happy. Then they fired Zero and put me into the show, sending out a press release with the headline: There’s a new Pseudolus in town. They were concerned I wouldn’t draw, but apparently people liked me in the part, and they came in droves. Then I woke up. I know why I dreamt the Zero stuff – because there’s a live tape of him doing the show back then and he’s just rushing through everything, not the least bit funny.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll eat something light and amusing, then at seven our two leads arrive with our MD, and we run all their solos and duets and there are a lot of them. That happens here in the home environment.
Tomorrow we’re off, then Saturday is our first staging day – just the two leads and maybe Cheryl Baxter will stop by. Several of the songs are just what I call point and click things – simple blocking for a solo or duet. One of the numbers has a dance section, which I’ve kind of thought out, but Cheryl will finesse and make it much better. Sunday is a ME day, Monday morning I take the motor car in to get a couple of things fixed – simple stuff – and then Tuesday we’re back and staging the entire opening, including the vignettes that happen during the overture.
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, eat, rehearse, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What have been your favorite dreams in which celebrities made an appearance? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a lovely second music rehearsal.