Well, dear readers, we actually managed to have a full run-through, only stopping once in each act due to scene shift confusion. I think, in order to really solve it, we’ll have to take one hour at some point and do a cue to cue for scene shifts. There’s just too much confusion about who does what and where things actually go. That has to be as choreographed as any musical number. Even with stopping act one, it ran about an hour and eight minutes – so, we just need to tighten by eight minutes, which won’t be hard. I want it exactly an hour. Act two, with the stop, ran about fifty-something minutes, so we have to tighten it down to forty-five. That shouldn’t be hard either. But it was fun to see it straight through, and it’s very obvious where it occasionally flags (mostly due to line issues), and where the actor energy flags. We’ll drill those sections. But when it’s moving along, there are lots of laughs and it’s really fun. We ran a little over our end time because one actor didn’t get there until 7:45 and therefore we didn’t begin until 7:55, coming down at 10:08 (with a ten-minute break between acts). I wish the tracks were better but they are what they are. I’ve decided we have to use them for the designer run-through. The first act is a bear, musically, and I just don’t want to subject Richard Allen to that – he’s great, but it’s nigh unto impossible to just jump in when the MD’s score notes are either not there at all or too hard to decipher. Oh, and our Mrs. Van Guilder had a car accident, so she wasn’t with us. Our assistant director walked her part. She should be back with us on Saturday. After rehearsal, I came right home, had some soup and another bagel, cream cheese, and lox – very good. Prior to all that, I got eight and a half hours of sleep, got up, answered texts and e-mails, and there were a LOT of ‘em, had bagels and lox for food, then went to the mom and pop Mercedes that’s two blocks from here and got a new battery for the fob, and what a difference – works perfectly now. I think I really dodged a bullet because I think it would have stopped working by this morning. One less thing to worry about. Then I showered, stopped at the mail place for a small package, then moseyed on over to the theater. While we waited for our latecomer, we drilled a couple of numbers, but mostly the actors finally got a peek at their props. The props people did an absolutely fantastic job of it. Really great stuff. The thing I was worried about most, the two diamonds that are the “eyes” of a Japanese Idol and that I asked to have lights in them, work so well and will for sure get a big laugh – another kind of Blake Edwards moment that I devised for that sequence where those diamonds are stolen. A hidden bed for scene two works splendidly, and the set has more things each time we rehearse. They still have a LOT to do and we won’t have two key set pieces until Tuesday, I think.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll have me a real old-fashioned ME day, although I’m certain there will be e-mail and text volleys concerning show stuff, I’ll eat something amusing, and then just putter around the house. In the evening, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, I can relax during the day, then I’ll head over to the theater around five-thirty. We do a full-on run-through at seven. Sunday is the same schedule, and we do our designer run. Then we’re off on Monday, back on Tuesday for a full week of run-throughs and then tech. Hard to believe, we open in just two weeks. Yikes!
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 me a ME day, eat, putter, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your DVD/Blu and Ray/streaming player? I’ll start – CD, more Ormandy. Streaming, I’ll find something. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had all this and props, too. And a big props for the props.