Well, dear readers, we have survived our first performance of the staged reading of the long musical and I must say I am quite a proud papa – proud of this wonderful company of players. I have to say that I have never enjoyed directing a staged reading as much as I have this one, despite some frustrating moments that had nothing whatsoever to do with the actual work at hand. In fact, I’d have to say that it was a real love-fest for me, and I hope to work with many of these people in the future. There is nothing like a professional group of people with focus, who understand the job at hand and what needs to be done. They were with me every step of the way, and that’s why it was possible to have the show we had. But more about them in a minute. Yesterday, I got up at six and announced the new Kritzerland title. It was a little slow out of the gate, but by the time I got home after the show we had a decent amount of orders. I then did some work around the house, then at eleven-fifteen I went to the theater. The first order of business was the sound, and we got that worked out very quickly. In fact, I really like our soundman – very on top of things. I then worked with the composer and our musical director to solidify the segue and scene change music. While it’s not perfect, it got the job done. We then rehearsed some musical numbers for thirty minutes, and then I began at the top of the show. I decided not to do a run-through. Instead, I drilled the opening number several times, so the cast could get used to our new environment, dealing with steps, the playing space, and entrances and exits. We then jumped from scene to scene – sometimes I’d let the scenes play out a little, and sometimes we’d just jump to the end of the scene. That way, all the people reading stage directions figured out the timing of their entrances, and we all heard the segues. We spent two-and-a-half hours doing that and got all the way through the show, stopping occasionally to give a note or two, or to drill specific numbers, or to clean up entrances and exits. It was difficult because the actors were trying to keep up with the jumping around we were doing, but everyone stayed with me and therefore we completed our task.
Then I grabbed a sandwich, after which I came back to the theater. I gave a few notes, and then had a group sound check, at which point I just told everyone that if the made a fumfer or mistake to just do it with conviction and not take me out of the show. I told them that they were all doing terrifically and to just commit and go for it all the way down the line. And I said that the most important thing was to stay on top of the entrances and exits. One of the great luck outs of doing it at this particular space was the set that was still standing. It just worked perfectly for my purposes. And then it was finally show time.
I came out and made the usual speech about staged readings and 29 hours. In fact, I got a nice laugh when I said we had 29 actors and 29 hours and that I made the unique directorial choice to rehearse each actor for one hour. I set the mood for what they should expect (the most important thing you can do in a staged reading), and then we began the show. Without going into too much detail I would only say that there were only a few fumfers, no missed entrances or exits, and I cannot imagine a staged reading that had this sort of time frame being any smoother. Our young leading man and woman are pure magic – Patrick Levis and Kelly Sullivan. I would work with either of them in a heartbeat. Each not only has a terrific voice and good acting chops, but they exude presence and have incredible chemistry (yeah, chemistry). Our Lepke, Richard Seagall, started off a little tentatively, but he hit his stride quickly and gave a fantastic performance – especially in the second act, where he was ferocious. Of course, Richard and I have something in common – he, as a young boy, appeared on The Partridge Family in their final season. The family members, which included our very own Mr. Barry Pearl, my darling friend Marsha Kramer, Barbara Minkus, and Rebecca Johnson, were also great and those scenes were real highlights. The pace of the show was really good, save for some scenes in act one that just don’t work. Of course, I said they didn’t work three months ago and I almost got them changed, and then it didn’t happen. After last night, it is really obvious that they have to rethink those scenes and get that information out in a totally different way, through characters we are actually invested in. Once those three scenes go away, everything will work much better. Sharon McNight socked it home as Sophie Tucker, and our two Nicholas Brothers were a delight. But everyone, from supporting roles to ensemble just came through.
So, of course there is still a lot of work to be done when we resume discussions about the book, but I was really pleased. Afterwards, Kevin Bailey, the wonderful actor who runs the theater with James Mellon, told me that he thought it was the best staged reading he’s ever seen. And it really did look smooth and good. I used the set to its fullest, everything was simple and fluid and the little blocking was effective, as was the little bit of musical staging we did. It wasn’t your usual chairs and music stands deal, and of that I was particularly proud.
After the show and visiting with friends Nancy Dussault, Andrea Marcovicci, and many other terrific folks, I joined some of the cast at the Eclectic Café for a meal. I ate some risotto and a small salad – too much food, but I thought I deserved it.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I am really exhausted and am hoping I can get a really good night’s sleep.
Today I shall try to get up late, and other than shipping out a few packages, I really have nothing planned, which is a good thing. At six, I’ll join my assistant for a quick dinner, and then I have a few tiny notes and two little things to run before tonight’s show.
Tomorrow, I have a morning meeting, and when that’s over the rest of the day is mine all mine, and so is the rest of the week. I’ll then begin to try and figure out my plans for travel to see the two productions of The Brain From Planet X.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, ship some packages, do a few errands and whatnot, sup, and then do our second and final performance. Today’s topic of discussion: Another thing I love is rice. What are your favorite rice dishes, and what’s the best rice dish you ever ate? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst this proud papa hits the road to dreamland.