Topic: OPENING NIGHT (Read 18131 times)

DearReaderLaura · « **Reply #180 on:** August 13, 2004, 04:52:34 PM »

Swell hawk, DR Jane! And great pictures.

We are off with DRs Kerry and MusicGuy to a reading of a new play here in town. We will be having pasta for dinner beforehand. Isn't that just too-too?

Jane · « **Reply #181 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:13:49 PM »

I tried listening to Phil Cosby but he kept stuttering. Did anyone else have the same problem?

Did his father die recently? Maybe it was an uncle.

Jane · « **Reply #182 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:17:55 PM »

Thanks DRLaura and pasta sounds yummy. Have fun and say hi to Kerry & MusicGuy.
Keith is about to make Thai food.

George · « **Reply #183 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:22:21 PM »

Quote from: Jane on August 13, 2004, 05:13:49 PM

I tried listening to Phil Cosby but he kept stuttering. Did anyone else have the same problem?

I did, too. There are two ways that I deal with this:

1) Right click on the link, choose "Save Target As..." and save it to your computer hard drive, then play it from your computer. You can delete it any time.

2) Click on the link to play the clip and as soon as the media player pops up and starts to play, click "pause" or "stop" and let the file load into the player (you can see the bar change color to show how much is loading). After most of it has loaded, THEN hit play and it should be okay.

Helpful hints from Heloise (wannabe)

Tomovoz · « **Reply #184 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:27:38 PM »

No doubt you are missing that Parisian fellow. He is having difficulty logging on to HHW but can read the posts. DR Kerry had the same problem a few weeks back.

bk · « **Reply #185 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:32:41 PM »

I shall be leaving for the theater very soon and will, of course, have a full report for you when I arrive back at the home environment.

MBarnum · « **Reply #186 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:44:20 PM »

DR Jane, I am loving the Budapest photos! And that hawk is cool!

Just woke up from a 2 hour nap! Whew! Don't know why I was so tired, but I was.

Good wishes for another successful show tonight BK and Jose!

Panni · « **Reply #187 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:44:54 PM »

bk - Merde!

Jane - Great photos of the old hometown.

Jane · « **Reply #188 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:48:55 PM »

George thanks for the tip but I found an easier solution-“Keith, come here”.

It worked very well. Only one problem, Phil Crosby sounded horrible-a bit off key. $:-\$ He was cute though.

Jane · « **Reply #189 on:** August 13, 2004, 05:51:37 PM »

Thank you Panni and MBarnum. It is truly a beautiful city. I wish there had been more time to explore it.

I did like the hawke. It was a beautiful sight to see him fly over the castle.

Jane · « **Reply #190 on:** August 13, 2004, 07:25:51 PM »

Can it be possible, no post since I was last here?

IN AMERICA waits for me in my DVD player.

Tomovoz · « **Reply #191 on:** August 13, 2004, 07:29:54 PM »

Viewing tonight may now be a revisit to VCR of "Nunsense". This site can influence so much.

Jay · « **Reply #192 on:** August 13, 2004, 07:53:30 PM »

About to tune into the Olympics opening ceremony.

I'm anticipating two minutes of commercials for every minute of ceremony. East Coasters: am I on track?

S. Woody White · « **Reply #193 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:01:39 PM »

Quote from: bk on August 13, 2004, 11:45:24 AM

... It's all nit-picky stuff, but I'm a perfectionist and so is Tammy, and I know there is stuff still to be mined from that number. I think we came up with some useful things and Tammy is wonderful in addressing notes. I don't even know if the changes will be all that noticable, but they will help the number land better - at least I'm pretty certain they will....

And that is exactly why you're so good at what you do, BK!

td · « **Reply #194 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:10:59 PM »

[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]BIRTHDAY AND BREAK A LEG WISHES ! ! ! ! [/move] In the dvd player:
KATE & LEOPOLD- time-travel comedy made palatable by the exquisitely charming performance of Hugh Jackman, who incidentally wears the same lavender sweater onstage in THE BOY FROM OZ that he wears here. Good support from Leiv Shrieber and the guy from THE WEST WING. An "ick" factor arises if you think of the complications of Kate settling down with Leopold. . .there's some sort of incest going on. . .ickk!
on the dvd player:
SWORDFISH - no, i don't really need to see Halle's mammaries, but, it's Hugh and it was only $10.
SOMEONE LIKE YOU - Jackman romances Ashley Judd, chaos ensues. I saw this once a while ago, and wasn't too too excited, maybe another try will do it.
KILL BILL VOLUME 2 - was thrilled by the first, but, haven't found the time to put this one in and give it a go.
CHAINED FOR LIFE - from Alpha video, the divine Daisy and Violet Hilton, co-joined twins, perform songs, get romanced and go on trial for murder.

In the vcr:
DREAMERS - my cabaret which I am copying for a friend.
On the vcr:
SONGS IN THE DARK - another of my cabarets which I am copying for a friend.

In the cd player:
ADLER, BOCK, COLEMAN - S.T.A.G.E.'s salute to those composers, with an extremely overwrought delivery of "Where Am I Going?" from Davis Gaines.
THE PAJAMA GAME - with Ron Raines and Judy Kaye and every note that those composers wrote.
LEE LESSACK SINGS JOHNNY MERCER - that voice with that lyricist equals absolute heaven.
PETER ALLEN THE BOY FROM DOWN UNDER - recent tie-in compilation of the original recordings of many of the songs used in
THE BOY FROM OZ - original Broadway cast recording, Hugh's voice is tired, but, the emotional center is still there.
WICKED - original Broadway cast recording. Still haven't tired of it.
THE FIVE PENNIES - original soundtrack featuring Danny Kaye.
MARY KAY PLACE THE AHERN SESSIONS - totally delightful country album from the costar of MARY HARTMAN MARY HARTMAN, featuring that show's breakaway hit, "Baby Boy."

Matt H. · « **Reply #195 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:13:04 PM »

Boy,a really lowkey day in the Carolinas. We've been kind of bracing for the onslaught of anything Charley has to offer and tomorrow promises to be messy.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #196 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:15:18 PM »

Very bummed tonight. One of my co-workers is a bitch. All right, it's the same one as before. Still, a bummer.

We won't have to worry about watching Kill Bill out of order. We picked up Volume One today, while der B was checking out high-def widescreen TVs.

Televisions.

Not transvestites.

And Dead Zone, Season Two is out, and on our to-watch-(again) shelf.

While we were out, we bought a roast chicken, pretty good, then made mashed taters, mushroom gravy, and doctored some Stovetop Stuffing with celery. I'm full enough for now.

And I'm feeling like wussburgering.

Toodles.

Matt H. · « **Reply #197 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:15:47 PM »

I got that soundtrack of THE FIVE PENNIES last week, but haven't found time to listen to it at all. Something to look forward to in the week ahead.

td · « **Reply #198 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:17:07 PM »

Quote from: Matt H. on August 13, 2004, 08:15:47 PM

I got that soundtrack of THE FIVE PENNIES last week, but haven't found time to listen to it at all. Something to look forward to in the week ahead.

I got that soundtrack of THE FIVE PENNIES last week, too!

PennyO · « **Reply #199 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:17:23 PM »

The What If gang will be at this moment lighting up the stage once more - what a wonderful bunch of posts about the show!! May it be held over and move to 45th Street before the end of the year!!! Congratulations, all who labored so lovingly on it!!!

Jane, love the pix!! Especially the hawk!!!!! And the pic of you and keith. Looks like a swell place.

Hot here tonight. Hope Florida HHW friends are all okay. Back to sleep...

S. Woody White · « **Reply #200 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:19:27 PM »

Before I forget:

Car CD player: Musical of Musicals, or whatever it's called. Very funny stuff (and good proof that the CD player works well in the car), but we're both worried that after a few playings all the jokes will be stale, same as we found with the CD for Avenue Q.

On the other hand, co-worker Chris returned the Rebecca Luker/Cole Porter CD, so I can enjoy that for myself again. He rather liked it, but doesn't know enough about Porter to compare...yet. I've got my work cut out for me.

td · « **Reply #201 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:30:11 PM »

Speaking of Rebecca Luker, has anyone heard her new cd? I didn't buy it in NYC, opting for Lee Lessack, but her cd has a duet of "Wick" with Alison Fraser. . .

Jay · « **Reply #202 on:** August 13, 2004, 08:40:57 PM »

Hmmm. Not an hour into the ceremony and yet we've already had a nearly naked man doing an aerial stunt to the conclusion of Mahler's 3rd Symphony. I'm in.

Michael · « **Reply #203 on:** August 13, 2004, 09:36:20 PM »

Home from Take Me Out. What a wonderful play. Wonderfully acted. Sebastian LaCause has acting chops. He's not just another pretty face. The entire cast was top notch. The Caldwell Theater company has put on a wonderful production. After extending a month it closes this Sunday. Also top notch were Michael Shelton, Gary Cowling (in the role that won Dennis O'Hare a tony) and Michael Polak. It is interesting that most of the actors don't look anything like theie headshots.

Michael · « **Reply #204 on:** August 13, 2004, 09:36:54 PM »

Well off to bed.

Panni · « **Reply #205 on:** August 13, 2004, 10:48:39 PM »

What if somebody saw WHAT IF? two nights in a row?
Well, I just did. And I enjoyed it even more tonight. I invited some friends, one of whom is a journalist. He's going to review the show (which he really liked) for The Jerusalem Post. WHAT IF? goes international.
I heard lots of glowing comments as people left. My journalist friend's wife is from Israel and still has quite a thick accent. She said that usually she misses quite a bit, especially in comedies. But in this show she said she got almost everything. A great compliment to Mr. Kimmel and the gang.

bk · « **Reply #206 on:** August 13, 2004, 11:14:53 PM »

I'm back but must eat something before I drop. Great Act One tonight, Act Two a let-down for me and the audience because one of the gags at the top of the Act was so mis-handled it was almost embarrassing. I do NOT like when actors change things on their own, and I have designed this show to work in a certain specific way. So, when the top of the act got changed and was unfunny it really set a bad tone and I don't think the act ever recovered from it, despite some wonderful reactions to certain songs. I'm still tinkering with a couple of ideas, and I'm happy to report that the work we did on Tammy's song paid off very well and the reaction, while not perfect, was many times better and will get better as she gets used to playing this new way.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #207 on:** August 13, 2004, 11:52:56 PM »

I'm back from the show too, and I've already had some food myself - a nice bowl of cereal.

It was a good show tonight, and a very good audience. I, too, felt that the second act was a little off, but I was also dealing with sweat running into my eyes since the A/C didn't seem to be working properly. Since I'm the only instrument, I had to find creative ways and times to get a chance to get a hand up to my eye and give it a gentle swipe. Thankfully, once the Coming Attractions started, that gave me a nice bit of time to take the Kleenex out of my pocket and clear my brow. No major harm done, but just feeling that one drop of sweat sitting right at the "top" of my nose got really annoying after a while.

After the show, the publicist informed me that there was a gentleman waiting for me in the Cafe next door. Hmm..

Well, once I stepped next door, I recognized him as one of the board members from Arena Stage in DC, and his wife is on the board of Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA - both places I've worked at many times. They just happened to be in town for some vacation. This was their last night in L.A., and they came across a listing for What If? So they took a chance, and headed over to the Hudson Theatre. Yet another case of "Small World".

They brought one of their daughters with them, and since she was basically raised in the theatre, she got all the jokes. They're supposed to fly back tomorrow morning, but their plans may change according to how Charley ends up travelling up the eastern seaboard. I wish them Safe Travel Vibes.

Well, I need to get up early tomorrow since tomorrow will me moving day for me. My friend's landlord graciously let me stay past the two-week limit that's stipulated in his lease. But I'll be staying with another friend for the next few weeks, and then I'll probably end up back here towards closing.

Goodnight.

News:

Author Topic: OPENING NIGHT (Read 18131 times)

MBarnum