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Author Topic: THE FIRST REHEARSAL  (Read 18195 times)

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bk

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THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« on: July 14, 2004, 12:00:42 AM »

Well, you've read the notes, you've "gotten" the notes, the notes have "gotten" you, and now it is time to post all your excellent posts.  We are, after all, the ginchiest site on all the Internet.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2004, 12:00:45 AM by bk »
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Jay

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2004, 12:05:14 AM »

Congrats on auspicious beginnings for What If--The Revue.  May it run for decades!
« Last Edit: July 14, 2004, 12:05:53 AM by Jay »
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bk

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2004, 12:27:37 AM »

Thanks, Jay.  If we were to have a tremendously busy posting day, we'd pass 55,000 posts - a new and heady (not Hedley) landmark.

Just heard the two Billy Barnes songs we'll be learning - I'd forgotten how much I love the first of them, and I'd never heard the second, which had me laughing out loud for its entire three minutes and twenty seconds.
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Jrand73

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2004, 12:33:55 AM »

Wonderful first rehearsal story....hateful first rehearsal space story. :P

I am so happy you are including CHINESE FOOD IN BED....I am teaching it to myself in Sign Language!  Should be a hit at the cast party!  ;D

Tornadoes and storms yesterday!

My question for ASK BK DAY - did you find a choreographer?  And did you ever think of having one of the performers "sign" a song while another one was singing it?  The signs for CFIB are funny and surprising and touching all at once....  :'(

DR SWW - this is for you for your experience last night.  It always makes me cry and it always makes me think.

Somebody's Mother

- Mary Dow Brine (1816-1913)

    The woman was old and ragged and gray
    And bent with the chill of the Winter's day.

    The street was wet with a recent snow
    And the woman's feet were aged and slow.

    She stood at the crossing and waited long,
    Alone, uncared for, amid the throng

    Of human beings who passed her by
    Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eyes.

    Down the street, with laughter and shout,
    Glad in the freedom of "school let out,"

    Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
    Hailing the snow piled white and deep.

    Past the woman so old and gray
    Hastened the children on their way.

    Nor offered a helping hand to her -
    So meek, so timid, afraid to stir

    Lest the carriage wheels or the horses' feet
    Should crowd her down in the slippery street.

    At last came one of the merry troop,
    The gayest laddie of all the group;

    He paused beside her and whispered low,
    "I'll help you cross, if you wish to go."

    Her aged hand on his strong young arm
    She placed, and so, without hurt or harm,

    He guided the trembling feet along,
    Proud that his own were firm and strong.

    Then back again to his friends he went,
    His young heart happy and well content.

    "She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
    For all she's aged and poor and slow,

    "And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
    To help my mother, you understand,

    "If ever she's poor and old and gray,
    When her own dear boy is far away."

    And "somebody's mother" bowed low her head
    In her home that night, and the prayer she said

    Was "God be kind to the noble boy,
    Who is somebody's son, and pride and joy!"   :) :'(

 


 
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bk

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2004, 12:39:36 AM »

We met with a choreographer tonight, but she's really busy.  She'll let us know if she can do it in the morning - if not, I'm going with someone who really can't start for a week, but that will be fine, and I've spoken to several people who really like her.
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Jrand73

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2004, 12:43:29 AM »

Sweet!  

Absolutely no need for a choreographer until everyone knows his songs!  Many is the time I have been frustrated and angry and upset after an entire rehearsal devoted to A SONG....and the next day...the first hour is spent reviewing because "I don't remember my note....part....entrance...."

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......
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Jrand73

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2004, 12:43:52 AM »

Nytol.
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Dan-in-Toronto

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2004, 04:56:11 AM »

Mo'nin' (an Auntie Mame reference) all.

I'm looking forward to watching "What If - The Revue" take shape. I adore the way Alet belts "If I Can't Take It With Me," and I'm betting she'll bring down the house with it. It's a wonderful song, but did its selection have anything to do with the "If" in the title?

Question of the day: What are some other "if" songs? Here are two more: "If the Rain's Got to Fall" (Half a Sixpence) and "If'n" (Happy Hunting). I find the first exhilarating, the second annoying.

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Noel

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2004, 05:00:36 AM »

I'd love to know about the process leading to the selection of the songs for What If.

When different people were cast, did you then find material that would be right for them?
Were songs dropped after casting because nobody was right for them?

Had you, before embarking on this project, a list of songs that you thought would be good in a revue - to draw on.  What "new" listening did you do, once it seemed Plan B might become a reality?

Did you ever get in touch with Marcy and Zina?  Their new musical, Junie B. Jones, opens next week at the Lucille Lortel.
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Dan-in-Toronto

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2004, 05:15:26 AM »

I have mucked with my formula and now I feel as if my terra firma has been removed from beneath my feet. I feel the wind beneath my wings has been taken away. I feel at sea, mid-air, without foundation. Wait one second. There, I put some foundation on and now I feel much better. Perhaps I'll put some rouge on, too.

BK, If your "What If" opening is as much fun as this morning's notes, you'll have the audience in the palm of your hand (a House of Flowers reference).
« Last Edit: July 14, 2004, 05:16:02 AM by Dan-in-Toronto »
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Ben

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2004, 05:37:16 AM »

Speaking of Junie B. Jones, here is a nice article from Playbill On-Line about the show

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/87316.html
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William E. Lurie

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2004, 06:06:11 AM »

Happy Bastille Day---

BK... what happened with that new reality show that was interested in hiring you?  Did you turn it down because of WHAT IF or will you be able to do it after the revue?
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elmore3003

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2004, 06:42:23 AM »

Where is Francois?  He should be on the site today to report on the Parisian festivities for Bastille Day!

Congrats, Dear Friend BK, on final casting.  Your notes today reminded me of the Rodgers & Hart "Ship Without a Sail," which is one of my faves.  And that leads to my next thought about "What-ifs":

My favorite "if" songs are "If I Were A Bell," "If I Loved You," and "If You Hadn't But You Did."

I guess my question for BK is besides Alet and Tammy, whom I last saw when she recorded "Joshua Noveck," who are your other three cast members?
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Panni

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #13 on: July 14, 2004, 06:49:03 AM »

Good morning. Thank you for the feel better vibes. I do.
Now for a quick walk and then work.
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S. Woody White

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #14 on: July 14, 2004, 07:13:41 AM »

If songs:

Well, there's a whole list of songs starting with the word "If" over at the Musical Cast Album Database, which is a handy research tool.  Go to "Songs" and "I-J", if you haven't tried this before.  It's only good for titles, though, not songs that ask "if" within the lyrics.

Sondheim's "It Would Have Been Wonderful" from A Little Night Music comes to mind as a good "if" song, and a dang good duet.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2004, 07:14:52 AM by S. Woody White »
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MBarnum

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #15 on: July 14, 2004, 07:26:30 AM »

JRand53, that "Somebody's Mother" poem really put a lump in my throat. Thank you for sharing it.
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Jrand73

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #16 on: July 14, 2004, 07:32:29 AM »

I know MB....gets to me every time as well!  LOL...we are just easy touches!   :'(

Yes today is Bastille Day....I can hardly wait the DVD release of the Dirk Bogarde A TALE OF TWO CITIES this summer!

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Jrand73

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #17 on: July 14, 2004, 07:39:10 AM »

Oh dear, A TALE OF TWO CITIES which was due on 6/29 was cancelled!  Oh, no!
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Matt H.

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #18 on: July 14, 2004, 07:56:38 AM »

Didn't I read that the Ronald Colman A TALE OF TWO CITIES was going to be released later this year? I've never seen the Bogarde version. Is it in color?

I really love the Colman/MGM take on that book.
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Matt H.

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #19 on: July 14, 2004, 07:57:08 AM »

Here's hoping things are going well with DR td's mom.
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Matt H.

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #20 on: July 14, 2004, 07:59:29 AM »

In FUNNY LADY, Streisand sings the old standard "If I Love Again," and I've always thought that was a gorgeous song.
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JoseSPiano

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #21 on: July 14, 2004, 08:17:31 AM »

Good Morning!

Well, nothing really new to add since I posted before going to bed last night...  I think... I guess...

As for Ask BK Day...  Well, the past couple of days for me have been "Ask BK Days"... As will today... And tomorrow... And so on and so forth... ;)

I have a ton of work to get done today, but I'll try to check in today the best I can here and there.

Laters...
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Jrand73

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #22 on: July 14, 2004, 08:30:13 AM »

DRMATTH - no the Bogarde version is b/w.  I like the Colman version as well, but Dirk is so much more handsome...and seems so much younger...that his wasted life as Sydney seems more tragic to me.  The Miss Pross and Madame DeFarge in the Bogarde version could never equal the actresses in Colman's version, but Christopher Lee is a good match for Basil Rathbone, and Dorothy Tutin as Lucy Manette is beautiful.

I think I like it best just because of Bogarde....and the Colman version didn't give us a satisfying ending....left us hanging....in the Bogarde version, we hear the final fall of the guillotine....  So sad.  Good book, good movie.
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Matt H.

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #23 on: July 14, 2004, 09:08:46 AM »

I know it does play on TV from time to time. I'll have to watch it the next time it comes around. I've always loved Dorothy Tutin. Her Anne Bolyn in THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII is magnificent.
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Jennifer

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #24 on: July 14, 2004, 09:16:32 AM »

Good morning.

Some comments on yesterday's posts.

DR Jane, that is so sweet of you to make all that stuff for your group.  But maybe you should have given them some to take home if you don't want to eat it all.

S. Woody, re: putting on make-up in public, it's funny but I don't find that tacky at all.  Sometimes a person just doesn't have time to do it at home.

And re: helping that woman, I think it's nice if you talk to someone who is lonely.
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Jennifer

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #25 on: July 14, 2004, 09:28:09 AM »

And guess what? I ate chinese food last night.  But it wasn't because of reading about it here.  My sis and her company just decided to go for Chinese at the last minute and I went along.

But I have a question.

At dinner last night there was my sis and her hubby, her hubby's sister, 4 yr old (who ate a lot) and husband, and me.

When it came to paying the check, they all just whipped out their money.  Now all I had was a $2 and a $20.  But I always like to pay my share.

Now I didn't eat very much.  But they just took my $2 and that was it.

And I left feeling very bad.

Now I'm quite generous towards these people.  I often buy my sis and her hubby stuff and don't ask for money.  I painted their house, helped them move, baked them cookies and muffins, and bought them ice ceam (and this is just in the last month).

And I'm always sending his sister's kids stuff and buying their gifts for her to give them at Xmas ...

But I still felt guilty about not paying more.

Am I crazy?  I mean when dividing the tab, don't people normally just say "it will be X dollars each" as opposed to just throwing money on the table.

Thanks.
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bk

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #26 on: July 14, 2004, 09:42:49 AM »

Our cast, in no particular order: Tammy Minoff, Susanne Blakeslee, Alet Taylor, Paul Haber and Ryan Raftery.  

The reality show never called back so I assume they didn't think I was the right guy - I sent them my two Bullshit! episodes to look at along with a resume.

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bk

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #27 on: July 14, 2004, 09:46:52 AM »

For the second time in a week Fed Ex has screwed up, but this time it's really a problem.  Jose had a huge box of music which was supposed to arrive yesterday, which we were hoping to have for last night's rehearsal.  It didn't get there before he left, but when he got home he found some box filled with stationary instead.  OUR box was sitting in Louisville and won't get here until tomorrow.  And these creeps think all they have to do is credit us the shipping fee.  Nope.  This happened on a session once, and I told them if they didn't have the music to us within three hours that I would be charging them for the musicians' time, the studio time, and my time, approximately 2500 bucks.  They had the music there in three hours.  I've told Jose to do the same thing now - they can get that box on the next plane out of Louisville, they can have it here in three hours, and they can get it to him by five.
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William E. Lurie

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #28 on: July 14, 2004, 10:09:24 AM »

Elmore... Francoise is on vacation.  He only has computer access at work.

My turn to ask: where is everyone.  We are rarely still on page one before I go to lunch.
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Panni

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Re:THE FIRST REHEARSAL
« Reply #29 on: July 14, 2004, 10:13:10 AM »

Nothing for you to feel guilty about, Jennifer. Just read your post.
My bit to get us to Page Two.
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