Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 2 => Topic started by: bk on August 12, 2004, 12:00:10 AM
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Well, you've read the notes, you've cast aspersions of your own, you know the topic and so isn't it just time to post until the casting cows have come home?
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But, bk, tell us what you REALLY think of the guy at ON THE HOUSE.
Memorable opening nights... One that comes to mind right away is the opening of the Burton Hamlet in Toronto in 1964 (I think). I was pretty young and went with my mother. It was at the height of the Burton/Taylor affair and La Liz was in attendance. (Although I tried to be very sophisticated and refused to go and gawk with the rest of the audience.) And I saw John Gielgud in the lobby at intermission. (Huge very red nose.)
I'm too tired to go into more detail -- but it was exciting. More tomorrow perhaps on other opening nights.
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Only opening night I can remember was a movie "Tommy" - attended by Mr Elton John and an entourage of would bes! They were an hour late!
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Good Evening! Good Morning!
-As soon as I got back from the theatre tonight, it was time for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", and then I somehow got sucked into "Things I Hate About You" on Bravo. They had a gay male couple from Long Island on tonight. It was a fun, brainless way to spend an hour in front of the TV.
-And for some unknown reason, I was in a total junk food mode after the show. So, I had a small bowl of "Flamin' Hot Cheetos con Limon" and a Drumstick Vanilla Fudge Ice Cream Sundae Cone. -Well, at least I'll know what the source of my bad dreams are tonight if I end up having bad/weird dreams. Thankfully, my stomach doesn't seem to be rebelling right now. Whew!
I felt generally good about the final dress rehearsal/preview/show tonight. The piano got tuned this afternoon, and that actually kind of threw me tonight. I could tell that it had been tuned, and certain voicings I had become used to - and even some certain "out of tunenesses" I had "accepted" - were no longer there. I also sensed that tuner had re-voiced some of the octaves too. It just seemed like a different instrument tonight - and, consequently, I felt like I was underplaying and overplaying at different points in the evening. Thankfully(?), BK didn't hear too many of my "clams" tonight, even though I felt like - in my own words - I "sucked ***" tonight. -Sorry for the graphic, albeit edited for family consumption language.
I'm hoping to get to the theatre early tomorrow, and as long as I can get about five or ten minutes of "quiet time with the piano", I should be fine. Well, I WILL be fine.
I also have to say, the small (but appreciative) audience also threw me somewhat. But the cast really did put on a "full show" tonight regardless. Heck, small audiences happen.
Tomorrow/today, I'm hoping to have a somewhat slightly busy morning - maybe a nice walk, get my hair cut, run to the post office - and then spend the afternoon in "me land". This is my usual routine for "big show" days. The busy morning helps to keep my adrenaline in check, and the lazy afternoon just helps me to relax before the big evening.
Now, if the publicist's list is correct, there will actually be some celebrities in attendance with whom I have worked with before. And it will be "fun" to see who actually remembers working with me. One actress, in particular, thought my parents named me wrong - and even told my parents so on opening night of the show she was in (and that I was in the pit for). -I shall disclose those names after the fact tomorrow night.
However, the one person I am most nervous about "meeting" tomorrow is Billy Barnes since we are doing two of his songs in the show. And since I had to transcribe those two songs from the recordings of those songs... I'm about 95% sure of my transcriptions, and I've even checked them again a few times over the past week. However... When I called Mr. Barnes a few weeks ago asking if he could send me the charts for the two songs, he "admitted" that even he wasn't sure what the chords were for the one section I was not too sure about. *And since he had just changed offices, he wasn't sure where any of his charts were at the time anyway. ;) In any case, I'm looking forward to meeting him, and if he does happen to have a correction or two for me, then I will be more than happy to take them.
*This sort of reminds me when I played a few chords from the Letter Quintet in Sweeney Todd for Mr. Sondheim. They were notated differently in the piano/conductor's score and the rental materials, and I just wanted to know which one was correct. Well... He wasn't sure either. ;)
OK - This is turning into a ramble, and I really should get ready for bed...
Safe Weather Wishes for our DRs in Florida!
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Good morning all! No time to read posts or notes right now but wanted to tell you all that the newest update puts Charlie as coming straight into Tampa Bay! I’m so glad I bought my supplies yesterday. There will, no doubt, be a run on them today as all the foolish people who don’t take it serious will run out and try to get the things they should have already bought.
I think that is one of the biggest problems with these storms. People don’t listen, think it’s an excuse for a party and then when they get caught, they want to cry. People get to complacent. What they need is a good kick in the butt. Charlie might be the one to do just that.
Gotta run but will check in later today. The weather should be good for today.
Have a good and safe day!
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My opening night other than the opening nights I was involved in would have to be Sunday In the Park With George with tickets courtesy of the composer of the piece. And many famous faces were there.
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Batten down the hatches!
GRRRRRRRRR....fie on the Paper Guy! Isn't that the way? I didn't make a mistake...oh no, I didn't make a mistake...NO...but, if I did, sorry...I guess.
Hmmmmmmmm....not many celebrities on Opening Nights here in Indiana. But I do remember when I was in a production of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (playing one of the white recording engineers) - we were backstage during the intermission....the dressing room door opened and there stood William Marshall (Blacula himself)....who asked "Where is the bathroom?" Well....I showed him....far be it from me to tell him that he couldn't use the actors' facilities! He was very tall and very polite.
Met MANY stars after opening nights when we had season tickets to the Broadway series - which we no longer have because they alternate theatres! Sally Struthers and Donny Most, Marie Osmond, Robert Goulet, and a lot of Les Miz people (including Mr Douglas Sills!)....I guess I should change that to read "stars"!
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To the Cast & Crew & Staff of What If!! ;D
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I'm just killing myself over not being able to make it to L.A. for What If. It sounds just like the sort of thing I'd love, and, as I've said before, I've long admired Something and Don't Laugh. They're among my most treasured pieces of sheet music (and I'm just reading their titles. You want to call Don't Laugh Show Me that's your business. Also, feel free to call At the Same Time "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face.")
I've been to openings, but I can't seem to recall what they were. But What If is the opening I most regret missing.
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Two memorable opening nights. I'll post about the second one shortly.
The first was my high school French class's production of Dr. Knock. I was the narrator - and had an all-important opening speech. But as the play was about to start, I realized that my parents - punctuality personified - were not in the audience. My French teacher (the director) held the curtain until my folks - who had been stuck on the subway - arrived.
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I've only been to two professional opening nights, but Whoopi Goldberg was at both of them! I saw her at both the opening night of "Master Harold And The Boys" and the opening night of Alvin Ailey's most recent season. She always wears dark glasses and has an enormous crowd of people surrounding her, and she has a tendency to sit about three rows in front of me!
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I think it would be prudent (oh! yes! p-r-u-d-e-n-t) for one of us to keep an eye on the sky.
One never knows when a house might come flying by...for whatever reasons.
Sadly, there are no longer any "official" wicked witches to tell the tale.
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(I'll be cryptic if I want to be....)
:D
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One memorable opening night comes to mind. We were volunteering for Broadway Cares at the annual Gift Basket project and free tickets came available for Waiting in the Wings (this was in 1999, Coward's Centennial year) at the Walter Kerr Theatre (although I love going to opening nights, it's kind of sad that opening nights on Broadway still need to be papered). We went home and "gussied up" (where did that term come from, why Gussie, why not Charlied up or Franklin Sheparded up) and went to see Rosemary Harris and Lauren Bacall. The show was OK, not great, not terrible (although Miss Bacall seemed extraordinarily nervous and had some vocal and line problems) but the intermission was where the excitement happened. The balcony (it is not a mezzanine) of the Kerr is VERY narrow. An older gentleman was returning to his seat at the end of intermission and took a spill (a person in good health and very nimble would have a hard time in the Kerr balcony aisles). He fell almost the entire length of the stairs stopping at the balcony wall. His companion screamed for help and the intermission then took another half hour while EMS was called. They arrived and then had to figure out how to manuver the poor gentleman onto the gurney/board without tipping him over the edge of the balcony onto the glitterati below in the orchestra. (it's that narrow). They finally got him onto the gurney and had to carry him out very gingerly, stepping over patrons in the front row. Once he was removed, the show resumed without further incident. Even though it was a major opening directed by Michael Langham with such cast names as the aforementioned Rosemary Harris and Lauren Bacall, and Barnard Hughes, Rosemary Murphy, Simon Jones, Bette Henritze, Patricia Conolly, Dana Ivey and Elizabeth Wilson , I don't remember a huge group of celebrities, perhaps due to the date (mid-December). It was still fun to be there.
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Good morning, all! Well, today's rant is about crutches. I needed them, I'm glad to have them, and I know before it's over I'm going to throttle myself with them! I also feel like Amalia Balash today. I only wore one shoe to the hospital, and now I cannot find it. Puzzling?
Opening nights: only two, a film and a musical:
Summer 1979, the premiere of APOCALYPSE NOW at the Ziegfeld; it was truly an event, the whole world was there, and I hated, and still hate, the film!
RAGGEDY ANN: directed by Patricia Birch, Score by Joe Raposo, and one of the most horridly awful shows I've ever seen: at one point, opening the second act, this wolfman (Leo Burmester, maybe?) came down to the edge of the stage and howled and acted frightening. A little kid in the balcony started screaming "Let me out!" I think the whole audience felt that way.
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I was at the Chicago opening night of Merman in GYPSY. Since I have often heard that Ms. Merman was her brilliant self only at openings I was in luck because she was wonderful. This was the only time to that point where she toured in a show so she had never played Chicago before, and her entrance down the aisle with Chowsie stopped the show. Being Chicago, there were no celebrities to spot.
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When I lived in LA in the early 80s I was a member of "On the House" and never had any problems with them. I saw various shows of various quality free from them. I'm sure, BK, that it was the one bad apple you dealt with and not the whole group.
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I finally saw DE-LOVELY last night. I've tried to not read comments posted here and elsewhere as I wanted to judge for myself. Well it's not quite as good/bad as SHOWGIRLS or CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC, but it comes close. There is so much that is so unintentionally bad I couldn't stop laughing. To begin with, factually there are so many errors I don't know where to begin. So many songs are sung years before they were written or in wrong situations that by the time they got to KISS ME KATE it was more annoying. As for the KATE scenes, for example, Lili does not do the solo on "Another Openin' " as shown and "So In Love" is sung in the dressing room, not as part of the SHREW scenes. Errors like this were abundant, but they were only the tip of the iceberg. Cole had written for Broadway before he moved to France, and I hardly think Irving Berlin flew to France, heard Cole's songs and told him it was time he became a professional songwritter. Linda was frigid and married Cole because he was gay and would give her the social life without the sex, so why would they try to have a baby that she then lost? Musicals of the era depicted would never have had an inter-racial chorus as depicted.
The sets looked phony, the old-age make-up was the worst I've seen since Midler and Cann in FOR THE BOYS. The songs were a mixed bag with some well done and some not, but Kevin Kline is too good a singer to have to purposely sing bad.
When this film bombs at the box office, producers will point to it and say "people don't want to see musicals". Wrong: we want to see good musicals. I think this may be the last musical that will begin with the MGM lion.
2 questions for DRs: Does anyone know who that couple with all the children who were so close to Cole and Linda was supposed to be? And does anyone know the real-life connection between Cole and Monty Wooley who was depicted in both this and the earlier, superior Porter biopic NIGHT AND DAY?
Added note: They showed the PHANTOM trailer. It looks as over-produced as the stage version except real dancers were used instead of stage-filling dummies. Phantomphiles should love it and Phantomphobes should hate it.
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You want to call Don't Laugh Show Me that's your business. Also, feel free to call At the Same Time "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face.")
Don't know if this was meant in a joking way or not.
A simple internet search will reveal that BK did not "name" the song "Show Me" himself... that it is "officially" (and one presumes "legally") entitled "Show Me" as currently published.
Don't know what the problem with that is, but it's not BK's responsibility to explain it to anyone.
I suppose all references to "Easter Parade" will be harangued and ranted over because it was originally called (with different lyrics, also) "Smile And Show Your Dimple."
If that's to be one's cause, I say start with Borodin and "Kismet" and then tackle "Song of Norway."
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Good morning everyone!
BK, I cannot believe that a person whose ONLY JOB is to get people to come see a show FOR FREE can possibly screw up. How can you screw up that job? HOW???? I can imagine how frustrated you must be.
I have been to two openings on Broadway: Kiss Me Kate and LaChiusa's Wild Party. I got to go to the KMK party at Tavern on the Green, but not the WP party. I hear it was wild, though. Other than the stars of the show, I also glimpsed Taye Diggs (drooool) and Donna Murphy, and had a long conversation with Faith Prince.
I'm off to file a brief with the court. Hi-diddle-dee-dee, an actor's life for me.
DR Jenny, by the way, did an admirable job tackling a very complicated and mature song in the Circle summer cabaret. She was one of the highlights of the evening. Kudos to Jenny for her ambitiousness!
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Don't know if this was meant in a joking way or not.
I'm certain that it was; but if you're not sure, why do you go on to treat it as if it wasn't?
DH Noel, admittedly, does not exactly make it clear when he is joking. He has that problem in real life as well. Unfortunately for you, ;D you're not married to him, so it's hard to tell. With me, I can smell his jokes when they first begin to fester in his little bald head.
A simple internet search will reveal that BK did not "name" the song "Show Me" himself... that it is "officially" (and one presumes "legally") entitled "Show Me" as currently published.
Don't know what the problem with that is, but it's not BK's responsibility to explain it to anyone.
Actually, he did explain it himself recently. Noel was just kidding. With Noel, that should always be your first assumption. The man can't go thirty seconds without making a joke. But you bring up an interesting topic: Re-Named Songs & Shows. I did not know that Kismet had a different name!
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I've never been to a Broadway opening, but I was here in Charlotte for the regional premiere of both parts of ANGELS IN AMERICA. Those of you who live in sophisticated climates cannot ever imagine the firestorm that descended on Charlotte Rep for mouting these two productions. COunty commissioners withdrew funding from the Rep because the show was "immoral," and there were demonstrations and angry words for weeks and weeks on end.
To their credit, the Charlotte arts community began fund drives to replace the funding withdrawn from Charlotte Rep by the Arts and Science Council in the city with the result that the show went on with tens of thousands of dollars to spare. Naturally, all performances of the shows (they ran in rolling rep a month) were sold out well in advance due to all the publicity, and Tony Kuschner attended the opening night gala where I got to meet him and talk with him for quite a nice period. He had lost an incredible amount of weight from his Tony wins to when the Rep did the show, and I hardly recognized him.
Anyway, what a memorable night: seeing a great play, sticking a big fat middle finger up at the county commissioners for their cowardice and homophobia, and meeting the man who made it all possible.
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All I know WEL, is what I read.... I haven't seen DE-LOVELY although I probably will on DVD soner or later. My guess would be the couple with children would be Gerald and Sarah Murphy, friends of the Porters and Fitzgeralds. They had three children...two teenage sons who died tragically within a year or so of each other, and I think a daughter.
Cole and Monty were at Yale at the same time...Wooley was professor and lecturer at Yale (some sources say Porter's classmate) and he and Cole were "cruising buddies" from what I read.
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I am back from being E&T. Have not yet caught up with all the notes and postings from my E&T days, but I will do so in due course.
Opening nights: Been to several, including several that were papered as well. (I too am dismayed at the practice, DR Ben.) One of my most memorable was also with Richard Burton, but it was the Burton/Taylor PRIVATE LIVES. Ther performance was, at best, perfunctory, but during intermission, I happened to spy none other than Miss Mary Tyler Moore Levine at the bar in the fabulously roccoco lounge at the Lunt-Fontanne. She and Dr. Levine were chatting with another couple, and at one point she (MTML) leaned over to help adjust the other woman's earring which had fallen loose. It was SUCH a "Mary Richards" gesture to make, that I just fell in love with her all over again.
Other openings, other celebs, but this one is still the one that stands out in my mind.
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I'm certain that it was; but if you're not sure, why do you go on to treat it as if it wasn't?
Aptly put. I should have added that "IMO, it didn't seem like a joke but more like a continuing jibe..."
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I've only been to two professional opening nights, but Whoopi Goldberg was at both of them! I saw her at both the opening night of "Master Harold And The Boys" and the opening night of Alvin Ailey's most recent season. She always wears dark glasses and has an enormous crowd of people surrounding her, and she has a tendency to sit about three rows in front of me!
Whoopi does this on purpose. She told me she always sits three rows in front of you to FREAK YOU OUT.
I've been to many opening nights here in LA, as I'm on the "list" at the Ahmanson and Taper. On Broadway, I think I've only been to two - the revival of She Loves Me and the Dutch Cyrano - oh, yes, and this last revival of Dolly for obvious reasons. The most memorable of those was Cyrano because it was just like the scene in the film of The Producers - the audience was sitting their with mouths agape, not believing what they were seeing and hearing - and when those singing nuns came out, well, I began to laugh uncontrollably. Also, on the opening night of She Loves Me, the leading lady fell off the stage just before the curtain call.
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Another interesting topic - songs from shows that have the same title, i.e. Show Me/Show Me.
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DE-LOVELY played only two theaters in the county, neither of them within thirty minutes of driving, so even if I had been tempted (I wasn't), the drive alone would have probably been enough to make me wait for it to show up on pay cable.
Yep, the thing I hate the most about DE-LOVELY is that it's another strike against film musicals. Folks will look at its feeble box-office gross (which is actually pretty good considering it's had such a limited release - about $7 million total thus far) and assume musicals can't make a profit. All the good will and optimism of CHICAGO's triumph will go for nothing.
I absolutely HATE that the long range hopes for future film musicals rest on the shoulders of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.
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Another interesting topic - songs from shows that have the same title, i.e. Show Me/Show Me.
The first one that popped in my mind: "Maria" from WEST SIDE STORY and "Maria" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
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DRs Joy/Noel/Jenny (any one can answer). Is the song I'm Breaking Down the one from March of the Falsettos (which is not on the cast album)? If so, bravo (as Joy said) for tackling a very complicated and mature song.
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Yep, the thing I hate the most about DE-LOVELY is that it's another strike against film musicals. Folks will look at its feeble box-office gross (which is actually pretty good considering it's had such a limited release - about $7 million total thus far) and assume musicals can't make a profit. All the good will and optimism of CHICAGO's triumph will go for nothing.
There is no way De-Lovely has made seven million dollars except in the minds of the people reporting the gross. If anyone really bothered to check they would be found out, but they don't bother when films bomb. But, let's look at the seven mil figure and assume it's right - only three or four of that will get back to the producing company. The film, given its performance at the box-office, is never getting a wide release - it's done, going right to DVD. One would have to assume they spent SOMETHING on prints and advertising, and let's say it's a really low figure like seven mil. The film had to have cost at least thirty to fifty mil, so to my mind it's one of the biggest bombs in recent years if not decades. I don't think it's a movie that will bring in ANY revenue overseas, and it's DVD life is limited as well.
Speaking of direct-to-DVD, I saw a box set of the most recent Woody Allen movies and it included his latest, a film I'VE NEVER HEARD OF, called, I think, Anything Else. Did this have ANY release theatrically? There has never been a Woody Allen film whose release I was totally unaware of except this one. I asked about it last night and someone told me it had played for less than a week and was pulled. Anyone have any info on it?
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Also, on the opening night of She Loves Me, the leading lady fell off the stage just before the curtain call.
Oh yeah? On the opening night of THE DYBBUK at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, a lovely young actress playing a supporting role and understudying the lead, ran onto the very raked and very dark stage at the top of Act Two and fell right into the pit. That would have been ME!
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And one for Mahler.
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As for the KATE scenes, for example, Lili does not do the solo on "Another Openin' " as shown and "So In Love" is sung in the dressing room, not as part of the SHREW scenes. Musicals of the era depicted would never have had an inter-racial chorus as depicted.
2 questions for DRs: Does anyone know who that couple with all the children who were so close to Cole and Linda was supposed to be? And does anyone know the real-life connection between Cole and Monty Wooley who was depicted in both this and the earlier, superior Porter biopic NIGHT AND DAY?
DR WEL, first of all, "So In Love" is sung in Lily's dressing room when the flowers are delivered to her and not to Lois Lane. It follows "Wunderbar."
I haven't seen the film, but I would assume the couple is Gerald and Sara Murphy, who have been subjects of several bios, including "Living well is the Best Revenge." Gerald Murphy wrote the scenario for Porter's ballet "Within the Quota."
Porter and Wooley were friends from college and cruising buddies., Wooley also acted as a director or dialogue coach on a couple of Porter's shows, including JUBILEE.
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One time I was at a gala of some sort at the Metropolitan Opera House and Miss Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis walked right past me. (She probably didn't see me, else I am sure she would have paused to chat.)
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You see. I'm not the only one ga-ga over Nathan Gunn. Here is an excerpt from Mr. Anthony Tommasini's review in today's New York Times of a Mostly Mozart Festival production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte:
The baritone Nathan Gunn brought his robust voice and strapping physique to the role of Guglielmo. Even when affecting a funny come-on swagger as some heavy metal poser, Mr. Gunn sang with the textual crispness and lyricism of a fine Mozartean.
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Oy. My picture turned out so blurry on here that I deleted my post.
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Most memorable opening night for me was my first performance for Light Opera of Manhattan, lo these many years ago. I was Iolanthe, and had the final solo "Star" position for bows. The cast and chorus parted, gazed expectantly into the wing. As I minced gracefully down the risers to the deafening roar of an appreciative crowd, I accidentally stepped on the hem of my flowing mermaid costume, tumbled down the steps and landed SPLAT! on the stage, dead center. It should have served as a harbinger of my entire sojourn there...
Hope you're on the mend, Elmore
Good luck tonight, BK , Hozay, and gang!!
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Welcome eleven GUESTS. We're talkin' about opening nights. C'mon in, the posting's fine.
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Wanna remind our NYC denizens that I am relocating back to the Big Apple in Sept - keep an eye peeled for a sublet, okay?
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I've mentioned this one before.
I took a long weekend last October to visit a friend in NYC. The flight was a fright. As the rabbi sitting in front of me later said, "Even the atheists were praying." Dishes were flying, and someone's Bloody Mary landed all over my sweater.
My friend Patty was working late, and after the bus from Newark dropped me off at Herald Square, I wandered to the theatre district and found myself in front of a red carpet at the Imperial. It was opening night of The Boy from Oz. I walked up to the box office and asked if perhaps any tickets were available. I wound up with a front row Mezzanine seat.
It was fifteen minutes to curtain time. I waited at the foot of the stairs at the back of the Orchestra, and caught sight of Burt Bachrach, Rosie O'Donnell, and Elaine Stritch. As the opening night crowd trickled in, I chatted with one of the ushers. I told her that the last two times I had been to the Imperial were for Fiddler on the Roof and Dreamgirls. She said she had started her job during Fiddler's run, and then talked about the various shows that had played the theatre. There were a few other sightings, but (apart from Hugh Jackman) the best part of the evening was hearing the usher talk about her decades at the Imperial.
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BK, I would have torn into that guy at the papering service. Incompetence like that should not be tolerated. I would definitely speak to his boss and tell him how much trouble this has caused you.
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I myself am kind of curious about De-Lovely. It starts playing in Salem tomorrow, and if I have time I might try to catch it this weekend. It is scheduled at the worst theater in town, however, so that will doom it here because no one goes to that theater. Oh well. It is getting good reviews, however.
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Elmore... In the film, "So in Love" is shown as part of a Shrew scene which I stated. I know it belonged in the dressing room.
Regarding Monty Wooley... was he actually a Yale professor before he was an actor as he was portrayed in "Night and Day" , or did he merely "know" Cole from Yale as is mentioned in DE-LOUSY. I assumed that in "Night and Day" he was just written in to give him a part in the film, but I never realized he was actually a teacher. Have there been any bios out on him? I think one reason SHERRY was not a success is that nobody could play Sheridan Whiteside like Monty (except maybe Alexander Wolcot who the character is based on). I have enjoyed Wooley in what few other films I have seen in in, particularly the little known "Miss Tatlock's Millions" (may have the name slightly wrong). One would think his life was more interesting than many people who have been the subject of biographies.
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My script has come in at 106 pages. It should be around 100. On the other hand, there is a song which is repeated a few times - yes, DRs a song - lyrics by moi - and it takes up much room, so perhaps the page count in reality is 105. I've now gone through it and cut everything I'm willing to cut at this stage.
Soon I will go to get my hair trimmed and I'll take the script with me for one more look-see and then I'm done with it. Do you hear? DONE WITH IT! (For now.)
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Best of Opening Night vibes to BK, Jose and the rest of the cast and crew of the soon to be hit
WHAT IF?
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GOOD/BREAKA/LUCK/LEG
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I have decided to take Friday off, and in addition I will get off of work at noon today! Hurray.
At this very moment I am listening to the soundtrack of the new Bollywood film TAARZAN, THE WONDER CAR.
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I found a very interesting CD at lunch today. I haven't listened to it yet, (I'm listening to the new Karen Akers CD - If We Only Have Love) but it's a compilation of recordings by Miss Kay Thompson from the mid-30s through the mid-50s. It includes such things as Take A Number from One to Ten, Quel Joi, Myrtle, 'Bout You and Me and lots of others (26 tracks). I also found Clooney Tunes, the Rosemary Clooney songs for children, also from the 50s. Ahh, I'm so lucky I can listen to CDs at work.
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Ben - The Karen Akers is one of the best vocal CDs I have heard in the last year or so. I hope you enjoy it and I would recommend it to all DRs. It's a great selection of songs perfectly sung and arranged.
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Good Morning!
I've never been to any Broadway Opening nights, but I have been to a few at the Kennedy Center. Most recently, as I've mentioned countless times by now, would have had to have been the various opening nights for the Sondheim Celebration shows - which were not that recent now since they happened two summers ago. In any case... There were always more than a few notables in attendance at the Openings and throughout the run. And since the Kennedy Center is in DC, there were a good amount of politicos at the shows too, "Hmm.. Why does that person look familiar?"
And, again, it wasn't at an opening night, but Hillary Rodham Clinton did come to see Eleanor: An American Love Story at Ford's Theatre. The Secret Service detail besides being very Secret Service-y, was also quite dashing in their dark suits and ear pieces. ;)
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One time I was at a gala of some sort at the Metropolitan Opera House and Miss Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis walked right past me. (She probably didn't see me, else I am sure she would have paused to chat.)
I don't know if you recall this, Dear Brother, but when we went to see Mr. Sondheim's opus SWEENEY TODD, none other than author-for-whom-every word-is-a-lie, Miss Lillian Hellman was also in attendance. (Or was it Miss Mary McCarthy, for whom every word was a lie? I forget which one of them pitched that salvo....)
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WEL, I'm a big Karen Akers fan and you're right, this is a wonderful CD. As much as I like her, some of the other CDs are a little, I don't know exactly the word I'm looking for, maybe, inaccesible, but this one is so well done.
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DR Stuart, it was Mary McCarthy who said of Lillian Hellman, something to the effect "Every word she writes is a lie, including and and the"
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DR JoseSPiano, don't forget to send me your mailing address!
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Jose I enjoyed your ramble-HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!
In fact SUPER VIBES FOR BRUCE AND THE ENTIRE SHOW!
DIT-nice teacher! Good for her. Bryan was in a show in pre-school and they gave me the wrong time to be there. Did they wait for me and put some other kid on first-NO.
I have never been to an opening night of a show. I have been to movie premiers but never shows. Tonight is the first time I wish I could be at one.
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Elmore... In the film, "So in Love" is shown as part of a Shrew scene which I stated. I know it belonged in the dressing room.
Well, DRWEL, I've totally misinterpreted your sentence about the film because when you talk about KISS ME KATE and "So In Love" as a SHREW scene, and I don't know if you're talking about errors in the new film or what. Sorry!
I believe Monty Wooley was indeed a teacher at Yale before he became a professional actor, but I believe he worked on a lot of Porter shows, and he was one of the clique with Moss Hart, Linda, and Cole who made the famous world trip to write JUBILEE.
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DR Stuart, it was Mary McCarthy who said of Lillian Hellman, something to the effect "Every word she writes is a lie, including and and the"
Thanks for clearing that up. That's what I thought, given the reports about the truthfulness about "Julia" and "Pentimento," but I wasn't sure.
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Thinking about BK telling off that papering house guy made me think of times when i've wanted to tell people off.
This week at the library, I went and filled out requests for 8 books.
Whenever I reserve a book, I always ask the librarian to process my request while I wait. That way I can see that I've actually filled out all the information. And I can find out how many other people have reserved the book.
I just assumed that this was standard practice, because they have always been happy to do it.
Well when I asked this time, the woman looked at me like I was crazy.
She couldn't imagine having to do this.
Now granted there were 8, and at 30 seconds each, it would have taken her maybe 5 minutes.
But since the library had just opened, and since there was nobody else there, and since there were 3 other librarians at the same desk ... I thought maybe if I asked nicely.
Well she was having none of it. She brought me to the reference desk, who was also having none of it.
I tried to explain that I would be very happy if I could this myself, but the only way I could find out how many people were ahead of me for the book, was if she helped me.
She finally said that she understood. And that she wished the system was different. Then she offered to do it while I read a newspaper.
Although she wasn't too happy to be doing it.
Have I lost my mind? Was this really an outrageous request? I didn't get angry, but I was very persistent.
Personally I just thought that the first lady was being lazy, since it would have been a little bit of trouble.
But in the time that it took her to complain, she could have done what I'd asked.
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I too have never been to an Opening Night on Broadway. But I would love to go to one, especially a musical. It's actually been something I've always wanted to do. Hopefully soon.
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Best luck to those involved in What If tonight!
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Jennifer it sounds as if the library staff were having an "off day". I have had that happen where suddenly something that has always been okay is against the rules. You have to wonder. Service today just isn't what it use to be.
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We must not sit at 58. We must move on to 60 at least, so here's my part.
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Hello, Mr. Mahler!
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Gotta run but will check in later today. The weather should be good for today.
Have a good and safe day!
Safe vibes to you, Danise, from both myself and der B.
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I'm guessing Michael Shayne lives in a different part of Florida. I had a good laugh reading last night's conversation. ;D
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Put me in the ever increasing list of people who've never been to an Opening on Broadway. However, I've been in shows that have opened (all locally produced, of course) and one even opened a theater! Harlequin Productions (local and semi-professional) every years writes a Christmas show set in the ficitional "Stardust Ballroom" in New York, during the World War II years. I played Sidney the bartender in five of the first six Stardust shows.
Anyway, Harlequin bought their own theater and the first show presented there was one of the Stardust shows! They had a big fancy opening night (black tie) and pulled out all the stops. A picture of the cast was in the paper and there were stories all summer about how Harlequin started their first season with $400, raised money during that year to buy the theater and never had a season that ended in the minus (finacially). We had a great run, extended a couple of weekends and the series of shows continues. They're going to have their 10th Stardust show this year. I've seen every one that I wasn't in (I haven't auditioned for them in a while, that's the main reason that I'm not still in them). They're also the group that wrote and produced the wonderful show A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (http://www.rr12n.org/home.html).
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I don't know if you recall this, Dear Brother, but when we went to see Mr. Sondheim's opus SWEENEY TODD, none other than author-for-whom-every word-is-a-lie, Miss Lillian Hellman was also in attendance. (Or was it Miss Mary McCarthy, for whom every word was a lie? I forget which one of them pitched that salvo....)
With a punim like hers, who could forget?
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...The Secret Service detail besides being very Secret Service-y, was also quite dashing in their dark suits and ear pieces. ;)
And we all do so love Secret Service men in their ear pieces!
8)
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Der Brucer and I were in the audience for the opening night of Ragtime at the recently demolished Shubert Theater in Los Angeles.
We'd seen one of the previews, and liked it very much. A friend of ours was friends with someone on the publicity staff for the opening night, and said staffer was looking for seat-fillers for the opening night. Der B., of course, said that we'd be glad to go.
This led to our standing in the Los Angeles afternoon heat in our best suits (not our tuxedos, just our best suits), waiting for the celebs to enter the theater. The line for the seat-fillers was off to the side of the theater, basically out of sight of everyone else, and given how most of the seat-fillers were NOT in THEIR best suits, I agree with our placement, but it was uncomfortable. Finally, it came time for us to be allowed into the theater, and der B. and I, towards the front of the line, started to the doors.
Suddenly, someone from the staff rushed up and pulled der B. and myself away. While most of the seat-fillers were led to seats towars the back of the theater, WE were led to seats in the very front row! Off to the side, to be sure, but front row all the same!
The moral being, whenever possible wear your very best suit. You never know when something good will come from your choice of apparel!
(Yes, there were celebs there. But der B. and I were polite and didn't impose ourselves upon them.)
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A round of broken legs to the cast and crew of What If...!
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It's verboten, vishing "luck" on opening night
Take advice, don't think twice
Or your show will surely end
Up in the Scheiss!
So:
Break a leg, guys!
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DIT-nice teacher! Good for him. Bryan was in a show in pre-school and they gave me the wrong time to be there. Did they wait for me and put some other kid on first-NO.
Jane,
My French teacher was hardly the soft-touch type, but that evening he showed he really had sensitivity. It's a shame Bryan's teacher didn't show such class.
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Elmore---
You should really see DE_LOUSY to see all the errors. What mist surprised me was in the end credits they thanked both the Porter Estate and Robert Kimball. I would have thought they would have asked to have their names taken off this film.
However it occured to me that probably most young filmgoers will not realize all the factual errors in this film and that's the biggest shame of them all. Done correctly this movie could have introduced a whole new generation to Cole Porter and his music. Now people who were unfamiliar with him will think he was a silly little man who ran around the MGM lot with L B Mayer singing "Be A Clown" (at least fifteen years before he wrote it).
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It's a shame, really, that other hands were not involved in the Porter pic - I don't know why they can't just trust that Mr. Porter had an interesting life, and created an amazing catalog of songs. All you have to do is trust your material and not make it up like they do. And I keep thinking they CAN'T let Irwin Winkler direct another film and then they do (unless he's the one getting the deal - maybe that's it). He has NEVER made a watchable film as a director - he's just awful. No sense of cinema at all, no sense of storytelling, no sense period.
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BK: I received a recently won eBay CD today -- "Sondheim: A Celebration."
I'm looking forward to hearing it. Do you have any favorite performances on this particular recording? Any stories you might share about the project?
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Is this the STAGE thing? I didn't have anything to do with it. It was brought to me in terrible shape, and I totally remixed it from scratch and deleted a few really bad performances. I then recorded subsequent STAGE benefits of Cole Porter and Lerner and Loewe. There are some interesting things on the Sondheim tribute, but much of it isn't to my liking.
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It's a Varese issue on 2 CDs and you're credited as Executive Producer for Varese Sarabande.
I see "Stage" in the upper right hand corner, so I'm assuming it is that STAGE thing.
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DR Jane, I don't think they were having an off day. They would have done it if it had been one book.
Maybe I was being unreasonable. Part of me thinks I was asking for too much. But I like knowing that everything is set, and knowing how long the wait will be.
I just hope I didn't come across as rude. I really try not to be. But I am extremely persistent. I expect customer service to always act a certain way. And I usually keep talking until they agree to do what I ask.
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I believe Monty Wooley was indeed a teacher at Yale before he became a professional actor, but I believe he worked on a lot of Porter shows, and he was one of the clique with Moss Hart, Linda, and Cole who made the famous world trip to write JUBILEE.
Yes, this was covered well in DAZZLER (the bio of Moss hart) which I've just finished reading. That cruise must have been something!
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I still want to see DeLovely. But for some reason it was only at the theatre near my house for one week. I was thinking about going. But I didn't realize they would move it after only one week.
I guess nobody else went.
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We're getting lots and lots of rain from the tropical storm. And with it and Hurricane Charley, we're in for a lousy weekend weather-wise.
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A friend sent me a live performance recording of that SONDHEIM: A CELEBRATION (we're talking the Scrabble set, right?), the entire show with the introductions and everything, quite a bit of which didn't end up on LP or CD and for good reason. Don't even know if I could put my hands on it if I wanted after all these years. Haven't listened to it in ages.
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Hope lots of legs will be broken tonight for the cast of WHAT IF? Can't wait to hear how it all goes.
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I still want to see DeLovely. But for some reason it was only at the theatre near my house for one week. I was thinking about going. But I didn't realize they would move it after only one week.
I guess nobody else went.
Same thing happened to me last year with CAMP. I finally found the DVD of that and watched it. I am sure the same thing will happen with IT'S DE-LOVELY.
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And yes.....Merde to the cast and crew of WHAT IF...?
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A friend sent me a live performance recording of that SONDHEIM: A CELEBRATION (we're talking the Scrabble set, right?), the entire show with the introductions and everything, quite a bit of which didn't end up on LP or CD and for good reason. Don't even know if I could put my hands on it if I wanted after all these years. Haven't listened to it in ages.
I really enjoyed much of that scrabble set...especially the number from "Follies" with Mary McCarty and the other soprano. There was a sense of excitement on the album that was invigorating.
The CD I asked BK about is not that recording.
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I looked up Monty on IMDB (I did know of the JUBILEE trip but not of the Yale period). He was a Yale professor and drama coach before he started acting and besides Cole another one of his students was Thornton Wilder.
There are two different Sondheim concert recordings that are being confused on this here site. The one with the Scrabble letters was produced in NY shortly after the Broadway opening of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in the 70s. The recording was unable to include any songs that were on the OBC of NIGHT MUSIC but did contain some cut numbers as well as a variety of songs that Sondheim had written to that time. It was the first time many of these songs were ever recorded. The recording RLP bought at e-bay was one of the yearly STAGE benefits done in Los Angeles in the 90s.
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A friend sent me a live performance recording of that SONDHEIM: A CELEBRATION (we're talking the Scrabble set, right?), the entire show with the introductions and everything, quite a bit of which didn't end up on LP or CD and for good reason. Don't even know if I could put my hands on it if I wanted after all these years. Haven't listened to it in ages.
A friend of mine said that he had this and would sent me a copy, but he never did. :'(
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Less than two hundred posts until our new amazing landmark. Could happen by tomorrow if things are busy around these here parts. Soon I will be shaving and showering and getting ready to go to the theater. Until then, I'm just relaxing - finished watching Village of the Damned and have started The Bad Seed.
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"Thanks for the TWO CITIES link, DRJOEY. Hmmmmmmmmm.....it is one of my favorite stories. I may have to buy that CD...haven't listened to the excepts yet, but we must have a full report if you get a ticket."
If you do buy it I would LOVE to hear your opinion on the cd. (Good or bad!) I will warn you that it is a pop influenced score in case you do not like that. I WOULD be in New York for it if I could. I was offered tickets to see it, but I have a week of training for my internship at school this year which includes the 19 and 20. My parents said they would have flown me out for it, but I am being responsible and sticking to the internship. (Being responsible is hard sometimes.) :) Would you believe I STILL haven't been to New York? I am counting my pennies though! I do have at least one person I know who is able to go. So I will have at least one review of it! :-)
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Sorry to hear about you library troubles DR Jennifer. I used to work in a library and did a little bit of everything. Does you Library have an online catalogue? The library I worked at used one where you could log into your library account at home and it told you what you had on reserve, and how many people were in front of you, etc. I know the human contact is missed in that, though.
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Good Afternoon!
Well, I'm back from the barber, and, boy, did my hair get barbered! I actually like it, but since she accidentally started off with the wrong guard on the clippers, the cut is a little shorter than what I was imagining when I walked in the place. However, it's a good cut - but boy did my eyes do some rolling and double-taking right after that first pass over my scalp... Again, I like it, and since the temp here in LA has started to creep up, the shorter cut is most definitely cooler. *I've had my hair this short before - and it really is not that short - but, as I said, it just wasn't the length I was envisioning when I walked into the shop.
But it should like fine and dandy for tonight's opening of What If?!
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DR Jennifer - I don't think you were being rude or unreasonable. I just think you caught the librarian off-guard - she's probably never had anyone ask if she could wait while the forms were being processed. And, who knows, maybe the coffee maker wasn't working properly in the employee lounge. ;)
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DR Joey - I'll have to go back and check your TALE OF TWO CITIES link. I know there are currently two TALES out there, and both are getting some pretty high-profile - and highly invested - readings/stagings in the near future. One of the women in the production of CHILDREN OF EDEN I just played for in DC is involved with one of them. Christeena Riggs is her name. She seemed quite excited about the project, and the pre-demo-demo she had sounded pretty good.
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Interesting headlines this afternoon. All those same sex marriages in San Francisco have been voided and the Governor of New Jersey (a college classmate of mine) announces he's good friends with Dorothy.
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WEL, I'm a big Karen Akers fan and you're right, this is a wonderful CD. As much as I like her, some of the other CDs are a little, I don't know exactly the word I'm looking for, maybe, inaccesible, but this one is so well done.
Sounds like time to play some Akers again. Went "off" after the French album (No offence François). Will check the new one out. I've not played Buckley for a long while either.
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Well, it's time for me to ready myself for tonight's Opening.
I'm actually kind of nervous - which is something I haven't been/felt in a while. But it's a good thing. :)
Thank You to EVERYONE for their Well Wishes and Good Vibes!
And a BIG Thank You to our very own BK for taking a chance and entrusting me with this project. It truly has been one Excellent Adventure since I got that phone call a little over a month ago!!!
See you all after the show!
Laters...
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Interesting headlines this afternoon. All those same sex marriages in San Francisco have been voided and the Governor of New Jersey announces he's good friends with Dorothy.
OH, but before I go... I was going to comment on today's headlines too... Very, very interesting... As for the governor of New Jersey, it will be interesting to follow up on the fall out after his announcement today.
And, again, Good Weathering the Storm Vibes to the DRs in Florida and elsewhere along the East Coast who are due for some major rains (at least) this weekend.
*Hmm... When I was out here last year around this time, I happened to miss Hurricane Isabel... and now this... Hmmm... *Oh, and, according to my roommate, the Central Air A/C system for our apartment also broke down over the weekend. Ugh! Well... It's cool here. ;)
Once again... Laters...
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DR Joey, yes my library has an online catalog. I love it. That is how I was able to check last night, which books were in.
BUT, it has limited functions. And you cannot reserve online, or see your account.
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DR Joey - I'll have to go back and check your TALE OF TWO CITIES link. I know there are currently two TALES out there, and both are getting some pretty high-profile - and highly invested - readings/stagings in the near future. One of the women in the production of CHILDREN OF EDEN I just played for in DC is involved with one of them. Christeena Riggs is her name. She seemed quite excited about the project, and the pre-demo-demo she had sounded pretty good.
Maybe we'll have a repeat of the Wild Party's a few years ago! I do know there are probably four or five different adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities that I have found online while searching for information on the Santoriello version. I started my own news page for A Tale of Two Cities on my website so people interested in the Santoriello version wouldn't get confused by all the different versions out there. :-) :P ;D
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Thanks for the clarifications, DRs RLP and WEL. Now I understand what you're talking about.
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DR Jose, I did watch THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU the other night. I found it mindlessly enjoyable, but I certainly disagreed with the judges about the snoring (which they didn't seem to be bothered by). If you've ever lived with a loud snorer (and deep sleeper who's unaware how bad it is; I lived with one for eight years), you would definitely have put that as a VERY annoying and irritating situation. Many a night I had to leave the bedroom because I could not sleep due to the loud snoring.
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Just returned from Outback where I had my favorite: the Drover's Platter with a half rack of baby back ribs and a huge chicken breast smothered in their spicy (but not overly so) barbecue sauce. Now I feel full enough to burst.
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I just spent today doing 8 hours straight of rush data-entry.
My eyes will be permanently crossed... and my brain has turned to something resembling oatmeal.
Despite that, the story of Panni falling into the NAC's orchestra pit still made me laugh... so thanks for that! :D
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We're getting lots and lots of rain from the tropical storm. And with it and Hurricane Charley, we're in for a lousy weekend weather-wise.
We're getting predictions of rain, too.
It's good for business!
Meanwhile, my Dad, in the Sonora, CA, area, has been helping with communications for the firefighters in his area. Pretty cool, having a dad doing that kind of thing while he's in his eighties!
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIBES FOR OPENING! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Evening all!
Best wishes the cast/crew of What If! Pardon me if I say I think we are doing a version of it here in Florida as well. :)
As I thought, we will not be at work tomorrow. In fact, I was told that eveyone was told to leave shortly after I went to the doctor at 2:30.
Such an odd day. Very breezy--a small kiss from Bonnie. We could see all the white caps in the bay from our window at work.
Sorry about that, I had a phone call. I gotta scoot for now.
Have a good evening all!
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[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]MAY MUCH LEG BREAKAGE[/move]
[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%](Figuratively only, of course)[/move]
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]OCCUR FOR TONIGHT'S[/move]
[move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%]What If? A Musical Revue!![/move]
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Interesting headlines this afternoon. All those same sex marriages in San Francisco have been voided and the Governor of New Jersey (a college classmate of mine) announces he's good friends with Dorothy.
Here are the CNN.com links:
California high court voids same-sex marriages (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/12/samesex.marriage/index.html)
and
New Jersey governor quits, comes out as gay (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/12/mcgreevey.resigns/index.html)
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Just returned from Outback where I had my favorite: the Drover's Platter with a half rack of baby back ribs and a huge chicken breast smothered in their spicy (but not overly so) barbecue sauce. Now I feel full enough to burst.
It's not the ribs or huge breast that did you in...it was that danged "bloomin' onion"!
:D
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Sincerest "Break A Leg" good wishes for tonight's "What If"...from Oakland CA!
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Thanks to one and all and also all and one for all the vibes and xylophones! I'm leaving very soon to head over to the theater.
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Leaing for dinner with Jay and DD an DB of DD. Then to the theater. I'm SO nervous and I'll just be audience.
Sorry I've been E&T all day. Will catch up with posts upon return.
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The time approaches.....Frances Farmer wrote of her excitement every time she went to the theatre....the moments before the curtain opened, the expectation, and the joy on both sides of the curtain!
Theatre...there is nothing like it....when it is good....it is magic....it is the ultimate shared entertainment experience. We are all in it together, for better or for worse....and we keep going back because we crave that feeling we get when the show is GOOD...
Huzzah! to WHAT IF! Long may it wave!
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Gee I mentioned both the Gerald and Sarah Murphy connection with Porter AND the Monty Wooley information ... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...way EARLY!
Hmmmmmmmmm....maybe I should change my avatar to trick some more DR's into reading and NOT skipping my posts.
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[/b][/color][/move] [move=right,scroll,6,transparent,100%]BREAK A LEG!![/move]
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[/b][/color][/move] [move=diagnol,scroll,6,transparent,100%]BREAK A LEG!![/move]
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How does everyone deal with opening night nerves?
Back in the day when I was acting, I would force myself to have a nervous breakdown hours before curtain, whether I was jittery about a show or not. I had it all done and over with before I got to the theatre and was pretty much cool as a cucumber.
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As it is Friday here and has been for 11 hours, the show is well over. It was a major success and of course DR Jose was brilliant.
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So how does one force oneself to have a nervous breakdown, DTM? Even the slightest bit of public speaking makes me jittery.
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Wishing you broken legs in the opening tonight!!
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I will wait until tomorrow, after I have recovered from this evening’s opening night excitement :D, to show enthusiasm over my hopefully upcoming trip to Portland to meet most of the NW HHW gang.
Bryan is expecting to get enough time off work if I take the trip. Sorry, as much as I want to meet you guys, that is a long bus ride if my son doesn’t have time to spend with me. But then if there weren’t the upcoming event I would not be planning a trip at this time to see my him, doubling the fun. Currently my plan is to take the Friday morning (6:00) bus and return on the very early Sunday morning (1:00) bus, providing Bryan can at least get Friday afternoon and Sunday off. :)
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What is this???
A quarter after six on the left coast and still less than 120 posts? Is this how you people behave when my computer is broken? I am shocked, do you hear me, shocked!
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Sorry TCB: Too busy writing and checking e-mails!
I hope you have not been opening Amazon mail too early!
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So how does one force oneself to have a nervous breakdown, DTM? Even the slightest bit of public speaking makes me jittery.
I'd start the morning out by drinking lots of coffee (and I wasn't a coffee drinker back then.) Then I would just sit and think about the worse thoughts I could imagine--forgetting my lines, being late for an entrance, no audience showing up--anything that would get me sweating. Eventually, the caffein would wear off and I would get myself busy running errands and then getting ready for the theatre and I would start to balance myself. It worked for me.
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Dan (the Man) you are too funny for such a serious avatar. ;D
TCB-hi. Is your computer all better now? :D We miss you.
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I usually have a nice calming cup of tea with honey, lemon, and peppermint and suck on peppermints before I go on. I also eat several bananas for the beta blockers. Opening night isn't nearly as nerve wracking for me as auditions though. I am getting better. I get ridiculously hyper on opening night and it builds up until I go on and I let that fuel my stage energy. I guess I can compare it to psyching myself up.
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Here's hoping Jose, BK, and company break all their legs.
Today, my mom and I went to a furniture store to get a sofa and a chair. She picked out a sofa, and then she spent a long time choosing a chair and then deciding what upholstery she wanted. I mean a long time. And then she didn't get the chair.
That's all I did today, besides drinking a lot of Cherry Coke. I still want cake.
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How does everyone deal with opening night nerves?
Usually, I would just run my lines because I haven't completely memorized them. ::)
Procrastination has always been a problem for me! ;)
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Today, my mom and I went to a furniture store to get a sofa and a chair. She picked out a sofa, and then she spent a long time choosing a chair and then deciding what upholstery she wanted. I mean a long time. And then she didn't get the chair.
That's all I did today, besides drinking a lot of Cherry Coke. I still want cake.
LOL ;D
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How does everyone deal with opening night nerves?
I try to get to the theater early, get in make-up and costume as soon as possible. And then I pace. Very quietly and all into myself, but I do pace up and down for miles backstage, just going over everything in my head and walking off any nerves I might be feeling.
It's funny, though. the amount of nerves I might have depends on the show. I was never nervous with A CHORUS LINE. I was never nervous with FOREVER PLAID. I think I loved doing those shows so much that I wanted to get out there and get started. I was always very nervous with BABY and INTO THE WOODS. And I tend to be more nervous with plays than with musicals.
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This must be a first in many months: I did not watch a DVD at all today. I must make up for this lapse this weekend.
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Dan (the Man) you are too funny for such a serious avatar. ;D
I think you're right. I was trying to channel Bruce Weber as the photographer. Next time I'll try for Anne Leibovitz.
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Sounds like time to play some Akers again. Went "off" after the French album (No offence François). Will check the new one out. I've not played Buckley for a long while either.
You should always apologize to Betty's dear friend td when you don't listen to her. . . .
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Well, since it's been about 6 million years (Of course, that's approximate) since I've been here, I feel very bad. BUT I'M HERE, so not too bad.
I miss HHW :).
News dans la vie de Swishy: I am 95% sure I'm trying out for American Idol next week. Not that I really want to BE the American Idol, but I want to make it to Randy/Paula/Simon. If I make it there and then get shoved onward, who knows what I'll do...Miss Swish is not a pop star, but she can fake it.
This summer has been c-c-c-craaazy for me! School got out, I worked for a few days, then I went to NYC for a weekend and saw WICKED and ASSASSINS. Both were great, I liked them equally, with a smidge of a lean towards Assassins. Actually a big lean towards Assassins, but it's so hard to compare the two...Idina was out in WICKED and I saw Eden, who was fantastic. A flawless performance. Kristin Chenowith completely stole the show, and Joel Grey was wonderful! (Pun *not* intended, and I give it a groan of my own.)
Assassins was amazing. Afterwards, we stagedoored and I talked with Neil Patrick Harris for a while. But I was a dork and a total fangirl at first, and I belive I said something akin to "Oh wow you were amazing you made me sick to my stomach but in that good way you know I don't mean that you were bad please don't take it that way your performance was incredible and my mom loved you in Doogie."
*Slaps self silly*
But he was understanding and we talked about the affect the show had on people and stuff like that. I was a little distracted by his Sex-On-Toast appeal, but I managed good conversation and a picture :).
After NYC, I came home and 10 hours later I began rehearsals with "The Enchantment of Beauty and the Beast", which was very fun. It was a childrens show cast from ages 8-18. After three weeks of 10 year old boys, I was ready to be done, but ended up making some good friends and connections :). Karlah Louis is an amazing woman.
The last show came, and immediately following, I left the theatre and headed straight for Winchester, VA, where I attended my second summer of the Shenandoah Performing Arts Camp at Shenandoah University. I had a BLAST, the camp is just an amazing place to go. If anyone here is from the Chicago area, try to get into a concert that Matthew Ganong performs in. He's a pianist, and an exceptional one at that.
A highlight of SPAC camp was that they held a solo competition this year in which they were only taking four performers. Everyone in the camp could audition (band, orchestra, choir, dance, and harps), but you had to be prepared to the MAX. They held auditions the second week (which was stupid as our voices were at their worst then), and everyone auditioned for 30 seconds. I sang "Se Tu M'ami Se Sospiri". That night I was informed that I made it! They chose THREE vocalists and a pianist for the competition. The pianist ended up winning, but she was insanely talented and completely deserved it. It was still an honor to be chosen.
After camp ended, I came home, slept for a week straight practically, then headed off to Dillard, Georgia, where I suffered through a weeklong family reunion. In the middle of nowhere. Doing nothing. At all. It was TORTURE! ANd there were bugs everywhere. I felt like such an outcast walking into places there, it was horrible. I was looking FORWARD to the 7 hour car ride home!
And here I am, pondering American Idol, still savoring my summer vacation, watching the rain fall. I'm actually developing a cold, which is bad, but it'll be fun to have the opportunity to say "I just got over a cold" at my audition, haha.
I'd love to hear from everyone here, please email me at sarah@davishome.us! I'll try to check in a little more frequently, I need my HHW fix!
I've said it before, but I really need a new icon. I look like I have a black eye in this one.
-Sarah of the Swishy Shorts
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Yay Swish! So good to hear from you! We miss you around here...
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TCB, I see you there lurking...I do hope your computer woes are nearing an end. HHW just isn't the same without you around...you bring life and laughter to everyone here
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TCB, I see you there lurking...I do hope your computer woes are nearing an end. HHW just isn't the same without you around...you bring life and laughter to everyone here
Thanks, Ann, I miss being here, too. My computer is behaving fairly well tonight, but this may just be a phase of the moon, or something to do with the approach of Hurricane Charley.
I am so sorry that I can't go to Portland for the big HHW shindig this month. However, Jed has already committed both of you to attending TEN LITTLE INDIANS next month, so maybe we can drag a few more West Coast Kimmlets, and have a mini-shindig then? Any takers??? td, Tomovoz, MBarnum, George, Jane, JMK???
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Thanks, Ann, I miss being here, too. My computer is behaving fairly well tonight, but this may just be a phase of the moon, or something to do with the approach of Hurricane Charley.
I am so sorry that I can't go to Portland for the big HHW shindig this month. However, Jed has already committed both of you to attending TEN LITTLE INDIANS next month, so maybe we can drag a few more West Coast Kimmlets, and have a mini-shindig then? Any takers??? td, Tomovoz, MBarnum, George, Jane, JMK???
What are the details?? :D
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Just need to check the bus timetable TCB. I think the bus to Tacoma passes through Upper Beaconsfield after it leaves Pittsburgh.
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Tried something different for dinner tonight: a chilled cucumber soup. Basically, the soup was plain yogurt thinned with milk, at a two to one ratio, to which was added cucumber (in a 1/4 inch dice), thinly sliced radishes, one minced garlic clove, salt and pepper and some lemon juice, plus fresh mint and dill. Very nice on a muggy day like today has been, but I think the basic recipe needs something else to give it a lift.
I've a hunch what it needs is curry powder, but I totally dislike curry powder. Such is life.
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Back from WHAT IF?
The show was quite wonderful. Hilarious, touching, audacious, clever. You name it. The audience loved it.
I'm really not a great reviewer, so I'll leave it up to DR Jay who seems to be so much better at this sort of thing. The performers were terrific as was our very own Jose.
There were some very major celebrities in attendance. I won't rain on bk's parade (a WHAT IF? reference) - but I'll give a tantalizing clue. Sitting in the audience and enjoying the show immensely were two show business legends, each a star in his own right and also as partners in an iconic comedy routine.
I had a great time, as did DD and her BF. (I had to leave the party early because it was very crowded and close and I'm somewhat claustrophobic.)
A Huge congrats to bk.
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bk is on his way home. The notes will be a little late.
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An iconic comedy routine between two partners referred to as "in his own right" --- hmmm. If Dean Martin weren't dead.....
...ditto Tony Randall....
...I suppose it could be Penn and Teller, but neither is a "major celebrity" ...
Oh, poo-poop-e-doop! I give up.