Back from LACC, and then packaging and shipping a bunch of CDs that had to get out of here. Just had a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich and am now feeling a bit better.
I was very pleased with the laugh count in act two (almost moreso than act one, which I think needs some punching up in that department). I thought the act played really well, but there were two things that bugged me - one was a song and one was a song/scene. The song, which is one of two-and-a-half for which I didn't write the music, and which is the only song in the show for which I did not write the lyric, just really fell flat for me. David's tune is catchy, but it's not "show" enough for me - plus, the lyric of the song never goes anywhere - it says what it has to say in its first line and then just goes on for another two minutes. I am going to have to figure out what sort of song it really has to be, and then I'm going to have to write a new one.
The song/scene thing was interesting - it has always felt like a stage weight or stage wait to me, and I, in fact, tried to cut it when we did our last pass. It's a funny idea, certainly, and the song part of it works really well, so I couldn't quite put my finger on why it was still bugging me. Then Tammy made a suggestion to move it, to make it the first scene after the opening number of act two (which basically recapitulates the entire plot up to that point). That made a lot of sense to me, because the scene in question involves a little audience participation, and because it followed a scene and song with plot and characters, it felt like we were stopping the story to do it, whereas if it's first up, it's what it is and then we're back to the story and our forward momentum. I'm going to at least try switching it to see if that helps. On the other hand, I did like the way the song that now PREcedes that scene worked, and I'll want to make sure it works as well in its new positition.
