Awesome!

Last night's rehearsal was pretty darn awesome. We most definitely have a show-- now we just need to put the finishing touches on it.

Tonight get to the theater in time to be completely ready for the cast photo at 7:00. We will immediately after start the dress rehearsal and run the show as we would in an actual performance. At the end of the performance we will learn bows. Because it's a late night, I will keep notes to a minimum.

Then, tomorrow, we'll come back and put on a show for the paying customers!

Every single person in the cast is doing a great, great job. Just keep stepping up your game for another couple of nights, and you will finally arrive at the moment we've been working toward for so many weeks. Get rest, review your lines and music, and spread the word!!

Fasten Your Seat Belts

Rehearsal tonight will involve running the whole show beginning to end, while adding the orchestra, the stage crew, and maybe setting some light cues. It will be long, so come prepared for a long and somewhat grueling evening.

Monday of tech week can be painful and taxing, but it's also exciting. And just think-- three more rehearsals until dress! It's time to put the whipped cream and cherry on top of the sundae of awesome that we've been constructing. Come rested, ready and patient--6:30 tonight!

Saturday Orchestra Cancelled

Turns out not enough players could make it. So if you were planning on going and you haven't left the house yet and checking this blog is the last thing you do before going out the door, then, well, don't!

The Final Push!

Today: Ben will be at the theater to work on the set starting at 9. Feel free to stop by and add your talents to the process.

Tomorrow: Orchestra rehearsal at 10. Set work starts at ten as well.

All weekend: Enjoy the Easter holiday stuff, but review your lines and music EVERY SINGLE DAY, MANY TIMES!!

We are ready to take this show up the last notch that will turn it into a great piece of entertainment for the whole community. Tell friends, family, neighbors, stragers on the street-- they don't want to miss this!!

It Is a Hard Knock Life

Much more accomplished today in our heavy-duty three hour rehearsal today. I am happy to see so much coming together, but there is still plenty to do to get this to the level of awesome that I know we can achieve.

This week we will hit Act I Monday and Wednesday, Act II Tuesday and Thursday. We will also settle the rest of the movement for "I Don't Need Anything..." Rehearsal length will be based on what we need to get done, so be prepared to stay past the 8:30ish time frame we've been observing. I will try to get the orphans out a bit earlier this week so that they are well rested for show week. Keep in mind that Wednesday is press night, and some folks are due at the theater, in costume, at 6 (for TV!!).

I haven't said this explicitly because so many people are already there, but as of Monday everyone should be off book (as in No Script in Your Hand On Stage At All Ever). Study study study!

If we get in a real bind, there is the possibility of a rehearsal next Saturday to pull that together. We'll see what happens as we progress. Easter weekend will also be our time to help finish the set and anything the tech, costume and prop crews can use.

Keep working and preparing and rehearsing and reviewing. Opening is just 13 days away!!

More Patches and Fixes

After careful consideration, I have decided NOT to set all songs in the show to the tune of "Hard Knock Life."

Tomorrow (Thursday) we'll start with orphans at 6:30. Big boys and girls should show up at 7:15 when we will address adding the chorus to "Anything But You," working and adding people to "Going To Like It Here," the cabinet meeting, and seeing if we can't make "NYC" look a little less like a convention of tipsy moths. And perhaps also that traffic jam in the radio station for "Never Fully Dressed."

Saturday morning at 10 AM is still for running all musical numbers, with words and music and moving around and all that good stuff.

And don't forget-- it's so much easier to move and dance and act without that book in your hands!!

I am excited and pleased that every single rehearsal carries us forward toward the goal of a super show. Keep plugging, cast!!

What's Next??

Two good nights of rehearsals in which we've started to see how this show is going to fit together. Many fine performances are already starting to take shape, and the battle between Brett Sloan and Bill Hennessy to appear in the largest number of roles on stage is heating up. Meanwhile, Sloan has taken the lead in the Funny Voices Competition.

Wednesday and Thursday will be devoted to all the various odds and ends that have demanded extra attention, and Saturday morning is still planned for running musical numbers. Both of those goals will be aided by the appearance of a pianist.

Thanks to everyone for the hard work and patience during this Cast Reunion Week. Keep studying your stuff, practicing your bits, and preparing. Opening night is not all that far away.

Upcoming Adventures

Between tonight and Saturday morning we should finish most of the rough blocking of the show. We've spent a couple of weeks of creating many bits and pieces.

Next week we'll use Monday and Tuesday to string all our little bits and pieces together. Wednesday and Thursday are reserved for fixing whatever looks rocky on Monday and Tuesday, and Saturday morning we will work the musical numbers.

It will be like a big old reunion week for the cast, but it will mean that most of you will have to change gears from rehearsing every so often to most nights. The up side is that you are in a cast of really cool people and you will enjoy your evenings together.

April 4th Rehearsal

Monday night--

Singing and dancing!
6:30 Orphans "You're Never Fully Dressed"
7:00 Orphans plus Annie Hard Knock Life"
7:30 Warbucks and Annie "I Don't Need Anything..."