Opening Night

[johnjohn320]

Tonight is opening night for a musical that I've been heavily involved with for the last 3 months or so. I was the rehearsal pianist, and now I'm playing oboe/english horn in the pit. I've posted about this show before; mostly because it's a been such a huge time comittment (they always are) that it's kinda been my entire life for several months. I just got back from our first performance of it, if you can really call it that, someone decided it'd be nice for us to perform for a bunch of students from somewhere...I dunno whose idea that was or what they were thinking, but oh well.

I realize the pros do 2-3 performances every day all the time, but, I'm still staring at the clock, in utter disbelief that I'm going back to perform AGAIN for the second time today. But this, is opening night, so it should provide some entertainment. But then I perform again once tomorrow, and a matinee on Sunday, etc etc. Somewhere in the next couple weeks I start rehearsals, this time as music director/rehearsal pianist for ANOTHER theater company...

I tell you, I love my job, but I'm TIRED! lol

EDIT: by the way, the show tonight is "The Secret Garden", which despite what the Disney-ized versions might convince you of, is actually a very dark show, with some great music. (We're doing the orignal broadway version, not some crappy feel-good version with bouncy oom-pah music ).

 

[Jzero]

The joys of the "broadway" class.
What show?

 

[pyonir]

Break a leg John!

 

[gopunk]

the show tonight is "The Secret Garden", which despite what the Disney-ized versions might convince you of, is actually a very dark show

about a woman who looks like a man

 

[pallander]

Good Luck,,"just go for it" as yhey say
Wish I could play the piano...

 

[AreaCode707]

Boy, I haven't read that book in quite a while. Hm. Hope your shows all go wonderfully!

 

[Jzero]

<< by the way, the show tonight is "The Secret Garden", which despite what the Disney-ized versions might convince you of, is actually a very dark show, with some great music. (We're doing the orignal broadway version, not some crappy feel-good version with bouncy oom-pah music ). >>


ROFL
It's too bad someone butchers "Lily's Eyes" at every high school recital you'll ever go to
The last time I saw that was when one of my former community groups put it on in a black box that sits only about 85 people.
Something about the lighting and the ensemble singing the opening song in the aisles behind the audience still gives me a chill just thinking about it....

Well, have a good show. Break some legs.

 

[Ameesh]

ben folds five sucks.





good luck at your concert

 

[johnjohn320]

<< about a woman who looks like a man >>



Huh?



<< ROFL
It's too bad someone butchers "Lily's Eyes" at every high school recital you'll ever go to
The last time I saw that was when one of my former community groups put it on in a black box that sits only about 85 people.
Something about the lighting and the ensemble singing the opening song in the aisles behind the audience still gives me a chill just thinking about it... >>



Yeah there aren't a whole lot of "amateur" type people who could pull that off well. Brings me to another point though:

Another reason this show is so cool is cause the cast I'm working with right now is incredible. They're awesome, I don't know how to describe. Definetly an extremely talented group of people, at least a couple of which I'm sure will go on to catch bigger breaks and be on the professional stage in Chicago or Broadway or wherever. They're doing an astounding job.

 

[gopunk]

<<

<< about a woman who looks like a man >>



Huh? >>



sorry... secret garden... my mind wanders.

 

[johnjohn320]

Well, I'm back (yeah, I know, hop off AT to go the show, hop back on when I get home, I'm pathetic.) Anyway, how did it go? Well, it's hard to describe really, some parts of it were so beautiful it made you want to cry (actually, there were some tears in the audience after the finale, woohoo!), and other parts were kinda...bleh. But whatever.

Our main female (the part of Mary) has been sick for a few days, but damned if she didn't get up there tonight and give it her all. Someone who was seeing the show for the first time would have never guessed (and they didn't, apparently), but having seen the show now with this cast for a total of probably nearly 100 times, I was able to detect some weakness. No big deal, though, didn't detract from the show at all.

Here's the thing, though, and fvck I always do this around this time, after the show, shaking hands and hugging and whatnot with the cast, saying good evening, see you tomorrow, etc etc. I got really emotional. I always do. You gotta understand, being the rehearsal pianist, I worked with these people every single day for hours, for months and months. And it's all coming to this, then I'll never seen many of them again. The main male lead (part of Archibald Craven) particularly got to me this evening. When we walked out into the lobby after the show, there was a man standing there, I don't know who he was, but a man with a gray beard, Chris (archibald) saw him, and just burst into tears, ran over and hugged him. I've never seen Chris do that when not in character. I decided to "wander off" and leave them be, a few minutes later I came back, they were still embracing, the man was saying something in Chris's ear, and the tears were just flowing down Chris's cheeks. I'm guessing it was a long-lost family member or something...I'll probably find out tomorrow. ANyhow, later I re-approached Chris to congragulate him and say good night, and he looked at me for a sec, saying "Scott, thank you so much for all your hard work, you're wonderful, " etc etc, then out of nowhere, he hugged me, and like, a BIG hug, very long and emotional. For some reason, it got to me, and I had to choke back tears. This guy is so great, and I never even realized it until tonight. He put on the performance of his life too...

Anyway now I'm just a sappy moron. You didn't need to hear all that, but I had to tell someone, even it was a bunch of strangers who don't care. It's happened again, I have to say good-bye soon to a cast that, through all the thick and thin and hours upon hours of rehearsal, I never realized I'd grown so attached to. Yes, we've got a number of more performances coming up, but this is it...this is the beginning of the end.


God, someone tell me to shut up already...