![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Review of Little Women came out today, and much to my shock, ( the reviewer didn't like it... )
It really could be useful one day.
May. 15th, 2008 10:58 amWhen I do a show with a cast of, say, 5, I can afford to get them something of actual value as an opening-night gift, like a cheap-ass bottle of wine. When the cast size goes up, and we have an orchestra, I've got to rely on crappy homemade presents. Like the little pamphlet I created, with the kind assistance of Google Translate:
( It's full of in-jokes. )
( It's full of in-jokes. )
What has two thumbs and sang the wrong verse to his song in front of a preview audience last night?
Managed to remember all the words to all my songs last night. Now, I get to, you know, develop a character who responds with more than "um, LINE?"
Tonight I'm going to see Room Service at Theatre Memphis. I've heard mixed reviews of the show--some folks think it's great and hilarious, and others find the comedy dated and dull. Where will my verdict fall? Stay tuned!
Monday I have an audition for the Tennessee Shakespeare Company's first show ever, As You Like It. I'm supposed to prepare two pieces of Shakespeare that I love totalling three minutes, one verse, one prose. What with all of maybe two dozen prose monologues in the collected works the pickins are slim, indeed, but Launce has a couple of nice ones in Two Gentlemen of Verona. I hope he doesn't mind that I don't bring a dog along.
Tonight I'm going to see Room Service at Theatre Memphis. I've heard mixed reviews of the show--some folks think it's great and hilarious, and others find the comedy dated and dull. Where will my verdict fall? Stay tuned!
Monday I have an audition for the Tennessee Shakespeare Company's first show ever, As You Like It. I'm supposed to prepare two pieces of Shakespeare that I love totalling three minutes, one verse, one prose. What with all of maybe two dozen prose monologues in the collected works the pickins are slim, indeed, but Launce has a couple of nice ones in Two Gentlemen of Verona. I hope he doesn't mind that I don't bring a dog along.
A few Little Women things:
May. 7th, 2008 05:16 pm- Not to ruin a plot twist for you, but Beth dies in Little Women, after being exposed to a piano that Laurie's dead aunt used to play. Clearly, the piano has an infestation of Streptococcus pyogenes, and all the tragedy could have been averted with a little Lysol.
- In the musical, Professor Bhaer produces a copy of Jo's manuscript for a novel that forms the basis of the very play you are watching from his magic murder bag at the end. Only this particular Professor Bhaer also produced a pair of black lace granny panties--a holdover from a previous show.
- The theatre critic for the local independent weekly sent me an email asking if the show would make him wince. While Little Women is the prototype chick flick for everything ranging from Beaches to Steel Magnolias, that, in and of itself, is not winceworthy. If I continue to forget words during my songs, however, there will be wincing and gnashing of teeth.
- The actress playing Jo asked the other day if maybe possibly I might kiss her on the cheek instead of the lips at the end of our duet. Clearly she needs a T-Rex shirt for opening night.
- The opening line in my solo number is "She asks how I am." I am having trouble not hearing this in my head as if Popeye were singing it, for some reason. Ughughughughughugh!
I put down the Little Women script for reals for the first time last night and was unsurprised to discover that I only know about 3/4 of my lines, which is usually okay when you've got a prompter and a patient, sympathetic cast who will wait for you to catch up, but less so when you're forgetting great swaths of song--folks normally won't stop a song to wait for you to remember your lines.
All of those words are in my head, somewhere, as I can sing them alone when I can take a few seconds to access the data between verses, but the retrieval process hangs. Since the music continues apace whether my singing is going on or not, what emerges from my mouth during those moments where the words haven't made it to the internal prompter is a string of nonsense syllables sung to the right tune, while I make a pained, panicked expression. I probably need to clear out my cache or something.
God, I hate sucking. We have an audience in eight days.
All of those words are in my head, somewhere, as I can sing them alone when I can take a few seconds to access the data between verses, but the retrieval process hangs. Since the music continues apace whether my singing is going on or not, what emerges from my mouth during those moments where the words haven't made it to the internal prompter is a string of nonsense syllables sung to the right tune, while I make a pained, panicked expression. I probably need to clear out my cache or something.
God, I hate sucking. We have an audience in eight days.
I ordered a copy of The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao to have something to read in my newly-discovered free time as the show wound up, and then I got cast in Li'l Abner Women. So I won't really have much free time to get started on it until the middle of May. Oh well.
I submit to the wisdom of LiveJournal
Apr. 14th, 2008 09:24 amSo, I've been asked to step in as a replacement for Professor Bhaer in the local production of Little Women, and I've got to confess I know NOTHING about the story. I always just assumed that it was basically The Facts of Life set in the 1800s. Looking at IMdB, however, I noticed that there are some relatively famous actors who've played the role over the years:
[Poll #1170890]
Any insight into the story, or the character, or snarky comments would be much appreciated.
Especially if, you know, you've actually read the book.
[Poll #1170890]
Any insight into the story, or the character, or snarky comments would be much appreciated.
Especially if, you know, you've actually read the book.
