Rehearsals for Bill W. and Dr. Bob

Well....we just finished our first two weeks of rehearsal here in New York, and it's been wonderful getting back into it with this great cast. The authors, Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey, and I worked on a revised draft of the play after the New Rep production was over last Spring, and we've gone on now in the first two weeks to continue to make even more changes. Little word changes, line trims, and rewrites continue to make the show tighter and clearer every day. It's both fun and a little strange to be back in New York after so many years of working in Boston. Rachel and I are even living in an apartment in Brooklyn, the borough in which I was born and raised. We so miss our home, though. I'll get to be back in Boston in about four more weeks, but Rachel may be here as long as 7 months if the show is successful and continues to run.

We had our first run-thru yesterday in the rehearsal hall, and it went quite well, all things considered. These runs are sometimes called "stumble-throughs", because that's the way they usually go, but this one was a pretty tight affair. I know it has helped a great deal that the actors did the show a little less than a year ago. Even though we are working with a completely different set, and I've thoroughly changed the staging, their familiarity with these characters is making the work go very smoothly.

We had a very special research experience this past week when we were special guests at Stepping Stones, the home of Bill and Lois Wilson about 45 minutes north of the city. It's now run by a foundation, and we were given a tour by the Executive Director, as well as access to all the Bill, Lois, Bob and Anne correspondence in their archives. It was incredibly enlightening for all of us, and a nice break from the rehearsal hall for a few hours. The actors discovered all sorts of interesting little nuances about their characters from the private letters, and I'm sure this knowledge will alter some of their moments on stage in unexpected ways.

This week, we'll spend our last few days in the rehearsal hall, which is in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. Saturday will be our first day on the stage at New World Stages, where our lights and scenery are beginning to be loaded in today. This will be a very busy week, as our preparations for the first preview on the 16th really start to take on momentum.

More soon!

Rick