My fellow blog people...
To begin...my apologies for the late start on this blog. Working full time as a bartender, hosting a radio show, and doing a little show miles away from where I live (without the access to a vehicle), has made my schedule very full. but, anywho, who am I to complain...look at the people I get to share the stage with.
Brendan Mcnab. there's my first paragraph. if you haven't heard already, he has replaced Andrew Giordano in the show. Andrew exited the show at the start of the second rehearsal, and brendan was at the theatre...ready to rehearse by 2 PM. what a trooper! stand up guy! all the above, and MORE! If you don't know Brendan personally, perhaps you have seen him on every Boston stage in the past few years, including this seasons "See What I Wanna See" at the lyric, and the lead role of Leo Frank in "Parade" at Speakeasy Stage Company, and at the same company, last fall's "Kiss of the Spiderwoman." I had the opportunity to have him in the studio at WERS for each of those shows, and always knew that he was a guy id like to get to know. side by side has given me that chance, and his level of preparedness and dedication to putting this show up in 2 weeks has been very, very refreshing. props to you Brendan. mad props...
Leigh Barrett. paragraph number 2. Leigh and i have been friends for a while now, and we've been wondering when exactly we'd get to do a show together. if there's one thing you need to come to the show to see, its to see leigh sing "losing my mind." it is a religious experience every time.
Maryann. paragraph number 3. strangely...we'd never met before the show. I'd seen her onstage...she rocks.
paragraph number 4....the play itself. this show is weird. its so British. i will be the very first person to tell you that I don't think that the brits understand the American musical theatre. that being said, nobody or nothing can take away from these songs. i'll give credits to the brits back in the 70's for taking some of Sondheim's most interesting material, and putting it into an evening. the songs are very naked in this context, utilizing only a kick-ass actor and 2 baby grand pianos. that's all you need. the songs are fleshed out. you can hear, see, and feel exactly what Sondheim was thinking as he was writing them. its beautiful. i find myself shaking my head in disbelief in rehearsal a lot. i imagine my fellow actors think I'm disapproving of something they're doing, but what i'm really doing is shaking my head in disbelief at how masterful Sondheim truly is.
Rick Lombardo and i both are obsessed with a song called "I remember." Its from Sondheim's television musical "evening primrose." if you don't know the song, come to the show and take a listen. its so good.
p.s. whatever they think, all three of my fellow actors are kick ass dancers...they can really get down to the groovy Sondheim tunes.
i suppose I'll just post later about some other stuff. my boss gave me the night off, and i plan to make good use of it. any suggestions?
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