Monday, January 30, 2006

A Great Film

So Jenny and I just got back from the movies. Lately that's what we have been doing on our days off. We saw a really great film. You should really see Walk The Line.

Now, I'm no film critic and I cant write a decent movie review like Ryan or Stephen but I'll tell you what I liked!!

It was a much better story than I anticipated. I knew a little about Johnny Cash going into the complex but I had no idea about his life. I thought it was really well written and quite enjoyable.

I also enjoyed the music a lot more than I thought. I knew "Boy Named Sue" (not in the movie) and I have heard and know the choruses to "Ring of Fire" and "Walk The Line" but that was the limit of my Cash knowledge. I've never been a huge country music fan but I think I really like the older stuff. Last summer I stage managed "Stand By Your Man" and enjoyed the music in that more that I thought I would.

Phoenix and Witherspoon gave terrific performances. They certainly deserve the Golden Globes they earned and I hope they are recognized by the Academy. Did I mention that they perform all of the music?!?! They both do their own singing and actually play guitar and autoharp.

Who else has seen this? Any comments??

TECH UPDATE

We did it!!

After some issues with the space and lighting instruments on Friday we started on Saturday at noon and by midnight we had made it through all but the last scene.


Sunday we finished teching the last scene and did a full dress run. It went really well.

The show is terrific. It looks beautiful and the cast is amazing.

The first preview is Wednesday and it run Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a two show Saturday. You really must come see it!! All of you!!

Friday, January 27, 2006

Tech time


For those of you that don't know what I'm working on... I am stage managing Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing for Catalyst Theater. Its a great script and a great cast.

I am the first AEA stage manager that Catalyst has hired on a Special Appearance contract. Its also the first Special Appearance contract I have ever worked. There has been a lot of learning for all of us :)

I am really enjoying working for the company. They are a great little theatre that does great work and I think that this theatre is going places.

Eleemosynary starts tech today so it will be an interesting day. It's a 90 minute play with about 160 cues and roughly 10 total tech hours. Personally I'm not really worried. After teching Saigon and Beauty in 10 hours not a whole lot scares me when it comes to tech.

I know you actors hate tech... but its what we on headset live for...

Ok maybe that was a little over dramatic but I enjoy tech!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Pressure is on!!


Ok... so now that SGS and other Blog friends have found my little hole in the wall blog I gotta start doing something with it... oh geez... no pressure...

Speaking of Stephen Gregory... I love
Forever Plaid... Its just a really great show that is a lot of fun to be a part of. SGS had mentioned to my wife Jenny that there was a new recording out. Well, I was killing several hours in DC today between a design meeting and rehearsal so I set out to find it and buy it. No luck :( But I did find out that it is the Las Vegas Cast so I'm a little less enthused than I was.

If you have never seen or heard Forever Plaid you must do so soon. Its just a feel good show about a male quartet who died on the way to the big show and now they have come back to do the show they never got to do in life. They are all nerd with great voices and the music is classic. Songs that we all know and love.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

The Jukebox Musical

OK... one of the two major trends right now in musical theatre is the juke box musical (the other being movies onstage) and there are the good and the bad.

I understand that they are not all meant to be "good theatre" and that's fine. Mamma Mia is not what most would call "good theatre" but its fun and it entertains. So they are what they are.

What I want to know is what jukebox musicals people wanna see either for an honest to God good musical or even just for a guilty pleasure. I know one that my best friend and I have always wanted to see is a Neil Diamond Musical... What the hell right??

What do you want to see?

Lets give it a try

All right... so it seems like all my friends have blogs so I thought I'd give it a try. I don't know that I really have a whole lot to share with the world.

Now I just have to come up with witty things to say so people will want to read it!!
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