mprmike

Sorry, Matthew...

First, here's the Talkin' Broadway review of The Pajama Game (scroll down).

And then finally, the AisleSay.com review.

Three more performances!

I've made some critical comments about Keith Kreitman before, but I gotta say, this is one of his better reviews. :-)

In all seriousness, it's the first review of his I can remember reading that isn't just a plot summary. It's not a great example of theatrical criticism, but at least he had something to say. And of course I'm happy that it's a rave.

Too bad there are still reviews coming in when we only have four performances left. I'm still waiting on the Talkin' Broadway review (which often gets posted after shows close) and the AisleSay.com review (which has been written for weeks but the site hasn't been updated since before we opened).

Palo Alto Weekly. Hey! This one mentions me! Oh... it's a criticism. Nevermind, nothing to see here...

First, the Silicon Valley Metro. Mixed.

And a couple of blog reviews from For All Events (a website I'd never heard of). Both pretty good.

I've seen the text of the review from AisleSay.com (and it's a good one), but it hasn't been posted yet so I'll wait on that one.

Our first review is out, and, well... does anyone else think it sounds incomplete? Like they literally didn't post the entire thing? She mentions what she likes, and alludes to not liking other aspects of the show, but never gets more specific than that. Anyway, it's just weird.

Here's a preview to whet the appetite of those who can come to see The Pajama Game, and to perhaps satisfy the curiosity of those who can't (if such curiosity exists).

( Click to see 'em. )

For a moment last night, I thought we were doing Les Misérables.*

Toward the end of Act 1, the factory workers in The Pajama Game stage a slow-down. It's short-lived, as everyone snaps back to full speed after being scolded by the superintendent. That moment is chaotic, and I'm supposed to run on stage in the midst of the chaos.

Well, it's gotten a bit too chaotic, as people are running around like wild men, including a couple of guys with a rolling fabric rack.** A rolling fabric rack that rolled right over my foot. It hurt like a... well, you fill in the blank with the epithet of your choice. Thankfully today there's only some very light bruising, so I'm fine. But man, it hurt.


*It's a M. Fauchelevent reference! Get it?

**OK, if it had been Les Mis, it would've been a cart, not a rack of fabric. And it would've been moving very slowly. And I would've been trapped underneath it. WORK WITH ME, PEOPLE.

The Pajama Game sitzprobe was last night. Due to budget and space issues (we don't have a very large pit), we've had to do some reorchestration. Our band (it's the best word to use, I think) doesn't have any strings except for an upright bass. I was a little worried when I heard that, as the regular orchestrations call for 2 violins, viola, and cello. But our band swings! They sounded fantastic. For the record, it's 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, flute/piccolo, clarinet, various combinations of alto, tenor and baritone sax (two players), bass, percussion (drum kit, timpani, chimes, and various small percussion instruments) and piano. And they were hot.

For the record, I didn't hear them on any of the ballads (we do the show out of order at the sitzprobe to minimize sitting around for the ensemble... sometimes I wish OSJ did that too, although there's a lot to be said for hearing the whole thing with orchestra for the first time). So I don't know how well that combination of instruments sounded on "Hey There", for example. But what I did hear was great, and I'm really looking forward to rehearsing with them again.

The show's good, y'all. Come see it!

So it's been a week since I posted anything. I guess I haven't had that much to say.

Funny, once again it's Sunday and I'm exhausted. I napped a lot today, and I'm coming off a three day weekend, but I'm still tired. It's just that time of year, I suppose. Work is moderately busy, but rehearsals have definitely stepped up a notch as we get closer to opening.

Yesterday we ran the whole show for the first time, for the designer run-through. I was kind of expecting a disaster, because there are scenes we've blocked and haven't come back to, and the scene shifts haven't been set (and we were working with a crew of two people). But it went pretty darn well for the first time. Yes, we came to a grinding halt every time we had to do a shift, but we knew that going in. The show itself is really coming together, and there were a lot of good moments on stage. It was great to see the show as a whole. And even with the added time for shifts, we came in right at three hours, so I think once we get the show on its feet we'll have a very nicely paced show. That three hours was just part of a seven hour rehearsal, though, which certainly contributes to my exhaustion.

Also contributing was a great evening last night catching up with four old friends. We had a little reunion of some of my buddies dating back to high school (one of whom I still see all the time, but the others rarely if ever). You know that you're dealing with old (and lasting) friends when you pick right up like you were never apart. It was a pretty low key evening - dinner and Rock Band (the most excellent video game ever - at least from the perspective of someone who loves music but is not, nor ever has been, a gamer). Tons of fun.

We all did think it was pretty comical, though, when five guys in their mid-to-late thirties pulled up to a restaurant in a minivan. That's how we roll, people. That's how we roll.

I got cast as Prez in The Pajama Game! Woohoo!

EDIT (since this post was fairly detail-free):
Foothill Music Theater
Opens: July 25
Closes: August 17
Performances: Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00, Sundays at 2:00 (I think)