It can’t be March 17th already! Aside from wishing you a safe and Happy St. Patrick’s Day, dear reader, our Les Miserables has its first public performance tomorrow! This morning we will meet for a day long session with The Paramount Orchestra, the cast’s first time hearing the full force of this score live! I sat in on the orchestra’s first rehearsal yesterday and the tears well up uncontrollably listening to the lush, majestic strains of this beautifully orchestrated score. This is a rare treat afforded us here in Aurora; to hear the fullness of this internationally acclaimed musical played by our A-list musicians under the baton of maestro Tom Vendafreddo. A combination wandelprobe and sitzprobe, the cast will fill the multileveled set to sing for sound design mixing and balancing and then sit for the remainder of the day to focus on listening as they sing and the orchestra plays. Putting it together for the first time with a cast and orchestra this large will be the focus of Sound Designer Adam Rosenthal, as well. So many voices and instruments to balance together so that every nuance is alive and nothing is lost. And then tonight, our first and only run-through of the entire show! Since Thursday morning, every costume and light cue and set piece has been coordinated in bits and pieces, and tonight, we put it together and see what we’ve got. We have only eight more hours of rehearsal this week before Press Opening on Saturday, March 21st. A bit of stress for me, you might say. Tonight will be the show our audience attends during the preview period this week as we chip away at the to-do list rehearsing Thursday and Friday afternoons to tighten, sharpen, and let the work breathe!
My apologies for my haste here, but we will be gathering very soon to begin this final 12 hour push today to join the orchestra, cast and physical/technical production together! Tech rehearsals these last few days have been stirring beyond anyone’s imagination, beyond expectation and we have so much more to explore and discover ahead of us!
Please, keep a good thought for us!
All my love, all my thanks,
Jim