Good afternoon!
Been slammed here with meetings and appointments! Finished up at 7 last night, a day long marathon! With Production Manager Beth Spencer presiding, we talked sets, lights, sound, costumes, music/keyboard programming, film making, choreography, rehearsal schedule…there seems to be no end to the details! Then first thing this morning, our monthly Paramount Staff Meeting which includes RiverEdge Park and the big Paramount fundraiser, Viva Las Vegas Casino Night coming up a week from Saturday. Check it out… click here. From that, break out talks about designers for next season and the upcoming auditions for our Broadway Series #4. Onto phone calls and emails that need to be returned pronto. And now you & the Tuesday’s Blog, ah!
Right now RENT is my obsession of course. Making time to be continually immersed in its words and music is a task and a treat. So much of the text has been lost in the versions I’ve seen. I have a renewed appreciation for the writing and the importance for our production to land every word and intention clearly. I’ve been focusing on the show’s political, social, philosophical implications. There is more than a little potential for referencing Brecht too, I think. RENT’s brilliant author/composer Jonathan Larson draws on the greatness of the past. He met with and idolized Stephen Sondheim, a great influence on him. Larson contributed to creating the future of musical theatre with this work for which we are about to begin rehearsals a week from Thursday…our pre-rehearsal rehearsal…working with principal cast members on music and interpretation. The full company convenes on the 17th, a week from Monday. The cast’s exchange and sharing of emails of research and good thoughts began last week and I cannot wait to catch up!
Reflection on the past 48 hours arrives at a place of gratitude. I look at the artists and technicians and staff and think how lucky I am. The enthusiasm, hell, the passion everyone carries into their work…and the talent, expertise and growth we have and experience working together on the grand scale that Paramount demands as a theatre performance space. It’s a kind of dream come true if not for what keeps you sober and alert…the responsibility to be accountable on all fronts of development. Guiding it just so with everyone’s contribution and consensus and agreement. How we work through differences and are united in putting the work first. I am a lucky guy.
42ND ST. is killin’ ‘em continuously tomorrow through Sunday, yes, closing on the 9th! The response has been off the charts, (I know, I say that every show!)
I’d like to share a hand written (and hand colored!) letter I received after meeting and asking for a review from a new friend I made upon her attending the show:
“I liked the opening number at the beginning. It was really funny and cool to see all the different dance moves they did. My favorite dance I would say was the big dance number at the end when they’re dressed in black and red and Peggy is wearing the white dress. I thought Peggy looked like Cinderella when she wore her long white dress with the blue at the bottom and the long gloves. My favorite dancer was Annie. She was awesome. Tap dancing goes faster than ballet and jazz and it looks like a lot of fun. But I also like ballet and jazz. I did see some ballet and jazz moves in the show too. I saw Peggy do some leaps. And when she was on the stairs in her pink pajamas she did some grand battemass to the back using the stair rail as a barre. I liked how she did the back walkovers, too, because it was gymnastics. If I were to be in a Broadway show I would have to practice a lot and practice all kinds of dance. I give this show two thumbs up and two big toes up.”
Carinne is 6. Life is good. I’m a lucky guy. This is truly a dream come true.
Jim