Well, it’s certainly never boring around here. Our lead actor Ben seems to have mostly recovered from his throat infection, and his singing is stronger than ever…however, a stomach flu is now going around and has gone from his 4-month-old baby Bailey to his wife Julie, and then to Mose’s grandma, and now, as of about an hour ago, to Brendan. I’m not sure he’ll be able to attend opening tonight…but am hoping maybe at least one of us can be there. I’m washing my hands furiously and crossing my extremely clean fingers.
Two nights ago, at our second preview, everything seemed to click: Cliff the sound designer, along with his mix engineer Ryan, made huge leaps forward toward the kind of sound balance we’ve been hoping for: utter clarity of vocals plus good robust levels from the band. Together with Ben’s healthier voice, it made a huge difference: the audience heard every word, and stood up and cheered at the end. It was such a relief to know that the show actually is working like gangbusters, and that the rewrites we’ve done are good ones. (When the sound design isn’t finished, which is perfectly normal during previews, it can undermine a writer’s confidence when jokes aren’t landing or a song doesn’t have the impact you hope for…it makes you completely question yourself and your work.)
We’ve stopped making changes for this run, so that the actors and band can settle in to this version of the show. If no one else comes down with anything, we should have a great opening night!
Here are some beautiful photos taken a few days ago at the Lucie Stern, by Mark Kitaoka & Tracy Martin for TheatreWorks.
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- Cliff the sound designer
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- Billy the music director
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- Kris the cellist
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- Artie the drummer
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- Carol the violinist
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- Pearl and Ben
On a completely different note, after we open here we will gear up for two GrooveLily concerts in southern California (Dec 11 in Cerritos, and Dec 12 in Escondido), followed by two STRIKING 12 dates back in this area (Dec 14 in Carmel, and Dec 15 in Redwood City), and then a week of STRIKING 12 concerts back home in NYC (Dec 26-31 at the Zipper). There are many S12 productions happening this year without us, which is incredibly exciting…and we have yet to see one. However, today we ran across a photo of the current Santa Barbara production, and it’s the first 3-person version we’ve heard about. (Most often the licensed version has been done with larger casts.) Here is Doppelganger* GrooveLily: if anyone goes to see this show, please say hello from us and tell us all about it!
Santa Barbara, CA cast of STRIKING 12
*Some people think a “doppelganger” connotes bad luck…but in our opinion it’s just the opposite; the more GrooveLily stunt doubles out there, the better.
8 Comments
WOW!… Sorry about the Belly Bug!!
We’ll Rock the house tonight in your honor….!
It’s been beyond Wonderful to see you two, work with you and hang…
Let the Curtain rise and may the show sprout many legs…!
See you there (Kris – the none-to-photogenic cellist ;*)…
Hey Val, I sure hope Brendan doesn’t have the same bug that I got a few weeks back. Let’s just say a very proud 24 year streak of mine ended abruptly in a Pasadena hotel room when I came down with it, and methinks Brendan may miss opening night. But good luck!
Yes, the first preview of Long Story Short in Mt. View was a bit rocky. Yes, you had me and my husband of fifty years in tears. Yes, you had us rollicking with your happily unhinged depiction of lust. And yes, it’s remarkable that two very young writers could probe with such depth, sensivitiy and insight into the psyches of aging lovers and the textures of maturing relationships. Yes, yes, this piece is a classic.
Thanks so much, everyone…as it turned out, Brendan slept all afternoon, was able to fend off the bug, and felt well enough to come with me to opening night!
Glad to hear that Brendan is feeling better. I’m hoping my schedule will allow me to see LSS and perhaps run into you. Unfortunately, I’ll have to miss Striking 12 in RWC on Monday since that’s my dance troupe’s rehearsal night. Hope you’re both well! Have fabulous performances!
Saw LSS last night at Lucie Stern – we were extremely impressed. We attend a great amount of theater, over 50 productions a year, and rarely see anything as tight and professional as this. Congratulations on a wonderful show.
Hi–I saw LSS Saturday night at Lucie Stern. What a great show!! Fantastic songs, laughter, tears–it was amazing!Plus, Ben and Pearl’s voices are so beautiful individually and together. Thanks for a wonderful pre-holiday treat!
PS: forgot to mention the terrific musicians–what talented people. I hope they get to enjoy playing this good music as much as I enjoy listening.