The problem with 3-night theater productions, like ours, is that they tend to lose steam on the 2nd night, especially if the 1st was a success. You become satisfied. Self-satisfied. It’s hard to keep it up, it’s hard to believe, after it went so easy (despite all the stress, tension, worry), that it’s really hard work, so you let down a bit.
And then on the 3rd night, to make up for the 2nd, and because you know it’s the last and the house is full, you go all out. It’s an incredible high, but then it’s over, and if you do not have a cast party, that high you feel, that feeling of you expanding and taking over the world, quickly turns into emptiness, the hollowness of a balloon blown up to the bursting point. And either it bursts, or it develops a leak, but either way, everyone knows that a balloon, once inflated, has a very short lifetime.
Sabine brought us some leftover food from the premiere party last night to use tomorrow for the cast party that I’m hosting. I stopped by Woodman’s, got some cheese and wine and hummus, and tomorrow I’ll bake something, I think. I’m tempted to make cheesecake this evening, and use up that old cream cheese.
In any case, the point is that tonight’s production was great.
There was a slight dip in energy and urgency in the first two acts, but then it picked up and continued to the end, going out with a bang. It was a tougher crowd than last night; more older folks and almost no high school kids. Few easy laughs, though quite a few laughs toward the end, and we got laughs at some of the more sophisticated jokes. Afterward the compliments from the faculty were sincere, and many felt it was the best production they’d seen so far in the 15 years or so that Sabine has been doing it. It is also more accessible than many, and more modern. While there are certain “Verfredmungs” techniques employed, it’s a relatively straight piece, unlike Das Kontingent, for example, and not so strange, either, as Voggelkopp. Peter Squenz was Baroque and highly mannered. But it’s also true that we have a stronger overall cast this time. The leads have always been good, but the quality sometimes drops off, and here everybody is nailing their parts and the technical side of things (lights and sound) are both more complicated but more elegantly done than in previous productions. Kris and I (and the piece) are just in synch.
So I caught the bus home, and now I have a lot to grade.
Ginger had a couple email questions, and I still have one to answer. Ben has a presentation to give tomorrow.
Today I got most of the rest of the way through “R” and I’ll probably make it by midnight. I finished off Roy Orbison — it was not his “Greatest Hits” album, and it included some songs I knew, but as sung by others. I’m not sure how many were originally by Roy, and how many were things he was covering.
I had one album of Rufus Wainwright; I didn’t start listening to him until I met Kaity, and I enjoyed seeing him at Summerfest (2004), but I never really got into him. It’s nice stuff, but what I was listening to had a Billy Joel vibe to it, and while I love some of the early Billy Joel, the older B.J. seems more self-satisfied adult contemporary than anything else, and so those thoughts about B.J. were coloring my impression of R.W. while listening this afternoon.
Now I’m at the tail end of Ryan Adams, the North Carolina alt-country guy who is a chameleon between albums. But nice stuff. Strong enough voice, strong enough production values, interesting enough music … he’ll deserve another listen. I think he’s another acquisition from Anne.
In other news/links:
1. Kill da’ Wabbit!
2. Death Penalty for Child Molesters?
3. A review of Wittenstein’s Poker
4. And Kirk Douglas Brutally Honest in New Book
The “story” (aka fluff piece) about K.D. mentions a son of his having gone to “Claremont College.”
There is no such beast. There are the Claremont Colleges, founded by Pomona College. Later there was Harvey Mudd and Scripps and CMC, which, at that time, was Claremont Men’s College. Later Pitzer College was founded as a women’s school, but it was quickly made co-ed, and CMC became Claremont McKenna College, keeping the “CMC” part. But there is still no Claremont College.
Unless Eric Douglas, the (youngest) son under discussion here, went to Claremont College … in Tasmania.
Not likely.
