Progress

Yesterday, I returned to rehearsals after being in NYC for a few days, and the amount of work everyone has been doing is truly amazing. We did an entire run-through of Act I, with the cast 90% off-book already. When did they have time to learn it all? It was very helpful for Eddie, Eric, Karma and me to see the flow of Act I and start thinking about big-picture questions like flow, pace, and tracking the clarity of story beats through the act. Questions that can't be answered in isolation, like "Do we want applause here, or do we want to push through and leave everyone breathless?", were suddenly a lot clearer.

I was also able to send four more songs off to Jonathan Tunick; he was clamoring for more, as he's already finished the first six numbers I gave him last week! I'm finding it a real balancing act, needing to wait until numbers are staged and I've had a chance to adjust them to fit this production, but also needing to get them to Jonathan to orchestrate and then send on to the copyist to get back in time for our first orchestra rehearsal, two weeks from Monday!

We also had our first production meeting since we started, where the heads of all the departments (sets, lights, costumes, props, stage management, music, sound, etc.) meet to discuss any questions and problems that have come up as they've started working. Sample topics: is the giant map of the U.S. we need for Act II too big to get up onto the second story of the set? ( No, with adjustments.) Will the terrific carved wooden desk they found for Norton fit onto the moving pallet? (No, keep looking.) Which way do the doors open? (Upstage.) Do the period cameras have to have working flahses? (Yes.) Do the phones really need to ring? (Yes, but only three of them.) How many copies of the "New American Times" do we need, and what should be on the front page? (Fourteen, with backups; it doesn't matter.) When will we record the radio jingle with the band and singers? (A few days before the first preview.)

I always feel a little guilty: all I have to do is sit at my computer and type "John is blinded by a sea of FLASHBULBS", or "A jazzy jingle plays on the RADIO"; other people have to do the real work of making it happen!