Wow, this is interesting: our Thursday show isn't selling well, so the Artistic Director, Brian Katz, is offering $10.00 tickets on Brown Paper Tickets. And, strange coincidence, Bluegrass legend Peter Rowan will be coming to the show on Thursday night. So we really really need to sell tickets. The audience feedback with a full house is amazing; it is equally dismal when there are very few people in attendance, as it's quite a small theatre and people are uncomfortable laughing or enjoying when they feel so exposed.
I'll be posting on Facebook that he is coming to the show; I wonder if this will in any way influence ticket sales? I know of at least one person who is already coming to the show because of the cheap tickets.
Here's what I tried to post as a Status Update on Facebook; I had to shorten it, perhaps that's best:
"$10.00 tickets to Cotton Patch Gospel this Thursday, and Bluegrass legend Peter Rowan will be coming to the show! This is astounding; for Musical Theatre people, this is akin to having Sondheim show up to watch your rinky-dink community theatre production. For those of you who cannot sing, it's like having the Pope at your kid's Bris. Er -- wait, no, what would the Pope be doing at a Bris? Other than watching with an alarming level of interest, perhaps offering to help ..."
Which makes me wonder about the Pontifical Foreskin: is it intact? Is it required that the Pontiff be uncut? Or is he required to be shorn in case God requires that all who honor the Covenant be so marked? Perhaps there's a special secret ceremony where uncut Popes are snipped. Do they tell them ahead of time? Or is it sprung on them when they least expect to be circumcised? Perhaps the Pope is offered a delicious caramel sundae, and then BOING here's the Moyle, time to snip! I wonder who the Rabbi is that they ferret into the Vatican ... or do they use a new one every time, knowing that if the last guy ever tells anyone, nobody will believe him.
Seems like maybe this was the subplot missing from the Cohen Brothers' latest: A Serious Man. Which, by the way, was sneak-up-on-you funny. Stupid people probably won't enjoy it, so if you're stupid, you should probably stay home and count your Bush/Cheney memorabilia. Those nasty Dems might be sneaking in to public healthcare you in your sleep, then steal your valuable keepsakes of what was, perhaps, the single greatest presidential administration in the history of the world.
I would be delighted if the Pope came to see the show. I am not a Catholic, I'm interested in ticket sales. But it would also be amusing because the theatre is in an Episcopal church. So that would be very interesting, as theatrical situations go. But I'm more excited about Peter Rowan being there.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Cotton Patch Gospel
My current project is a one-man show: a bluegrass musical based on the Gospel of Matthew; music and lyrics by Harry Chapin. I've posted several things about it on Facebook, but there's more interesting stuff beneath dates, times and ticket prices.
I began rehearsals while still performing Max in The Producers at SCT (dir: Ken Sonkin), and right after The Producers closed, I got sick. So I missed some early rehearsals and things got tricky. Now we're right around ten performances into the run and there are some interesting things to note about this show, the intimate setting and the audiences.
Cotton Patch Gospel is an unabashedly straightforward telling of the Gospel of Matthew, basically the life of Christ from conception to death to resurrection. (Sorry for the spoilers, there, but if you don't know that story then I would like to know the mineral content of the stone under which you've been living.) San Francisco audiences seem to be somewhat taken aback by the Jesusy goodness of it all. Our first preview was for Custom Made Theatre Company Members, and they were ... unreceptive. In fact, there was one guy in the back who went to sleep a little way in to the show. Others sat there with their arms crossed, clearly pissed. There was the distinct feeling of discomfort and weirdness. Audiences after that have been quite warm, and when we heard that Trinity Episcopal bought the house for 11/29, we were thrilled. After all, church people seem to like the show, right?
Wrong. Quiet discomfort. A chuckle here and there. Some stifled belly laughs. My theory is that churchy people in a group are uncomfortable laughing about religious matters. And this is a funny show, when it's funny. So some jokes landed like a bowling ball in a molasses swamp. It's also tricky when the front row is full of uncomfortables. The front row of small theatres should always, always be sold at steep discounts to people willing to wait in line. Their excitement creates a ripple effect, and this makes for an amazing show.
Tonight's Goldstar tix are already sold out. I'll have at least four people in the audience, possibly more. So that's nice. The show works best with a full house. Laughter and chagrin are equally contagious, and numbers tend to increase laughter. I will update this blog as the show progresses.
Until then, I hope you'll come see the show. All of you who read my blog. All ... what, two? Three of you?
***
Update: 12/06/2009
A superb audience last night; they were totally tuned in from the beginning of the show; there were even some friendly stragglers who came in right before Jesus turned water into wine, and their presence added even more to the show.
Truth be told, the stragglers were George, Brandon, Brandon, Shelly and Rebecca. I was so delighted to have them there, I had to resist playing the entire show directly to them. Frankly, their presence in the front two rows -- even of the house left / stage right section -- added even more to the show. Not just for me, though the energy feedback was high. It's that ripple effect again.
Tonight, my parents and my brother and sister-in-law and her mother and mother's companion and possibly my nephew and his girlfriend are coming to see the show. I certainly hope they all attend. I'm worried, as usual, about my parents making it in time; my mother tends to re-format hard drives or steam clean the carpets before she leaves the house. And they refuse to plan ahead or map things out, so they tend to end up at the wrong location. It's not because they're older, it's because they're stubborn.
I get nervous when people I know are supposed to attend are not in the audience. I know within the first five minutes who is there, because the space is so small and I am so close to everyone; I try to make direct eye contact with a lot of them, though I have now shifted away from direct eye contact with the front row of the middle section: they seem to get the most uncomfortable, as though they suspect I am going to fondle them. Or perhaps they want me to fondle them and they are uncomfortable that I haven't started the fondling. We shall see. Tonight, I will fondle whichever woman in the audience is the hottest. I will do it as Jesus, though, so that will be okay.
***
12/06/2009
Update: A wonderful audience tonight. It helped that I had a lot of family there, but the performance felt good. HOWEVER, there was a trio of strangeness downstage right / house left. Bald guy, woman with curly hair and asiatic chick. Asiatic chick was nicely responsive, but bald and curly made discomfort and apparent anger into some kind of performance art. If I was singing a song and threw a line their way, the portcullis would slam down and they would turn to look in another direction. We wondered during intermission if they would leave, but no! They were still there at the top of Act II! And I made a little eye contact with them on some spoken lines, they didn't look away, so I thought maybe it was okay.
Nope. When I sent them a sung line, it was Prince and Princess We-Don't-Wanna! So strange. If you hate the contact, don't sit in the first row you ignorant fuckmooks!
So, aside from those fuckos, the audience was wonderful. They were on their feet the minute the lights came up for curtain call. I wanted to hug them all. Even the weirdos. Mostly because I would have fondled the curly haired woman, then blamed it on Jesus. Oh well. Next time I will take action.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
I began rehearsals while still performing Max in The Producers at SCT (dir: Ken Sonkin), and right after The Producers closed, I got sick. So I missed some early rehearsals and things got tricky. Now we're right around ten performances into the run and there are some interesting things to note about this show, the intimate setting and the audiences.
Cotton Patch Gospel is an unabashedly straightforward telling of the Gospel of Matthew, basically the life of Christ from conception to death to resurrection. (Sorry for the spoilers, there, but if you don't know that story then I would like to know the mineral content of the stone under which you've been living.) San Francisco audiences seem to be somewhat taken aback by the Jesusy goodness of it all. Our first preview was for Custom Made Theatre Company Members, and they were ... unreceptive. In fact, there was one guy in the back who went to sleep a little way in to the show. Others sat there with their arms crossed, clearly pissed. There was the distinct feeling of discomfort and weirdness. Audiences after that have been quite warm, and when we heard that Trinity Episcopal bought the house for 11/29, we were thrilled. After all, church people seem to like the show, right?
Wrong. Quiet discomfort. A chuckle here and there. Some stifled belly laughs. My theory is that churchy people in a group are uncomfortable laughing about religious matters. And this is a funny show, when it's funny. So some jokes landed like a bowling ball in a molasses swamp. It's also tricky when the front row is full of uncomfortables. The front row of small theatres should always, always be sold at steep discounts to people willing to wait in line. Their excitement creates a ripple effect, and this makes for an amazing show.
Tonight's Goldstar tix are already sold out. I'll have at least four people in the audience, possibly more. So that's nice. The show works best with a full house. Laughter and chagrin are equally contagious, and numbers tend to increase laughter. I will update this blog as the show progresses.
Until then, I hope you'll come see the show. All of you who read my blog. All ... what, two? Three of you?
***
Update: 12/06/2009
A superb audience last night; they were totally tuned in from the beginning of the show; there were even some friendly stragglers who came in right before Jesus turned water into wine, and their presence added even more to the show.
Truth be told, the stragglers were George, Brandon, Brandon, Shelly and Rebecca. I was so delighted to have them there, I had to resist playing the entire show directly to them. Frankly, their presence in the front two rows -- even of the house left / stage right section -- added even more to the show. Not just for me, though the energy feedback was high. It's that ripple effect again.
Tonight, my parents and my brother and sister-in-law and her mother and mother's companion and possibly my nephew and his girlfriend are coming to see the show. I certainly hope they all attend. I'm worried, as usual, about my parents making it in time; my mother tends to re-format hard drives or steam clean the carpets before she leaves the house. And they refuse to plan ahead or map things out, so they tend to end up at the wrong location. It's not because they're older, it's because they're stubborn.
I get nervous when people I know are supposed to attend are not in the audience. I know within the first five minutes who is there, because the space is so small and I am so close to everyone; I try to make direct eye contact with a lot of them, though I have now shifted away from direct eye contact with the front row of the middle section: they seem to get the most uncomfortable, as though they suspect I am going to fondle them. Or perhaps they want me to fondle them and they are uncomfortable that I haven't started the fondling. We shall see. Tonight, I will fondle whichever woman in the audience is the hottest. I will do it as Jesus, though, so that will be okay.
***
12/06/2009
Update: A wonderful audience tonight. It helped that I had a lot of family there, but the performance felt good. HOWEVER, there was a trio of strangeness downstage right / house left. Bald guy, woman with curly hair and asiatic chick. Asiatic chick was nicely responsive, but bald and curly made discomfort and apparent anger into some kind of performance art. If I was singing a song and threw a line their way, the portcullis would slam down and they would turn to look in another direction. We wondered during intermission if they would leave, but no! They were still there at the top of Act II! And I made a little eye contact with them on some spoken lines, they didn't look away, so I thought maybe it was okay.
Nope. When I sent them a sung line, it was Prince and Princess We-Don't-Wanna! So strange. If you hate the contact, don't sit in the first row you ignorant fuckmooks!
So, aside from those fuckos, the audience was wonderful. They were on their feet the minute the lights came up for curtain call. I wanted to hug them all. Even the weirdos. Mostly because I would have fondled the curly haired woman, then blamed it on Jesus. Oh well. Next time I will take action.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thoroughly Modern Millie
It's official, friends and neighbors: as of 1:06pm today, I am directing Thoroughly Modern Millie at Solano College Theatre! For those of you who do not know, this is the stage adaptation of the 1967 movie musical which originally starred Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, James Fox (skip forward to minute 6:00),Carol Channing, Beatrice Lillie, John Gavin, Pat Morita and Jack Soo.
The stage adaptation opened on Broadway April 18, 2002 and closed June 20, 2004. It starred Sutton Foster, Gavin Creel, Angela Christian, Mark Kudisch, Harriet Harris, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Francis Jue and Ken Leung. Well, technically those are not all starring roles. But they are the actors who played the key roles, both leading and supporting. I like to be clear.
The show is not the same as the movie, for obvious theatrical reasons: shooting Muzzy out of a cannon before one of her songs or flying the Chinamen for the very last fight sequence would be tricky at best. Frankly, I think all of it would be a huge plus; were it possible, I would put those things into the show. However, knowing that the budget will not allow for such amazing tomfoolery, I focus instead on making it what it should be: frothy, toe-tapping spectacle.
I'll be making regular updates herein, as I am very excited about this show and looking forward to every moment of the process.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
The stage adaptation opened on Broadway April 18, 2002 and closed June 20, 2004. It starred Sutton Foster, Gavin Creel, Angela Christian, Mark Kudisch, Harriet Harris, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Francis Jue and Ken Leung. Well, technically those are not all starring roles. But they are the actors who played the key roles, both leading and supporting. I like to be clear.
The show is not the same as the movie, for obvious theatrical reasons: shooting Muzzy out of a cannon before one of her songs or flying the Chinamen for the very last fight sequence would be tricky at best. Frankly, I think all of it would be a huge plus; were it possible, I would put those things into the show. However, knowing that the budget will not allow for such amazing tomfoolery, I focus instead on making it what it should be: frothy, toe-tapping spectacle.
I'll be making regular updates herein, as I am very excited about this show and looking forward to every moment of the process.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
On The Brilliance of Sam Craig
There are few people as funny as Sam Craig. He can find the hilarious root of any situation, and from that root cultivate an hybrid that surprises and delights anyone with a real sense of humor. Real sense of humor being key. Those who are frightened or uncomfortable with Sam's humor are usually fairly uptight. Which is funny in itself.
I work with Sam in our series, For SCIENCE!, wherein I do my best to stop laughing once he starts me up. That's basically how it goes: I say something, Sam bats it back at me in a slightly altered form, I lob it back over the net and then he spikes the joke and destroys my game. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Sam makes me laugh. It's a rare ability. I just wish I could make him laugh as much.
Recently, Sam was in Oregon. For about a year, actually. Sam moved up there to be a newspaperman. Apparently, he was miserable, so he has come back to the crazy hell of the Bay Area -- and we are all delighted to have him here. He came down briefly in October, and we shot several episodes of For SCIENCE!, wherein Sam graciously battled Brandon Hunt for supremacy as my co-host. The results of that epic battle will soon be available online, but until then I can only say that their verbal repartee was almost as good as their swordplay. It's something you will want to savor again and again.
Last night, Sam and I were two of three Prospects in an episode of Brandon's brilliant NerdCAST, a podcast centered entirely on all things nerds like; it was the show's first birthday, and we toasted with Korbel, Pepsi and Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. I was delighted to be a part of something so unabashedly nerdy, and I know Sam had a good time.
There's been some speculation as to whether or not Sam will, in fact, choose to stay with Tiger after his recent transgressions came to light. I hope Sam will take the high road and stay; after all, it's important to realize that Tiger is only human. We all make mistakes.
Enjoy your delicious samples of Sam Craig, everybody. And please remember to wipe your hands before you touch the doorknob.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
I work with Sam in our series, For SCIENCE!, wherein I do my best to stop laughing once he starts me up. That's basically how it goes: I say something, Sam bats it back at me in a slightly altered form, I lob it back over the net and then he spikes the joke and destroys my game. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Sam makes me laugh. It's a rare ability. I just wish I could make him laugh as much.
Recently, Sam was in Oregon. For about a year, actually. Sam moved up there to be a newspaperman. Apparently, he was miserable, so he has come back to the crazy hell of the Bay Area -- and we are all delighted to have him here. He came down briefly in October, and we shot several episodes of For SCIENCE!, wherein Sam graciously battled Brandon Hunt for supremacy as my co-host. The results of that epic battle will soon be available online, but until then I can only say that their verbal repartee was almost as good as their swordplay. It's something you will want to savor again and again.
Last night, Sam and I were two of three Prospects in an episode of Brandon's brilliant NerdCAST, a podcast centered entirely on all things nerds like; it was the show's first birthday, and we toasted with Korbel, Pepsi and Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. I was delighted to be a part of something so unabashedly nerdy, and I know Sam had a good time.
There's been some speculation as to whether or not Sam will, in fact, choose to stay with Tiger after his recent transgressions came to light. I hope Sam will take the high road and stay; after all, it's important to realize that Tiger is only human. We all make mistakes.
Enjoy your delicious samples of Sam Craig, everybody. And please remember to wipe your hands before you touch the doorknob.
© 2009, Edward Hightower. All Rights Reserved.
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