Yesterday was the first of our marathon all-day rehearsals. We started with two hours of music, which included learning the "lunatic" sequence from Act Two, and running over "God That's Good" until I thought if I had to sing the line "More hot pies" one more time I might go insane. Vashti is a patient but firm musical director - she lets us make mistakes a limited number of times, but also demands that we get it right.
Schnitzel sort of lost its allure after last week's dinner, so on this dinner break some of the cast headed to Burgoo on Main. Then it was back to the Alpen Club to run Act One.
Ryan had begun the rehearsal by saying, "If you're worried that it's not coming together, don't worry - it will. Trust the process, because we do." Well, up until that point, I hadn't worried - we haven't been rehearsing for a full two weeks, after all - but then I started thinking about it, and realized that we're in the theater next week, and in front of an audience in two, and...well, yeah. I started worrying. So I had to admit that I was a little nervous about how the first Act One run-through, with no stops, would go. Would we crash and burn?
Well, we didn't. We got through, in about an hour and a half. Ideally we'd like Act One to come in under an hour and twenty, so that wasn't too bad for a first go. It was the first time many of us in the ensemble had seen some of the principals-only numbers, and it was great to watch. Krista Gibbard, who is playing Johanna, has a marvellous voice. She gave me shivers when she ran through "Green Finch and Linnet Bird." Chris Harvey has got the whole earnest-lover thing down pat as Anthony. Cathy soldiered through despite a pretty serious back injury and her comedic timing is just impeccable, even at this stage when we still have a ways to go in really being comfortable with the material. She really has a sense of Mrs. Lovett, and the right combination of light and dark - which I really appreciate as someone who has also lived this part. I realized watching as a spectator last night just how much Mrs. Lovett, rather than Sweeney, is really the centre of the show, around which all plots seem to revolve.
Yesterday was also the first day we got to see Eric Steel as Pirelli. He is hilarious. Flamboyant, theatrical, outrageous, with just a hint of viciousness underneath. "The Contest", in which Pirelli and Sweeney compete for the title of "King of the Barbers" will be excruciating and funny. Every time we rehearsed it Eric brought something new to the scene; he's obviously someone who thinks these things through ahead of the rehearsal process as he brought a lot of complicated stage business to the first run-through, but he also seemed to find new dimensions as we ran through the number. I'm sure by the time we get to performance his Pirelli will be absolutely a highlight of the show.
From an ensemble point of view, the biggest challenge of a run-through is not remembering what to do when you're on the stage, but remembering when you have to get there. Since our rehearsal process has been pretty disjointed, rehearsing numbers in isolation, this was the first time where we really had to remember the sequence of songs, where we had to be next, where our next entrance was in relation to our last exit, that kind of thing. There was alot of running to consult scripts the minute we were out of one scene to figure out when the next scene came.
So, so far so good. Tonight is another marathon rehearsal, blocking Act Two. I'm feeling fairly comfortable at this point, but that will probably all change tonight once I have to sing and move...
Schnitzel sort of lost its allure after last week's dinner, so on this dinner break some of the cast headed to Burgoo on Main. Then it was back to the Alpen Club to run Act One.
Ryan had begun the rehearsal by saying, "If you're worried that it's not coming together, don't worry - it will. Trust the process, because we do." Well, up until that point, I hadn't worried - we haven't been rehearsing for a full two weeks, after all - but then I started thinking about it, and realized that we're in the theater next week, and in front of an audience in two, and...well, yeah. I started worrying. So I had to admit that I was a little nervous about how the first Act One run-through, with no stops, would go. Would we crash and burn?
Well, we didn't. We got through, in about an hour and a half. Ideally we'd like Act One to come in under an hour and twenty, so that wasn't too bad for a first go. It was the first time many of us in the ensemble had seen some of the principals-only numbers, and it was great to watch. Krista Gibbard, who is playing Johanna, has a marvellous voice. She gave me shivers when she ran through "Green Finch and Linnet Bird." Chris Harvey has got the whole earnest-lover thing down pat as Anthony. Cathy soldiered through despite a pretty serious back injury and her comedic timing is just impeccable, even at this stage when we still have a ways to go in really being comfortable with the material. She really has a sense of Mrs. Lovett, and the right combination of light and dark - which I really appreciate as someone who has also lived this part. I realized watching as a spectator last night just how much Mrs. Lovett, rather than Sweeney, is really the centre of the show, around which all plots seem to revolve.
Yesterday was also the first day we got to see Eric Steel as Pirelli. He is hilarious. Flamboyant, theatrical, outrageous, with just a hint of viciousness underneath. "The Contest", in which Pirelli and Sweeney compete for the title of "King of the Barbers" will be excruciating and funny. Every time we rehearsed it Eric brought something new to the scene; he's obviously someone who thinks these things through ahead of the rehearsal process as he brought a lot of complicated stage business to the first run-through, but he also seemed to find new dimensions as we ran through the number. I'm sure by the time we get to performance his Pirelli will be absolutely a highlight of the show.
From an ensemble point of view, the biggest challenge of a run-through is not remembering what to do when you're on the stage, but remembering when you have to get there. Since our rehearsal process has been pretty disjointed, rehearsing numbers in isolation, this was the first time where we really had to remember the sequence of songs, where we had to be next, where our next entrance was in relation to our last exit, that kind of thing. There was alot of running to consult scripts the minute we were out of one scene to figure out when the next scene came.
So, so far so good. Tonight is another marathon rehearsal, blocking Act Two. I'm feeling fairly comfortable at this point, but that will probably all change tonight once I have to sing and move...