From the sublime to the ridiculous

Sunday night we held our ensemble recording session, a plan that grew out of our desire to augment the sound of our ensemble. The rehearsal was scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Little Theatre (which will be ours for keeps next Monday, hallelujah), and everyone understood that we would go until 10 p.m. or until we finished recording everything we had on our list. It was almost miraculous how well it went. We started at about quarter past seven--once all the recording equipment was set up and checked--and we were completely done by 9:15! The cast was focused like a laser beam on the task at hand, and the first take of the opening number (a huge, complicated, show-stopping kind of piece) was so fine that the second and third takes were just for good measure! We recorded a total of four ensemble numbers, and every song was the same way. There wasn't an extraneous peep, cough, or scuffle from a soul, including everyone from our little 7-year-old to our 72-year-old! After that rehearsal I decided that a night off would do us all good, and canceled Monday's rehearsal. If it hadn't been that we couldn't have our big space at the synagogue where we've held most of our offsite rehearsals, I probably wouldn't have made that decision, but it seemed like a good time for a break, and the cast really appreciated it.

So then tonight we held a full runthrough, our first in quite a while, and it disappointed in pretty much every way, not only me also the cast. The one really bright spot was Jena as Annie; she rose to the occasion beautifully. Otherwise, it was very low on energy, sloppy, slow paced, and generally discouraging, especially as compared with previous runthroughs and rehearsals. I realize that this poor runthrough is part of the process, and can almost be predicted, but that didn't take away from the sting of its deficiencies. I think, however, that the cast really understood where I was coming from in my little post-runthrough lecture, and I am fully expecting a total rebound recovery the next time we get together. And you could have heard a pin drop when I gathered them for my comments afterwards. There is no question but that each and every one of them wants the show to be good, and is fully invested in its success. And that is what I will take with me into the next rehearsal, and the one after that. It's a lovely group of talented people, and I do have confidence that our ultimate "product" will be quite wonderful.