This is the Moment/Week!

We are in the throes of tech/hell week currently; cue-2-cue rehearsal yesterday and sitzprobe today.  More often than not I loathe these rehearsals.  They tend to be tedious, and I always get antsy since there is so much stopping and starting.  However, I must say that I always enjoy New Line tech weekends.  Let's break this down real quick:

• Cue-2-Cue: 
• Started at 1ish in the afternoon; finished around 6:30.  
• That 5.5 hours included 
• excessive gunfights, 
• one 10 minute break for stretching/use of facilities
• over 200 light cues.
• random Charlestoning    
• Sitzprobe: 
• Actors required to arrive no later than 12:30, with intent to start at 1.  I wasn't looking at my clock, but I do believe we started on time.   
• Finished in probably 2.5-3 hours, which is a beautiful thing
• 16 body microphones, with occasional feedback
• 7 musicians that sounded amazing (especially the reeds and guitars)
• The most eclectic choreography and staging you are apt to see anywhere

New Line tech weekends seldom seem like work.  Instead, I find myself seeing the show through a brand new set of eyes (especially with how the lights illuminate this set, it's almost surreal).  Plus, THE NEW LINE BAND KICKS ASS!  Bonnie & Clyde is my fourth show with New Line, and the band always varies from show to show depending on what is required by the score.  Nevertheless, all 7 pieces were on point today.  Let's break down the band too!

• Jeffrey Carter, Music Director and First Keyboard
• Sue Goldford, Second Keyboard
• D. Mike Bauer, Guitars (fun fact: the man loves Little Shop of Horrors)
• Andrew Gurney, Bass
• Nikki Glenn, Violin (fun fact: has performed on stage with New Line as well)
• Robert Vinson, Reeds (fun fact: has played three of my four shows: Evita, Cry-Baby, and B&C)
• Clarence Newell, Percussion

We preview on Thursday, and Opening Night Party on Friday. For more information, visit http://www.newlinetheatre.com/bonniepage.html

StrawPun Out!

Dying Ain't So Bad

Bonnie and Clyde are the Tinker Bell and Peter Pan of Crime

Sounds crazy, no?  But here, in our little village of West Dallas.....
Sorry, wrong show (though Stages St. Louis is doing Fiddler on the Roof right now)

We attempted our first full run-thru the other night, and though there is still room for improvement, no one died that wasn't supposed to.  Therefore, it was a success.  Plus, I didn't hurt myself, which I always consider a plus.

Anyway, back to my initial statement: I was sitting in the audience during the beginning of Act 1, and for the first time I just watched Larissa and Matt do their meeting scenes.  They have been doing wonderfully, but it was a different show than what I had been listening to for the past month.  Without scripts in their hands, they had to rely on each other more.  There were some great moments between them, and a remarkable childishness seemed to evolve.  You could see in his eyes just how much she mattered to him, and it was apparent just how much she wanted his approval during her poem.  It was similar to watching two kids meeting on a playground and innocently flirting.

Now, I'm not saying that Bonnie and Clyde were innocent by any means, but they were incredibly young; Clyde was twenty-four and Bonnie was twenty-three when they were gunned down.  They had no problem laughing in the face of adult society.  They even had their own group of "lost boys", fellow criminals aiding the fearless couple in crime sprees.

I realize this entire idea may be far-fetched, and I could potentially be grasping for connections, but after reading about Bonnie and Clyde, you get under the impression that these two were ready to die at any time.  Hell, Bonnie has a song called "Dying Ain't So Bad" in the show where she remarks that the only problem she would have with dying is if Clyde died before her; she would rather go first so that she wouldn't have to live without him.

In Peter Pan, when facing imminent death at the hands of Captain Jas. Hook, Peter spits in his face "To die would be an awfully big adventure."  Pan is not afraid to die.  To him, death is just the next great thing that he can conquer.  He has no true sense of right or wrong, and was prone to killing off the Lost Boys whenever he felt that they had grown too old.

In other news, we open in two weeks.  The show is looking good, but I'm so glad that we have several more run-thru rehearsals.  I am facing my eternal problem: not being big enough.  I always think I'm making a strong difference between the characters I play, but I never make the differences big enough.  I am prone to feeling awkward about going over the top (BAD ACTOR!).  Oh well, it just means I have to lose myself in the show a bit more.

Two weeks to go!  Make sure to check out Bonnie & Clyde at New Line Theatre!

StrawPun Out

Research Interrupted

Time to put on my Blogging Hat again

Me in my blogging hat

I have encountered an issue: I am doing a disservice to the show with all of my research.  As I mentioned previously, I am playing Deputy Bud Russel in Bonnie and Clyde.  However, the more time I spend reading about him and trying to find out what his interactions with Clyde were like, the more I question his part in the show.  Deputy Bud is no longer Bud Russel; instead, he's a stand-in for any and all officers the Barrow Gang dealt with.  I'm not one cop; I'm every cop.  It's kind of a blow to the ego knowing you're a real person but not being able to use any of that person's story to develop the character. 

In other news, I reserved several books and movies from the library just to get an understanding of why Bonnie and Clyde were so revered.  The first book has proven to be quite the challenge: "My Life with Bonnie & Clyde" by Blanche Caldwell Barrow.  For those that are unaware of who this woman is, Blanche is Clyde's sister-in-law.  Married to his elder brother Marvin "Buck" Barrow, Blanche stood by her husband's side and joined the Barrow Gang for a short time.  While she outlived the rest of the gang, the book primarily concerns her time with them.  Potentially a perfect insight to their world, right?  I would tend to agree, if I could make it past the 10th page.  I've been trying to read the book for a week, and I still haven't made it through the Editor's Preface.  However, at the end of the book, the editor has put together a remarkable amount of data concerning the Barrow Gang, including an appendix of every victim that died at their hands.  According to the information presented in the appendix, neither Blanche nor Bonnie killed anyone, which strikes me as odd.  My goal is to at least finish the first chapter by Wednesday.  Wish me luck.

Sadly, the first movie I watched did not seem to be a good source for information.  A&E's mini-series "Bonnie & Clyde" premiered some time in the past year, and many thought it would be a success.  While I will admit I enjoyed it, and there were some nice parallels between the movie and the musical, it made me angry with its depiction of the titular duo.  Emile Hirsch was wonderful as Clyde, and there was a lot of focus on his relationship with brother Buck and parents Henry and Cumie Barrow.  It deeply humanized him, which I thought was nice.  There was still plenty of hero worship about Capone and all, but more of the focus was just trying to escape the life he was leading.  Holliday Grainger was a fantastic Bonnie, as well.  To me, she took the title in hand and ran with it; what I mean by this is she relished in being the center of attention, finally becoming the "It Girl" that she had always dreamed of.  Plus, her and Hirsch had remarkable chemistry, and it was a joy to watch them together.

Other good things: William Hurt as Texas Ranger Frank Hamer.  He was absolutely relentless in his pursuit of the two, and it was a nice change from Hamer in the Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway film. Also, Sarah Hyland was an oddly nice Blanche.  It was apparent she was there for Buck, not necessarily for the glamour and glory.

Now, the things that were bad/strange:

1. Clyde has ESP, which saves them on several occasions from Hamer's forces
2. Bonnie is depicted as the driving force of all the crimes, almost as if she were playing Clyde for the sap.
3. Bonnie kills several people, with no showing of remorse.  It almost sickened me at times. 
4. The Big One: Clyde sets up the ambush that slaughters Bonnie and himself.  

The last one was where I just got angry.  I could put up with the ESP and Bonnie being in control.  But, to me, there is no way that Clyde would set up his own demise.  They honestly could've died at any time, and in the musical, Bonnie acknowledges the looming threat of death when she sings "Dying Ain't So Bad."  She isn't too fearful of death, as long as she and Clyde are still together.  It's a beautiful sentiment, and I truly believe that is why their spree lasted as long as it did: they weren't afraid die knowing that they truly lived.  The movie stomps on this, and kicks it in the garbage.

In conclusion....I still may buy this movie, even though it made me angry.  My next movie should be better: a pair of History Channel documentaries examining the criminals AND the law men who chased them down.  This may end up helping me with Deputy Bud, and what not.

StrawPun Out

PS: I found the original demo recording of Bonnie and Clyde, before it even played La Jolla.  Since it's a Frank Wildhorn musical, most of Bonnie's stuff is sung by Linda Eder.  Thankfully, Brandi Burkhardt sang "Short-Order World", an interesting up-tempo cut from the show.

Catching Everyone Up/Research

Time to give this blogging thing another shot, since I only seem to do it when I'm in a New Line show (otherwise my life isn't so eventful)

Rehearsals started last week for my newest theatrical endeavor, Bonnie & Clyde the Musical at New Line.  Much like my past three New Line shows, I will be portraying multiple characters in the ensemble*, and, much like Bukowsical, I'll be portraying real characters again.  Personally, I find this quite challenging, and I relish in it.  It just means I get to spend time in the library doing research, trying to find out as much as I can about the gentlemen I am depicting.  I really haven't had a big chance to do research with New Line, but that, of course, is my own fault.  I was too nervous I'd mess something up during Evita, Cry-Baby never really seemed right for proper research (The Whiffles were living in this musical comedy world, so I had issues gauging just how grounded I could be without sacrificing that John Waters vibe), and I spent most of Bukowsical reading all of Bukowski's poetry novels and Burrough's works just so I could make sense of whatever we were putting on that stage.

However, this show is going to be another Women of Lockerbie for me.  For my (few) readers that may not understand the reference, I had the privilege (it really was) to appear in The Women of Lockerbie this past February.  The play concerns the survivors and parents of those that passed during the Pan Am 103 bombing from 1988.  I spent the entire month of January enmeshed in accident reports, interview footage, documentaries, and articles about the bombing itself and about dealing with loss and grief of a loved one.  It was difficult for me to break out of the funk that the show put me in every night; it was such a heavy subject matter, and I essentially was on stage the entire show.

I'm prepared to enter that realm again with Bonnie & Clyde, and I've already immersed myself in research.  I spend the majority of the show as Deputy Bud Russell.  While Bud Russell was a real lawman during the 30's and had several run-ins with Clyde, I am 99.9% sure that the writers only used his name for the show.  There are no real similarities between "Uncle" Bud Russell and Deputy Bud Russell besides name.  "Uncle" Bud Russell (the person) was the chief transit officer for the Texas State Prison System, meaning he spent his entire career delivering 115,000 men and women to serve their sentences in his "One-Way Wagon."

Uncle Bud with his "One-Way Wagon"

 The "One-Way Wagon" is what I find most interesting about this man.  Bud made it himself, welding the sides up with grating and adding an extremely thick door to the back with two solid locks.  Riding in the back of this had to be a nightmare during the bright summer days in Texas: almost no protection from the elements, and all the prisoners were changed to one another at the neck.  It had to be a nightmare back then.

Best part? When Clyde Barrow was arrested in 1930, he wrote several letters to Bonnie Parker admitting his apprehension of ever meeting Bud Russell.  That is how feared the man was.  Bud also proved to outlive both Bonnie and Clyde; Bud didn't pass away until February 2, 1955.

Uncle Bud's Obituary

I'm still in the process of watching some History Channel documentaries and reading several books about Bonnie and Clyde, including Blanch Barrow's memoir of her years with the Barrow Gang.  More information in the future, and have a good night.

StrawPun

*I never really thought about it, but every show I've done has had me playing several different parts

1. Evita: Audience Member, Eva's Brother, Resident of Buenos Aires, Military Official, Secret Police Officer
2. Cry-Baby: Bradley (Whiffle), Terrence (Drape), Hugh (Prisoner)
3. Bukowsical: William S. Burroughs, A Lawyer, Swifty Lazar, Norman Mailer, Sean Penn
4. Bonnie & Clyde: Deputy Bud Russell, Archie (A Customer)

We have a good thing goin'

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. A lot has been going on that I need to catch you up on.

Anyhow, we finished blocking the show last week, and so far, have attempted our first run-thru.  Not my most shining moment, but I actually believe it went pretty well.  It also helped that we were able to move into the theatre a little bit earlier than originally anticipated. The only things I'm having problems with right now are just hearing some of my harmonies and the marathon that is "The Chase" (for those coming to see the show, there is a chance you will be winded watching it cause I'll be winded about halfway through).

This past weekend, though, was a lot of fun just for the fact that the set is in place.  I have to say that I love building the set of a show that I'm cast in.  I find it helps me to connect a bit more to each scene, knowing the effort put forth to create that flat or platform, grounding the entire process.

In addition, we had publicity photos this past Tuesday.  Much fun was had by all (I hope...I don't want to lie on the interwebs), and everyone looked smashing in their costumes.  The creepiest thing was when I got home after rehearsal, and was looking in my closet, I swear to God that I found the same exact shirt Amy brought in for me, except in a different color.  Mind Blown!

This show is coming together in such a wonderful fashion, I find it hard to believe that we open in less than two weeks. It has been such an amazing and difficult experience bringing new life to this show that just didn't have a chance to shine in New York.  I think that this is the production John Water's and the creative team really wanted instead of the Hairspray-esque version that made its way to Broadway.  This is a down and dirty show that has no qualms of telling the audience "up yours", though we never actually say a bad word in the show (ass doesn't count because it could just mean we need to pay close attention to our load-bearing, canyon exploring little friends).

So, things to be aware of when you come see the show:
1. If you have never played with a baton before, it can be harder than one might imagine.  Right, Taylor?
2. If there is a death, orgy, funeral, or just something that might be slightly fucked up, it's a New Line show.
3. Please keep the aisles clear so we may debauch ourselves all over the place.
4. Though it might not say it in the program, Mr. Dupree W. Dupree named the Drapes that the Whiffles play. 
5. It's really fun to say "whiffle".   Say it with me now..."whiffle"
6. Ass Chords, Racist Monkeys, and Wagons Full of Wet Kittens are all real things that need to be controlled and worried about.

Til next time, stay nifty.

Who ya been lovin' since I been gone?

Good Day Everyone!  I hope that everyone who reads this is doing well.


I realize that it's been a while since I last posted.  Every time I've tried, something has come up.  Therefore, here I am now, and I have a lot to catch ya up on.


We have finished blocking the entire first act as of last night, and let me just say...this show is going to rock and/or roll the entire evening.  Everyone sounds amazing, and seeing the designs for the set has made this whole experience even more real for me.  I'm going to be the second person ever to play the bass Whiffle (he doesn't have a name in the script, but you can call me Brad).  As we block and rehearse each scene, everyone is bringing their own little tweaks and perks to the material.  We are essentially creating a new(ish) work the minute we step out on the stage, and I wish I could just watch it happen.  Happily, though, I am a part of it. :D  


A few of my favorite bits about this show (so far)
     5. Ryan and Taylor killing it every time they do "I'm Infected"
     4. Ari singing "Jukebox Jamboree".  He hits it, rubs some funk on it, then hits it again.  
     3. Singing that awesome doo-wop background to "Girl, Can I Kiss You?"  Still my favorite song to sing in the entire show.
     2. The Teardrops...period.  I honestly think they are going to stop the show several times in the first act alone.
     1. Being a Whiffle.  That's the simplest way to put it.  It's been a long while since I sang some honest-to-goodness 4-part harmonies.  This is what I was raised on; what made me want to join St. Matthias Choir (and be the only boy for the longest time); what made my 4 years at DeSmet worth it: being able to sing barbershop/doo-wop/4-part anything.  It's my destiny, much like Lenora is Cry-Baby's destiny.
     .5. Terrie singing "Screw Loose"/just being Lenora.  She's that good.


As I said before, my Whiffle name is Bradley.  That's not all though.  My prisoner name is Hugh, and my Drape name is Terrence (many thanks to Dupree for the name).  More on this to come.


Along with the blocking rehearsals, Robin has been teaching us some killer choreography.  I know for a fact that it nearly killed me the first time...'ahem'... Bad joke aside, I haven't danced this hard in the longest time.  I would greatly advise everyone to invest in Bayer aspirin til the end of March.  Their stock might be rising some.  After watching myself in the mirror, and some of the dance videos, I don't know how the hell my body is doing some of the things it's doing, fucked up knees and all.  (For those that haven't noticed it before, my natural stance is first/second position.  I like to think I'm a little duck-footed).  Now all that needs to be done is to practice til the cows come home.

Well, I must get going, so I leave you with my new favorite rockabilly song.  Have a great night.

PS: I thought of this earlier last week, but Terrie put this song on her blog earlier, reminding me of it.  One of the all-time great doo-wop songs from the 50's. First, what Terrie posted

This is what the Squares would listen to.  Perfectly acceptable in its own way.  Now the next version, the original version from 1954 by the Chords.  I believe this would be the Drape version.  Your thoughts?

 

Bum Bum Bum Bum...

We finished learning all of the songs this past Tuesday; therefore, it's time for the read-thru.  I have never been more excited for a read-thru than this one.  It's amazing how well the cast envelops the story through the music, but I can't wait to see and hear how we handle the actual text of the show.

Update: After having the read-thru last night, I am so friggin' excited for this show now.  Everyone sounded great, and I know the minute we start blocking, we are going to be in business. 

On the personal side, however, I'm already having some problems, mainly with knowing this music.  There is an awful lot of it, which isn't the problem.  I'm really just not used to having to sing bass.  I mean, I was singing first tenor from 2002 to May 2010.  Evita with New Line was the first time I had ever actually sung Bass/Baritone, and that was difficult enough.  The good thing there was that Eeyan and Aaron were down there with me, so if I couldn't hear it I just had to search for their voices to get back on track.  I still have problems reading bass clef but it's gotten better.  I'm just worried I'm going to eff up the Whiffle stuff.  From what I've been able to tell, I'm anchoring a majority of the chords, so that adds a little more pressure.  The thing is being the only person down on that part.  Oh well, just means that I have to practice more on my own.  Practice makes Permanent, so I just need to know the music even better than I normally do.  

Allison (Elizabeth Stanley) and the Whiffles led by Baldwin Blandish (Christopher J. Hanke)

While I've been working on the music, I've been doing a lot of research into the original movie, production, and just the time period we are depicting.  I thought I knew a lot about the fifties, but there is so much more that I need to look into.  I mean, I can listen to all the oldies and doo-wop I want, but when you start looking at the years some of those songs were coming out, they came out after 1954 (when Cry-Baby takes place).  It's almost like I need to ignore all the fifties music I know and love, and try and come at the show from a different angle.  The Squares are still in the Big Band mentality, almost.  They are the clean cut, probably listening to Glenn Miller, or Count Basie if they are feeling really adventurous.  The Whiffles are almost worse, going back to the barbershop quartet music from the turn of the century.  Meanwhile the Drapes draw inspiration from the rhythm and blues coming down South.  This is the kind of music that would be played underground, in the flop houses and hole-in-the-wall bars found down on Beale Street in Memphis, or at Sam Phillips' Sun Records. 

Well, I gotta get going, so thanks for reading, and don't forget your Anti-Polio shot.

 

Here We Go Again.

First things first. I has been a long time since I last posted here (well over a year). So much has happened in that time. I started grad school, have been working with theatres around town, and just trying to live each day as it comes. Now that we are caught up, I must start the topic at hand...

Cry-Baby the Musical!!!!!

Rehearsals started early this week for New Line Theatre's production of John Water's Cry-Baby the Musical, of which I am happy and proud to be a member of the cast. This is going to be a fantastic experience, primarily due to the fact that we are the first production outside of the Broadway production. No one else has touched this show, so we are going to be bringing a whole new experience to a welcoming audience. Also, I am technically getting college credit for being in the show, so I'm glad to be sharing the wackiness that develops as well as the process of bringing this show to life.

Now, I'm no stranger to the kookiness that is John Waters. I have been a fan of Hairspray and Cry-Baby since I first saw them on television so many years ago, and now being able to do both in less than a year is even cooler. I still think I fit better in the fifties and sixties, hence the reason why my favorite musicals are Grease and Jersey Boys. Those were the years when rock and roll was created, perfected, and at the same time, destroyed. The fact that this entire genesis makes its way through the show gives me reason enough to enjoy this.

First Rehearsal
As I mentioned earlier, rehearsals started this week, and we have a hell of a show in our hands. Though I was sitting further back in the bass section, I was still amazed by the power and pure "raw"-ness coming from everyone involved. This is definitely not an easy score. In comparing it to the other John Waters' musical, Hairspray ranks as a 6.5 while Cry-Baby hits around a low 8 (for scale significance, I put Birdie at a 4.5 and Sunday in the Park with George at an 11).

The score wages kind of a battle between the lovely, though occasionally cheesy tunes of shows like Finian's Rainbow and Bye Bye Birdie to the pure rockabilly drive created by Sam Phillips and his Sun Record Label. Though I get to sing a little bit of everything throughout, I'm proud to be on the cheesy side, being a Whiffle, one of the harmony guys. I mean, this is the style I grew up on: The Four Lads, The Four Aces, The Lettermen. The Whiffles are the Baltimore version of The Plaids in Forever Plaid, and who can say anything bad about the Plaids?...please don't say anything bad about the Plaids, or else I may get pissy.

At the same time, I'm having so much fun singing these rock songs. I really can't wait until we get to I'm Infected and Girl, Can I Kiss You just because they serve kind of a midpoint. They have that four-part background with the more expressive lyrics, making those numbers almost doo-wop, in my opinion. And, really, if doo-wop is involved, I'm going to be singing somewhere.

Sadly, I must now go. So till next time, watch your ass.