Getting its groove

We say in the business that our second preview is always a bit off. Usually the excitement of the first night in front of a real audience wears off and the show just gets a little out of sync. Well that didn’t happen with our second preview, but the third preview provided some of the normal uneasiness. The show went well last evening, but I felt the actors’ concentration was a bit scattered. I know the audience didn’t feel that, but what we’ve learned over the past three days is how demanding and exhausting this show is to perform. Flo usually joins us for a glass of wine after each performance, but she’s been abstaining over the past week as she said to me last night, "Eric, this show is so exhausting. It's nothing but straight brain power that's very intense for two hours." She had a dream the night before where she was conducting the show and woke up with her arms waving. I'm telling you, this Poe man gets into your soul. Today we put in our last set of changes, which were two new lines, before we froze the show. That means no more line or blocking or music changes will be made, so the show has time to settle in before critics come on Sunday. I'll continue to give acting notes so the actors can incorporate them into their performances. I feel we're really at a great place. We're all exhausted. Yesterday our managing director Sam Sweet asked me, “Are you ok Eric? You're so quiet.” I said, “I’m just so tired mentally and physically.” I really didn’t realize how tired I was, as you just keep plugging away to make the work the best it can be when doing a world premiere musical. Audiences continue to just hang around in the lobby after the performances. I think they just want to talk, so we're going to re-open the bar to help people come down after the ride.

—ES