THE WORD HAS BEGUN

Tuesday was a crazy day at Signature. THE WORD BEGINS started rehearsals. To close out the day, the play’s director Robert Egan and the writers and performers Sekou (tha misfit) and Steve Connell did a presentation for the donors. The guests were just blown away by their passion and performance. It was great to hear their reactions for teh show. I am so excited for people to see it...it will be so special.

Also, MERRILY had its first preview last night. There were a few bumps and growing pains, but as the show continues, the transitions and emotional levels of each scene will be crystallized. I was sitting there thinking PASSION and MERRILY have to be the hardest Sondheim musicals I have ever done. Both are so tricky in finding the right tone to the storytelling.

I made a whole list of things to work on in rehearsal today. Of course, I see all the stuff I want to fix. But last night, after the show an audience member came up to me, in tears, and hugged me. He told me he was just blown away. It was really touching to see the audience respond to the material like that. He said he’s seen MERRILY a number of times before, but told me, “You really did it!” Fighting back tears, he said, ”I have to come back.” This one interaction made me realize that what I think needs some tweaks to be powerful really doesn’t. MERRILY as a whole is moving experience.

But you can bet I'll be in there tweaking again today so we can make it even better.

-ES