A VISIT FROM JOHN

This was a crazy week for the show. We had to finish everything in the rehearsal room to be ready to get on the set this weekend. But we also had a visit from John Kander as well.

This past Tuesday, John joined us for rehearsal and we sang through the entire score for him. It was a great day — but very exhausting, I am sure, for the actors. There were times when John was literally moved to tears by the performances. Now that’s a good sign. He worked with actors and changed some notes and harmonies from the original score as well. John got behind the piano a few times and played for the actors to really get the feeling of what he was writing and why. It was like a master class with John Kander. I also loved seeing his reaction to the new Theatre — being just blown away. When I showed him the set, he just said, “Fred would love this!” It was one of those amazing days in your career that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Rehearsals are going very well. We're doing the show differently than the original production — it's been very hard pulling it all together. With our three level set and lots of movement and reactions, the show literally never stops. Audiences will feel they are in the world of a jail cell all evening long.

It's going to be a long weekend as we begin the tech process. We have lots to figure out as far as spacing and timing issues go. And I am already counting the hundreds of light sues in my head.

Here's a sneak peak of our set model and then wait till you see it in real life! The set designer Adam Koch has outdone himself — it is 6,000 pounds of steel!

We’ll welcome John back next week to check in on the show again as well as hit HAPPY TIME rehearsals. Now off to tech!

-ES