BARNUM starring Peter Scolari as PT Barnum
DAY 1: �10 of 12� � Arrived at 10 am again. What a LONG, hectic day! When I was told we�d have more cues than last time, Jim wasn�t kidding. I have 18 just in the first act! The cast for this show is much younger than the last. Luckily, that means they have lots of energy and are willing to work. However, unfortunately, they�re young and don�t stand still for very long! The 10 hour tech today only got us through the first act!
We started our quote board up in the spot booth today as well. Apparently, this has been a tradition since Cherry County has been running at the Frauenthal. Quote for the day:
Me: Ya know, I REALLY thought I hated OKLAHOMA!...
Jessica & Me: �but I REALLY hate this show more!
The worst part of the entire day was that Peter Scolari fell from the tightrope. At the end of the first act, Barnum sings a song about basically taking chances in life. To illustrate it, he�s supposed to walk across a high wire that is 8 feet off the ground and about 25 feet across. He almost made it all the way across the first time, but he caught himself on the wire on the way down, slicing up his hands. Needless to say, blood everywhere! After he bandaged himself up and got some gloves, he tried again. The next time, he grabbed the wire as he fell, but the gloves slipped and he landed on his backside on the floor. Needless to say, every single one of us gasped and then held our breaths until he got up on his own.
We quit soon after that. It�s a good thing because I don�t think anyone was ready to go on to some of the other tricks, including the trapeze act with Barnum and Jenny Lind together�not cool.
DAY 2: Dress and Opening � Arrived at 9 am to fix some light problems and the hung out to watch Peter as he tried the �new and improved� high wire. The carps shortened it to about 15 feet and lowered it to about 5 feet. Needless to say, it�s still nerve racking for all of us to watch, but now it seems a lot safer from where I sit up in la la land (aka the spot booth).
At 10 am, we continued our tech rehearsal and finished act 1 and 2. After lunch, we had dress rehearsal. The show only ran about 1 � hours, so we were well done by 3:30 and didn�t have to be back for call until 7 pm! Woo hoo! A long dinner break!
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Peter Scolari as he�s about to go up on the high wire when it wasn�t completely set: "Hey I�m not STUPID! I may have been born at night, but it wasn�t LAST night! "
Considering we never got through the show until our actual opening performance, the show ROCKS! I don�t hate this show as much as I thought I did! In fact, I�m totally in love with it! It may be a spot op�s nightmare, but it has GREAT music and a wonderful cast!
I met Kep at the cast party as well. As promised, he bought me a drink and we stood around and talked about music for quite a while. He introduced me to Lina and Paul, two of the actor from Barnum who he apparently has worked with before. They invited me to the �Non-equity� house for an after party party. I was there for a while, but it was really quite boring. Still, it was nearly 3 before I finally got home
DAY 4: Thursday Double
Today was a double show day. Afterward, we all went to the Production Manager�s house for a party. What a blast! I was much more drunk than I�ve ever been! Paul, Lina, and several crew members wanted to taste my favorite shot, so I bought the ingredients. Of course, any time someone had one, they wanted me to take a shot as well. By the time I drank three Caecilian Kisses, I was wasted beyond belief!
Of course, AFTER I got drunk, Peter Scolari showed up. I spent two hours talking to him and trying desperately NOT to make a fool of myself! We talked about family, show business and several other profound topics. He�s a VERY nice man! And VERY cute as well! Apparently, he took a shining to me as �mom� when I tried to stop the 16 year old that I had brought with me from mixing alcohol (very, very bad girl!) and a little bit of smoking refreshment. ;) She was finally convinced by both Peter and I that being drunk for the first time was bad enough, but being drunk and stoned at the same time would make her extremely sick! Thank goodness, she believed us!
Peter gave me a very nice hug and told me, �Drive safe, I�ll see you tomorrow.� before I left.
DAY 5: Peter made a point of giving me a hug when he came in this afternoon. <sigh>
DAY 6: Another double show day.
Peter made a point of giving me a hug again this afternoon. He told me he was going to get rid of the gloves when he did the high wire. He nearly fell and put them back on for the final performance.
During break, I got Peter�s autograph which he signed �Love, love, love ya! Peter.� During strike, before Peter left, I talked to him and got his email. I told him in jest that I wanted to kidnap him and lock him in my bedroom forever (NO, I can�t believe I actually said it!) Peter�s response: Just bring along the condiments, baby! <grin>
Yes, I cried for a bit after he left. I�m gonna miss that man!