Footloose Update #8

Last night was our first rehearsal with the band. It went very well. We cleaned up the end of act two and had a lot of fun with our new sound with the band. It will take some getting used to and will be lots of work to find one anothers cues and rhythms, but when it is all put together it is going to be so great and exciting! Two weeks from tonight is fianl dress and then... gulp!

Big number 12!

Happy B-Day Jake!

Cut Footloose With a New Grill!

Lowe's has made it possible to raffle this wonderful new grill during the last performance of Footloose the musical! Tickets are $1.00 each or get six tickets for $5.00! Wow! All proceeds will support this and future performances as well as new production equipment. For more information, email me and I will get you some tickets or see any cast member. (Girls not included.)

Footloose Update #7

Tonight we begin a marthon of rehearsals. This is where the magic happens and the true fun begins!

The Producers

The Broadway production of The Producers closed yesterday. After many years, thousands of performances, a movie based on the musical, which was based on the movie and more Tony Awards than any other show on Broadway- it was time to call it quits at the St. James. Playing there next, will be Mel Brooks' and the rest of his Producers team, musical version of his 1970's movie Young Frankenstein.

Big Day

Today is my Dad's last day of work. As of 3:00pm, he will be retired. After years and years of him and my Mom working very hard to provide my brother and me with education, experiences and a perfect childhood full of amazing and fun memories, it is finally their time to play. Hoo-ray!

New Animated Film

Disney has recently announced that they will be returning to hand drawn animated films (yay!!!). After the whole Toy Story/ Shrek/ Ice Age computer animated features boom, they stopped releasing hand drawn animation. A big bummer, especially when you look at how beautiful some of the classics as well as the newer movies are. The last few of the animated Disney films that were hand drawn rather than computer generated were not bad from the style by which they were presented, but rather the stories stunk. When my family has gone to Disney World in the past, one of our favorite things to do was wonder through the animation building and watch the artists work. When we were there this past December- the entire animation building is now a walk through museum type display. So sad. I am very excited to see thet Disney is returning to hand drawn, and I hope they keep it up. The film is titled The Frog Princess and is an adaptation of The Frog Prince fairy tale (another of my favorites- my most favorite being the muppets version). Also a first, the Princess is black. The story is updated and set in 1920's New Orleans with music by Randy Newman. Release is scheduled for 2009.

Footloose Update #6

I feel like I never had spring break. I am very tired and know that I will get more tired before I get less tired. It all comes with the territory I guess. We started major clean up on the show last night. For those that might not know, that means we break down every scene with detail and try to form a specific pace at which the scene will move. It also means that we take every dance number and go over every step, fill in any empty spots and make everyone's feet, hands, even eyelids match. This is the part of rehearsal that I like most, mainly because it is the most creative. Getting every scene and number on its feet is one thing, but to fine tune and shape it all is great fun. This is the time where we have lots of happy surprises that weren't in the original plan- for example, so one might make a funny joke and it triggers an idea that works into the scene. Some one may misstep a dance move, and it looks better or leads into an entireyl different idea than the original. This is also the most draining rehearsals on the cast because there is lots of waiting. We are no longer on a schedule because we don't know how far we will get each night. Some nights we may only get past one scene, others we may fly through several. The goal is to have everything cleaned up by midweek next week. One week from today we begin all the tech work- body mics, lights, sound and moving scenery. On Monday we get the band- that will be an entire experience in itself getting used to one another and figuring out cues. Three weeks from tonight is final dress- wow! I feel woozy!- lots to do, but lots of fun to be had in the process.

Happy Birthday Beauty

Today marks the 13th birthday of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway!

My Spidey Sense Tells Me...

It has been recently announced that Spider Man the Musical will be having a Broadway reading this summer. At first I was like, "You've got to be kidding me!!!" Then after reading a bit more, I learned that Julie Taymor (The Lion King) will direct. I've never really been a big Spider Man fan other than the silly cameos he made on The Electric Company, and I do go see the movies because they are well done... but a musical? Should be interesting. Read the article and form your own opinion.

Lion King Video

There is a really good video of backstage at the Broadway production of The Lion King on broadway.com today. It doesn't show much of the actual stage work, but there are some good shots of the make up and a few costumes. Check it out here.

Back to Reality

Spring break is over. Back to the everyday grind. Three weeks from right now we will be in dress rehearsals for Footloose. We begin major clean-up tomorrow. The set is nearly completed except for a few minor details. Costumes are the big task ahead of us now.

Beautiful, Warm Weather... Finally!

Yay for spring break!

Look Familiar?

While in NYC, Paul found this poster. Even on break, we can't get it out of our heads!

Happy Easter!

Is this what we look like? Maybe they are auditioning for Jekyll & Hyde?

Paul Loves NY!

Paul is in New York! He is sending me pictures of his adventures- I'll keep everyone posted. How much fun!!!!!

Eggstra Fun!

Last night was our last rehearsal of Footloose before beginning spring break. We will dive in head first with clean up and tech rehearsals after our week off. Before sending everyone away, we celebrated with an egg hunt in the FAB. It was like a herd of wild widabeasts! Sarah won the best prize of all, a framed photo of Conrad Birdie... so dreamy!