Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Always Patsy Cline Closes Tonight

Tonight marks the end of a very successful run of Always Patsy Cline at Wayside Theatre. It has been a tremendous run, with our two actresses, Sara Story and Thomasin Savaiano entertaining audiences since July 12. It also marks the completion of the first run of a show in our newly renovated theatre.

We’ll all miss this show and it will forever be associated with the re-opening of the theatre. It helped bring back life to the theatre and to our town and put many a smile on many a face. But as is the case in our business, we let them go so we can move onto the next one.

One Show Down, Two More to Go

Whew.

Today was the closing performance and then strike for Moonlight and Magnolias. It was a great show. Just this last week, Potomac Stages picked the show as a must see in the Washington DC area. It is always sad to see a show close, and this was one of the sadder ones. The cast, Peter Boyer, Chris Reeder, Chris Todd, and Leah Raulerson, were all wonderful and provided a lot of great laughs for audiences.

But like all shows this one has reached the end of its run, and we got rid of all of the bananas and peanuts and now move on to donuts and sex farce.

Always Patsy Cline has one more week to play while we continue to rehearse Unnecessary Farce. It will almost seem like a vacation with only two shows to worry about this week. But not really. We’ve got a lot coming up and we’ll all be a bit crazy here pretty much up to the holidays. But hey that’s a life in the theatre.

Visitors From Down Under Come To Always Patsy Cline

We’re used to folks traveling a fair distance to our productions at Wayside Theatre. We’ve had visitors from England, Germany, Alaska, and Russia that I can recall. But this is the first time that I know of that we’ve had guests from Australia. Especially two visitors who came to see Always Patsy Cline because they are rabid Patsy Cline fans who were in the area to check out the Patsy Cline history.

Needless to say their enthusiasm made our night and I hope we made their trip worthwhile. Jan and Linda seemed like they had a great time and they got a chance to meet Sara and Thomasin who play Patsy Cline and Louise, respectively, after the show.

Cool time. Sort of makes it all worthwhile.

Reviews Coming in for Moonlight and Magnolias

We’re into our second week of the run for Moonlight and Magnolias and reviews are just now starting to come in. Sometimes you wonder if they are seeing the same play, but then that’s show biz.

Here are links to two of them: The Winchester Star (Powerful Acting Pulls It Off) and The Northern VA Daily (Wayside’s ‘Moonlight’ is comedy on steroids.}

I love how they are both fixated on the messy stage we create with all those peanuts and bananas. It is a comic mess.

Also of note in the traditional paper biz, there’s a great article on Miss Sara Story who is playing Patsy Cline for us in Always Patsy Cline.

Technorati Tags: Wayside Theatre,Always Patsy Cline,Moonlight and Magnolias,Culture

A Day in the Life of Tech Rehearsals

Wow. We’re dragging today here at Wayside Theatre. Yesterday was our big technical rehearsal day for Moonlight and Magnolias, which we’re performing in a different location. We’re doing this so that our current hit, Always Patsy Cline can continue to pack them in at our home base. These days are typically heads down, go into the theatre and don’t come out until we’re done kind of affairs.

Mid-way through that rehearsal we got a call from our stage manager for Always Patsy Cline that there was a malfunction with the stage lights right as she was getting ready to start the show. Lights would not be controlled properly. So we took a break in tech rehearsals, while I got on the phone, after sending our lighting designer, Paul, who has done both shows, fleeing to Middletown to see what he could do.

Our folks explained the situation to the audience and offered them two options, while we waited until we could make a decision based on Paul’s findings, or reschedule their tickets. Most folks decided to wait it out, and we sent the Patsy band on stage to play some music under work lights and keep folks entertained.

We ended up doing the performance in one cue, as it was ascertained we needed to do some more evaluation before determining what we needed to focus on. The audience members that stuck with us seemed genuinely happy with the outcome.

Meanwhile up the street at Moonlight and Magnolias rehearsal, things progressed between phone calls and progressed in good fashion. The day there ended without incident and in good shape to move forward.

We’ve got a great team at Wayside Theatre and they all pulled their weight yesterday as we live that old show biz axiom, The Show Must Go On.

Turns out the issue is a DMX cable needs to be replaced, so I think we’re good to go on both fronts

Technorati Tags: Moonlight and Magnolias,Gone With the Wind,Always Patsy Cline,Wayside Theatre

Always Patsy Cline Reviews Keep On Raving

Another review is in for Always Patsy Cline at Wayside Theatre, and with it, another wave of strong ticket sales.

This one is from the Free Lance Star in Fredericksburg, about 90 minutes away. Gas prices don’t seem to be keeping these folks from buying tickets and making the drive.

Meanwhile, while Patsy delights audiences six times a week, we’re three days into rehearsals for our next show, David Hutchinson’s Moonlight and Magnolias, which is a comedy tour-de-force about the re-writing of Gone with the Wind, featuring some pretty funny battles between David O. Selznick, Ben Hecht, and Vic Fleming. Not to mention more bananas and peanuts than you can shake a stick at.

Comedy is hard work.

Technorati Tags: Moonlight and Magnolias,Always Patsy Cline,Wayside Theatre,Gone with the Wind

Reviews are in For Always Patsy Cline

Looks like we’re a hit, with reviews rolling in for Always Patsy Cline. Aside from some off target remarks about the wigs, we’ll take this one to the bank.

We’re all still a bit shell shocked from the weekend and slowly getting things back to a routine. Good thing. We start rehearsals for the next show on Tuesday.

Hope I get my voice back by then.

Technorati Tags: Always Patsy Cline,Wayside Theatre

Always Patsy Cline Looks To Be A Hit

As promised here are some pictures from Wayside Theatre’s production of Always Patsy Cline that just opened last night. The two actresses, Thomasin Savaiano (Louise) and Sara Story (Patsy) are brilliant individually and as a team. Photos are courtesy of our theatre photographer, John Westervelt.

 

 

More here on this stream on Flickr.

We’re Back!

Overwhelming. Sensational. Fantastic. Relieving.

I could list several dozen adjectives to describe the emotions, excitement and thrills from last night’s opening night performance of Always Patsy Cline at the newly renovated Wayside Theatre. As I left the stage after the pre-show festivities, I was completely overwhelmed with emotion. This has been such a long time coming and so many have worked so hard to make it possible. The event took our collective breath away.

The evening was a brilliant success on all levels even though the audiences had to walk up and leave in the rain. People were amazed at the renovations and thrilled with the show. The two actresses, Thomasin Savaiano and Sara Story, were fantastic as was the band. They grabbed the audience and wouldn’t let go.

Our post show celebrations were a much needed blow out by all that ended up at the Irish Isle next door with the pub’s owner and our own Larry Dahlke playing some great tunes on the fiddle and the guitar. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

We’ll have reviews out later this week and I’ll post links to them.  But here’s a link to a Northern VA Daily article that covered Saturday’s first preview.

My voice is a casualty of the last few weeks as I woke up without one this morning. As I’ve said  before I’m due for a meltdown here soon, but it will have to be a quick one as we get ready to start the next show soon.

I’ll be posting up some pictures of the show soon.

Technorati Tags: Always Patsy Cline,Wayside Theatre

We’re In Business

Well. After a day of two preview performances we open and in business. We learned a lot about the new building and got rave notices from our audiences on the renovation and the show. Everyone is exhausted beyond compare but adrenalin is still pushing us through tomorrow night. I’m starting to break down a bit emotionally and physically (a bad cold coming on, damn it) but we’ll get there in high style tomorrow night for the grand opening which we’re billing as an All American Homecoming.

I have to say when I walk out to introduce the show and say “Welcome Home” the reaction is positively overwhelming. It is amazing how much people have latched on to this old girl of a building. While it is much more comfortable, she’s still and old girl and has her quirks.

Our audiences are in for a treat and our artists are in for lots of love. We’ve developed a knack for doing these kind of shows, (Always Patsy Cline) and let me tell you when the music is in full swing, the audience is just swept away.

This is the 8th theatre I’ve built around opening a show, and I think it might be my last one. I’m getting too old for this. But I have to tell you this. Our business is indeed a crazy one. We set a date to open a new building and a new show, and by God, we do it, come hell or high water. I love being able to see that come to be, but it can’t happen without amazing contributions from so many. Am I enjoying the sin of pride tonight? You’re damn right I am. We’re going to pull this off being short staffed, under-funded, in debt up to our ears, and running on empty. But as that great line from Slings and Arrows says, great things happen right before the thread breaks.

We almost broke a few threads on this journey, but we held them together with grit, determination, and love.

Oh, and those new seats? Everyone loves them they are so comfortable.

Off to bed and then up for the final day heading into opening night.

Here’s to great things.