Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure Wows the Opening Night Crowd

Two previews and now one opening night performance under our belt and I think to say that we have created something special here at Wayside Theatre with Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure. Each of the three performances has received an enthusiastic standing ovation. The laughs are hitting consistently across the board and the music is delighting audiences to the point that they have a hard time sitting in their seats they are bouncing along with the beat. So, I think it might be safe to say that we've got another big hit on our hands.

But then we've got a run through March 12 to find out if that is true or not. I'm very proud of everyone involved in this production from the uber talented cast to the designers to the staff. My collaborator Steve Przybylski has once again proven to be my muse and his genius has helped shape this adventure in ways that are slam bang entertaining, but also powerfully full of resonance. As he put it the original Southern Crossroads created the Green Family Singers that audiences loved, but this prequel proves that the delightfully dysfunctional dynamic we created can endure beyond just one adventure. And he's right. The magic is in the music of course because that's what separates the Greene Family Singers from any old depression era family. And while the family is the key and the core, this play's engine moves on Stewpot, MeMe, the Sheriff, and Caw Cut the villain. They create the atmosphere of New Orleans and the conflict and make sure the family feels constantly like a fish out of water.

I'm exhausted as is everyone who worked on this world premiere. We partied hard tonight and can all sleep the sleep of those who know we accomplished something special as a team. It's something that will bind us all together in this wacky world of theatre forever. I'm just blessed to have been in the position to work with them all in creating something that offers folks a chance for an afternoon or evening's entertainment.

Bravo all! And thank you!

The World Premiere of Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure Debuts Tonight

The theatre biz is a kooky one at times. Tonight is the official opening of Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure at Wayside Theatre. But there have already been two audiences who have seen the show at yesterday's two preview performances. While the show might be a bit different after we make a few changes in today's show, tonight's opening night is the debut of record once all is said and done.

The good news is that after yesterday's previews we know this new show works wonderfully for audiences. Both shows received rousing standing ovations so we must be doing something right. Folks took to the Greene Family Singers right away, loved the amazing music, and enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and the characters that the Greene Family meets in this adventure. As both a writer and a director I'm really pleased with what we've all created. The cast did extraordinary work yesterday through both previews. They continued to hone in their characters and find the playing zone for the music. The peals of laughter and audible reactions came both from the comedy of the script and also from recognition. Some of that recognition came from audience members who went on the first Greene Family adventure two years ago as they met the characters they loved again. Remember this is a prequel to that first piece. Some of it came from the audience recognizing the excellent musicianship and performances that these actors are putting on display. The surprises along the way in the script also produced great reactions, but then that's why the surprises are there to begin with.

Tonight's opening night performance should be a good one. We've tuned the show up really well, in my view, and will tune it a little more today. The expectations are high with this one from those attending and those doing the work, so that means all of our stomaches are in a bit of a knot today. But when we hit the boards at 6:30, I think the magic of what this team of amazing artists will take over if yesterday's previews are any indication.

I'm looking very much forward to this.

The Music is the Magic in Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure

Whew. Yesterday was a long rehearsal day as we spent the day putting the second act of Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure together at Wayside Theatre. The story is working very well, but that story only works if the songs selected from a range of Old Time, Gospel, and traditional tunes by our music director Steve Przybylski work. Let me tell you, Steve's genius is fully on display here, as is the musicianship of our cast. Whether they are pounding away at the upright bass or the banjo, or blowing the trumpet or harmonica, or whatever they have in their hands, these folks do a remarkable job. When their voices take flight in some of the a capella sections it takes your breath away.

Yes, you can say I'm biased as I'm the co-creator of the piece. But this wouldn't be possible without Steve's approach to the music. Normally when you are creating a musical, the songs and story work together because the creators find the musical moments in the story and a song is written to bring that moment to musical life. In this case it's different. Steve and I talk about the story, which is based on The Greene Family Singers, a fictionalized family of singers that play their music for a living in Depression Era America, the characters and situations they meet along the way, and then Steve selects songs that in his mind fits where mine, as the book writer, is going. Somehow, he's more in tune with where I'm going than I am. I then use those songs as the both the skeleton and the meat for the story. Some songs are pure performance for the family, as they play takes place on one night that they are performing their music. But many of the songs offer us opportunities to advance the story with direct movement or commentary. At times it feels very Brechtian, at times it crosses over to more conventional musical theatre story telling.

The music is the magic in this piece. As Wallace Greene says in the story, "Playin' and singin' is like breathin' to us. Long as we can play and sing we got some hope." I couldn't agree more.

We put Act 1 together today.

Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure Making a Play This Weekend

We're in the midst of creating a world premiere at Wayside Theatre. Southern Crossroads: The New Orleans Adventure will open next weekend. It's a prequel to the original Southern Crossroads we created two years ago and that has enjoyed some great success. Our audiences wanted to see more and we're working to deliver that. Normally I blog quite a bit about the process but I've been busy writing and re-writing as we've been in rehearsals but I think we're close to the writing period being over as we head into a weekend where we put all the bits and pieces together into the two acts.

To say I'm enjoying this would be an understatement. We've got a cast that is tearing up the stage and the wonderful music in the show. There as willing (so far) to roll with the punches of creation as they come and they are an amazingly talented group. After each rehearsal we're all exhausted, but we come at it hard the next day.

The story follow the Greene Family Singers back a couple of years. The original was set in a small Virginia town in 1933. This adventure is set in New Orleans in 1931 and the story tells us about how one of the five brothers killed a girl and was then acquitted for her murder. And yes, it's a musical and a comedy. Along the way we meet the girl, we meet a bad guy, we meet a Sheriff caught in the middle, and we meet a banjo playing bar owner who owns the place it all happens in. And we also get the Greene Family Singers themselves playing their music trying to make a living. The music is a big part of the story. It's a mix of Old Time, Bluegrass, Gospel, Jazz, and shows the band's style beginning to evolve based on their experiences in The Big Easy.

One way or the other this is going to be quite a ride for our audiences as we mix in the familiar with some new surprises. Here's a link to a brief video interview I did about the show. Hope you plan on joining us for all the fun.

Shooting from the Lip

Of course today's news is filled with story after story of the senseless shooting in Tuscon that took the life of a federal judge, seriously wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and took the lives of others including a 9 year old child. I use thew word senseless because the brains of most humans just can't seem to make sense of it.

As tragic as the events are, those on both sides of the political spectrum trying to squeeze this horrible tragedy into their own political talking points are just as senseless, if not more so. It's still too early to tell what really happened in the mind of the young shooter from what I can tell. But that doesn't stop many on both sides from saying he pulled the trigger because he believed one way or the other. It certainly doesn't stop the idiots in the media from trying to frame the story. The debates and the sad commentary will get couched in words and phrases that wish for more civility. (I bet you hear the phrase "we all want more civil debate" a gazillion times.

Here's a question. What does it say when anyone's first reaction after getting over the shock of the news of the event immediately goes to finding a political, cultural, or social box to file it away in? Our minds all have our own bullet points, any of which can be shattered by a bullet.

Human nature and political survival instincts (are they the same thing?) will also generate a lot of descriptions of the shooter as a lunatic. Maybe he is, but that's largely irrelevant to the point I'm making. The need to do that is as predictable as it is comforting, as we seek to shelter ourselves from that kind of despicable conduct.

Unfortunately for many in the debate words will fail as surely as words matter. A tragic shooting that robbed some of their lives and loved ones will get wrapped in a sorry spectacle of many begging for some sort of better way to smash each other into smithereens for some sort of gain.

The Most Important Internet Predicitions for 2011

Too funny. This video sums up a lot of the predictions for 2011. Some NSFW language. But watch out for those holograms.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday morning reading to share.

Twitter as Mood Ring.

Francine Hardaway asks if majority still rules in the US. Not in her local park and we all know that concept is as old as the hills just about everywhere else.

Marco Arment, the developer of Instapaper tells why he thinks no one will best Apple with a Tablet. I think he's on to it.

Some misconceptions and realities about Net Neutrality. Biggest misconception about the whole thing? That the folks who are creating the rules actually have a clue as to what is going on.

Has Google become a "tropical paradise of spammers and marketers?" Why not, everything else we've ever created follows this path.

Shock and outrage! Tea Party activists are angry at the Republicans. If they are surprised at what happened in the lame duck session, I can't wait to see the surprise on their face when they read the Constitution out loud at the opening of the new session of Congress.

The IRS says that Congress waited too late to pass the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts and consequently taxpayers who file with some itemized deductions will have to wait to file because the iRS isn't ready to process the claims.