Saturday, March 8, 2008

Singin' in the Rain?

Well my dream nearly came true the other day when severe rain storms caused a lovely little leak on stage during our Thursday performances - never thought I'd get to play Don Lockwood for a good couple of years yet! It really added a new dimension and reality to the fact that I am meant to be singing a song whilst dancing out on the window ledge of a high rise building, so a little rain probably didn't look that odd - you think?
Finally finished 'The Other Boleyn' - thank God! Great read though, I would seriously recommend it to anyone. Then went on yesterday and read the entire play, 'Cat on Hot Tin Roof', in homage to the new african-american Broadway cast opening. Beautiful play - having read and studied 'A Streetcar Named Desire', I have been a fan of Tennessee Williams's work for a while now, and this one also blew me away with such poetry. I particularly love the way that he describes the mood of the scene or character in his stage directions, "A speech of this kind would be antipathetic from almost anyone but Margaret; she makes it oddly funny because her eyes constantly twinkle and her voice shakes with laughter which is basically indulgent", (very similar sounding to Blanche DuBois!). His characters have so many layers and complexes that even when, as Maggie does, a character gets a long winded 2-3 page monologue, a good actor will be able to hold the audience with it. From the get go of the play the conflict/tension is already in place and never lets up till after the curtain falls. His attention to detail between relationships, which is what his plays focus on, as well as the downfall of the Southern Aristocracy, is moving to read - I cant wait to see it in the flesh. As a playwrite, I feel he gives a lot of direction already in the script. I find this helpful as an actor to get a more defined picture of how to honor the playwrite and, of course, the play. A new role I would someday like to play, Brick. And my new aim for the Summer; to read all of his plays. I think I'll start next with 'Glass Menegarie'.
Had my old director from England, Matthew Chandler, fly over last night to see the show. Was great to see him again - taught me a lot about the business. Talked with him for about an hour after the show, then managed to get myself locked out of the theater with my keys, wallet and phone in my bag still in my dressing room - which was fun!
Introduced the movie 'Singin' in the Rain' last night to some cast members who hadn't seen it before - still blows me away every single time I watch it! Oh, and youtubing some other great inspirational dance numbers, below is another legend defying gravity - if you haven't seen Bob Fosse battle it out with Tommy Rall, its a must!
Right, off to work I go! Saturday Matinee here I come

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