Change In The Air

There was such a change in the air and a boost of energy added today with the arrival of my buddy, and our new "Sam", John Dossett. John and I are old friends, having performed in the Broadway cast of "The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer" many years ago, so we had a history. And if there's anything in this business that means anything, it's the histories that we share together. Our team is nearly complete now, with only the addition tomorrow of our Tanya, who is the only remaining principal from the Broadway company, Judy McLane. We will finally have our first "read through" of the show, although we've been rehearsing now for nearly a week and a half. That's how showbiz goes.

But what a treat it was to have John join us today and to be working, for the first time, with the full compliment of "Dad's". And a treat it was - from our first moment in the room there was nothing but joking and jockeying for position, all in the name of good fun. Poor Alyse, our "Sophie", didn't know what hit her, as this influx of testosterone simply took over the room. As opposed to the past few days, where we would discuss a scene first and then read through it, we decided today to do just the opposite and we dove right in. From the very first read it was clear that this was going to be, although I have nothing to compare it to but the image in my mind of what it should sound like, a very different scene. There was tension and fun and most of all bite. Yes, there was a bite to the scene which I had no idea existed. It was fresh and invigorating and it felt like three guys, new to the island, vying for position, vying for attention, vying for top dog position. That's what it was - a pissing contest of three dogs saying, "I was here first and this is my territory." And it was a blast. We laughed and joked a lot, mostly about the nature of these three men and why each was here. I, of course with my new found discovery of Bill's motives, continued in my belief that Bill basically came to the Island for a good time and an adventure and ends up utterly confused at every turn. But in this, the first scene, he's yet to encounter that confusion, so for him, it's a time to discover his surroundings and meet, for the first time, this young girl. Little does he know what's in store for him, but his first curve ball is the discovery that Donna, his old fling and Sophie's mom, didn't invite him here at all, as he was lead to believe. It was Sophie who invited the three men and it was her secret to keep. But before that secret can be tested, there's a lovely song (Thank You For The Music) that's testament to the power of a melody and how it may have affected each of their lives. Each of us, including Sophie, lends our voice to the song and it's a great introduction to the charm that awaits.

It's not long before that charm, and Sophie's secret, are tested as Donna makes her first entrance and discovers the men, the three possible fathers of her baby. And this is where rehearsal got really interesting. Our new Donna is the Tony Award winning Beth Leavel and when I say she is funny, I can't begin to describe funny. She has quirks and ticks and laughs and voices and impulses that come out of her at such a rate it's hard to keep up - but it's damn fun to try! She is hilarious and was no less so today. It was hard to keep a straight face, even for a first read thru of this scene, between Beth and John and David and myself, especially when the three men seemed so confused that we jokingly referred to the new headlines - "Never before in the history of Broadway have three actors so quickly closed a successful, long running Broadway show. Their lack of performance surely goes down in history and one of the strongest showings of inability to act ever seen on a Broadway stage" - and so forth. We wandered aimlessly, myself in the fore, desperately trying to make connections with each other and sense of the scene. In the end, as with any other "first go'round" of a scene, it went quite well and we all learned a lot. The next time we approach this scene we will certainly have a better understanding of what each of us means to each other and to Donna. And in the end, that's really the crux of this story. We laid it to rest, confident in the knowledge that with a bevy of talented actors, a scene like this will find it's own rhythm and it's own life and we needn't worry. I only hope now that between the four of us, and the rest of the cast, we don't have too much fun and forget the story we're here to tell. It's been known to happen...

In the meantime, tomorrow, as I've said, brings our first real read thru. This process seems so backwards, I know, but sometimes, because of actors schedules and all of the people it takes to collaborate on a successful project like this, things get put together in such a mumbo jumbo way it seems as if it's never gonna happen. But surprisingly, and amazingly, it does. And I have no less confidence in this project.