Tonight's the Night! If I'm not too exhausted, I will blog all about the show at about Midnight PST. See you then!
UPDATE:
Well, it's 11:30 and I'm living up to my promise. I am totally exhausted, but it was a good night! The show was really quite a hit! The applause at the end went on long and hearty, it was a good solid house (nearly full) and many people came up to me to share their thought and feelings about the work.
With the cuts we came in at 100 minutes, and while I still want to lose another 10 minutes or so, it was a big step forward from the previous draft.
Some big hits tonight... Jennifer Chu as Sue Koh Lee was a huge audience favorite. I'd like to take a look at streamlining this sequence, but Jen really sold it and her character was so lovable and sweet.
Jimmer Bolden got the biggest hand for his portrayal of Archie George and his moving take on 'Sittin Here a'Waitin'. And there was a lot of audience response as well to his Wes Autry sequence.
And Elise Dewsberry got a huge hand for both of her numbers as well as quite a few laughs. It will be difficult for me to see anyone else in this role after her aggressive and passionate take on it.
Selah and David were both solid as well, they definitely rose to the occasion and were very charming and entertaining. After the War, their big duet, was lovely and bittersweet.
The biggest problem with the script at this point is still the linking devices, which are on their way to working but are still completely overwritten from my perspective.
Jake and I are planning to meet next week to decompress, and discuss what the next step is for our script. Until then, I am going to wrap this chapter up and call it an unqualified success! Now off to bed to catch up on some sleep!