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Thanks for the link,Monica. I love all the behind the scenes tidbits revealed in the interview. And of douse, Bruce’s thoughts about his projects are always enlightening.
I really hate that I’m going to miss the festivities in Norfolk. I know you all are going to have a great time!
Hoping the musical will be so successful, it will launch a worldwide tour & stop really close to where all the Bruce fans live.
This may be stretching reality a bit, but a girl has to have her dreams…
Jackie
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Anyone going to be in Norfolk for the show either Friday or Saturday night? I’ll be there. Elyce will be with me on Saturday. Let me know…
Here is a running commentary of yesterday’s performance of the musical. It was written by Mike Rafael and posted on his Facebook page:
?”2/3rds thru the first act of our 2nd preview on SCKBSTD. Very special feeling finally seeing it in front of paying customers. Really hot audience, right with us so far. Wish I could bottle this one and take it with us (*smile*).”
21 hours ago
______________________________________________________________________________________________________• “Wow! Oohs and aahs and murmurs of delight. Seriously great house!”
20 hours ago
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________• “Intermission report: 1:20 first act but nobody’s complaining. Big applause and lots of happy audience chatter in the lobby (wish I could have heard the ladies room).”
20 hours ago
____________________________________________________________________________________________________• “Ah well, previews…one of our door unit loses a wheel and we have to screw it together in the wings mid-scene (*smile*). The audience doesn’t seem to mind and the cast doesn’t miss a beat.”
19 hours ago
________________________________________________________________________________________________________• ?”2nd act playing very taught. Dead silent house. Nice changes put in by the creatives today to maintain the tension. Playing beautifully.”
19 hours ago
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
• “Bill parry lands “soon enough” and we’ve got the audience set up. Last 15 minutes. Here we go….”
19 hours ago
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• “New ending lands beautifully. Nice standing O and we’re out! 2 for 2. Plenty of work to do but what a nice start!”
19 hours agoVirginia, I was with Kat waiting for you in Norfolk when you were having plane issues. We felt so bad for you. Could you please email me at mcockshoot@wildbluecorp.com?? David and Molo3, no heavy breathing please. That’s one reason I didn’t give out my phone #. 😆
Mary
mary wrote:David and Molo3, no heavy breathing please. That’s one reason I didn’t give out my phone #. 😆
MaryBut…..I already have it and know where you live! Scary thought, huh?….. 😆
Still havin’ a ball!
David Day
Lake Lanier, GAmary wrote:Virginia, I was with Kat waiting for you in Norfolk when you were having plane issues. We felt so bad for you. Could you please email me at mcockshoot@wildbluecorp.com?? David and Molo3, no heavy breathing please. That’s one reason I didn’t give out my phone #. 😆Mary
Yeah, come on. Everyone has your #, mary! But now that I have your email—muhwahhahahaha!
molo3
This is for everyone from the board in attendance of SCKBSTD last week: It’s time to share your reviews! I want to hear your thoughts on the performance(s) and the vibe of the crowd from your perspective. I know in terms of the meet-up that Mary bought your silence, but you can PM me details on how out of control she was. I’m sure David Day was a “southern gentleman”, so definitely PM me details on his outlandish behavior!
All kidding aside, I’m ready for the reviews!
molo3
What on earth was I thinking?? Of course you guys have my # since you wrote it on the walls at the Biltmo’!!
Unfortunately, Mr. DAvid P. Day couldn’t make it so I had to hold up his end. That doesn’t sound quite right.
I was at both the rehearsal and preview and at both of them, it was a much older crowd. Now at the rehearsal, there were just a few people since they weren’t really advertising it. The first preview was pretty much a packed house. I’m not sure if people who support the Theatre got free seats and that’s why it was an older crowd or why it was. I was by far one of the youngest there (hold your wise-cracks Molo3 and DAvid) even at the ripe old age of 49. I’m interested to hear what the average age is for these 3 weeks because I wasn’t expecting an older crowd.I loved the musical. I think they did a great job at acting because it caught me in tears a few times. The only one that I felt could’ve been stronger was the lead actor – the Dr. He could’ve gave it more oomph. It was interesting to see how they acted out the songs or where they fit them into the musical. The “Where’s the Bat” song was priceless. Now on that one, I had tears because of laughing so damn hard. The acting between the two “mom’s” was incredible. I think going forward, when I hear the songs from the musical with Bruce playing them in a concert, I will always go back to that musical and think of the scene. They also did a great version of “Black Rats” set at a school setting. What I really enjoyed was the computer graphics for the backdrop. The musical had moving parts and all like windows and such but the backdrop was just very interesting as I had never seen anything like it before. The engine noise of the car was really cool with its headlights popping up in the background. It gave you the heebie-jeebies wondering who is this weirdo in town. Two high school-age kids did “Invisible” and they also did a very good job. Besides “Cont Drift” bringing me to tears just because it always does because I think back to R.S. and his solo, the other song that brought me to tears was “Here We Are Again.” Listening to it on the cd, I never felt that way but seeing how it was performed in the musical put a whole new meaning to it.
The 4 piece band was set up on stage in the back. Here I was thinking they’d be in a pit but there was no such thing. The theatre is very old (holds 600) and just gave you a very home-town feel to it. It wasn’t a distraction at all and in fact, I liked being able to see them play.
That’s about it without giving details away for others that are still going to see it. Since it’s playing for 3 weeks, not certain how the crowds will be but the Tues preview that I was at seemed to really enjoy it with a standing ovation at the end.Mary
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can share the my thoughts about the play without just stringing together a bunch of superlatives. I want to say enough but not too much and not just babble….
I was able to stay in Virginia a few days, taking a side trip out toward Lynchburg to see friends in the middle of the week. Consequently saw the play three times. I was there on the Tuesday (1st preview night), on opening night (Friday) and again on Saturday. It did a bit of an evolution over that span of time. No big changes, just fine tuning. I enjoyed it from the start but with each performance it got better and better. I wish there was a way to zip back down there and see it one more time at the end of the run.
The first act is mostly devoted to setting the scene which is primarily done through the music. Through the songs, we meet all the personalities of the characters and get the flavor of the little town. We see Norman Rhodes (the SCKBSTD), but he maintains a mysterious distance. We hear nothing from him outside of a couple of lines of dialogue until the second act. So, his character is developed completely through the paranoia of the town folk and their reactions to his odd behavior.
The family dynamics that are at the center of the Reynolds family is raw. It’s presented in a humorous and entertaining fashion but I’ll bet the reality of it cuts a little close to the bone for a lot of us. It certainly did for me.
Some highlights…
The Holy Trinity of Home Delivery – is a hysterical introduction to three of the secondary characters. The entire audience loved this one, every night!
Jill Paice is incredible as Afton Reynolds (the main female character). Her delivery of her songs is captivating. Between her voice and her dance style she gives this character so much power. She was definitely MY favorite character in the show
The women’s songs (Who Takes Care Of Mom and Where’s The Bat) are incredibly strong.
All the teenage performers are very good. Brynn Williams (plays Jill Rogers) has a terrific voice and Riley Costello (the paper boy) has an amazing presence. I loved Paperboy…a song I couldn’t really appreciate on Levitate. I do now. Invisible is done as a duet between Brynn and Charles Franklin (Tim, the Reynolds’ teenage son). It’s fantastic.
William Parry is also wonderful as Afton’s father. He performs both Don of Don’s and Soon Enough. Soon Enough is just beautiful and Don of Don’s is woven into the story in a very clever way.
Continents Drift is performed toward the end of act one by Afton (Jill) and her husband Jim (Marcus Lovett) after a VERY awkward moment. It’s very touching and heartbreaking.
Act two is where we finally hear about Norman Rhodes from Norman and of course in the end we finally understand what he’s all about. I don’t want to say too much in case anyone reading will still have the chance to see the show. Robert Cucclioli is great as Norman…just creepy and mysterious enough. It’s clear why he has the whole town talking.
Simple Prayer, performed by the ensemble is as fun as you’d expect. I’ve loved this song since I first heard it. A reprise done in the second act has a completely different ambiance and becomes quite meaningful.
I think the cast kept the audience right where they needed to be throughout the performance. Everything is pretty light until near the end of act one. It’s just FUN but the dissonance in the family and the situation as a whole cannot be ignored. During much of act two, you could hear a pin drop.
The band is good and they do a great job with Bruce’s music. At first it’s a little weird to hear the music coming from anyone other than Bruce and the Noisemakers. You just have to get it in your head that it’s not a Bruce show. The sets are minimalist but set the scene well. Projections are used fairly extensively to compliment and intensify the performance. I thought there was always just enough going on onstage at any one time. I never felt that my attention was getting distracted by too much going on, but I felt engaged with the stage as a whole.
The story is solid. Clay Chapman did a great job of weaving the songs together in a meaningful and entertaining way. And what can I possibly say about the music? The songs that are new are every bit as good as the ones we know so well from Levitate. I have had one song or another from SCKBSTD bouncing around in my head for days now. The brand new songs stick with you. I wish I had a way to put them in rotation on my iPod so I could enjoy them again and again.
Congratulations to everyone involved in this project. It was a long road getting to Norfolk but it was worth the wait. I hope it makes it to Broadway and it gets all the attention it deserves. In the meantime, if you can get to Virginia….GO!
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