I wanna go...to the late-night, double feature...pic-ture shoooow

So we had two shows on Friday, at 8 and 11, and then the Saturday show at the Strand in Lakewood.  Thanks to New Jersey Transit's stellar service, I got there much later than I intended to again.  Some genius decided to rip up 14th Street which brought traffic going over the bridge to a complete halt.  I finally got off as soon as we made it past the bridge, knowing I could scooter faster--much faster--than the bus was going.  Everyone on the bus was pissed off about it.

But since I'd left even earlier on Friday, it could've been worse--I got there in enough time to have a more relaxed warm up session, and skank up even better!  The 8pm show went well--Susan was there and loved it.  She was talking about me to Kelly Anne, who plays Magenta, saying I was the hardest-working, most disciplined performer she knew.  Kelly Anne was all "I know!  She came up with a back story for her character!  Who DOES that for Rocky Horror?"

I finally got used to the stage--it's still not ideal for tapping (can't hear the sounds at all) but I felt very comfortable on it, and stayed in the moment and just enjoyed it.  LOVE my tap solo, I am sad not to be doing it any more! 



The 11pm show went even better than the 8, and we had the biggest crowd for that one.  Chris was still resistant to callbacks; at one point, he was talking about how he would race through that incredibly dense chunk of text where he is expositing about the transducer.

With callbacks, the dialogue should go:

Dr. Scott: This Sonic Transducer, it is I suppose, some kind of audio-vibratory, physio-molecular, transport device?

Brad: You mean...?

Audience: A VIBRATOR?

Dr. Scott: Yes Brad, it’s something we ourselves have been working on for quite some time. But it seems our friend here has found a means of perfecting it.

Audience:  A PERFECT VIBRATOR? 

Dr. Scott: A device which is capable of breaking down solid matter and then projecting it through space and who knows, perhaps even time itself!

Audience: A PERFECT, PORTABLE VIBRATOR?

Okay, properly done, this is hilarious.  But Chris just raced through it, cutting off the callbacks.  Dude, this is FUNNY.  Have fun with the show.  This is not Shakespeare, it's the Rocky Fucking Horror Show.  There's no point to doing it without the callbacks!  It almost makes me want to do another role (Columbia doesn't get much yelled at her) so I can roll with the punches.  Certainly Jennifer (also a virgin, played Janet) never let it bother her!

We got out of the 11pm show at 1am.  Luckily we didn't have to wait too long for the bus and a train, but still, I got home at close to 3 am.  I dragged myself out of bed the next morning at 8:45--I had to be at Port Authority at 10:30, we were all going to catch the 11:00 bus to Lakewood.  I tried to sleep on the bus but it made a LOT of stops and sleep was impossible.  The snow started almost as soon as we left the city but didn't stick.

The Strand Theater is HUGE.  I think the house holds a 1000 seats!  Robert had mapped out an agenda which turned out to be over-ambitious.  We were supposed to do a cue-to-cue from 2-3, then have a bit of a break, eat dinner, then do a runthrough, then relax before our performance.  Oh no--we didn't finish the cue-to-cue until close to 5.  Robert tried to call a full runthrough and he nearly had an actor mutiny--we were all starving by then.  So we went through only the first act and then chilled backstage.  At one point Kelly Anne and I were talking and she asked me what the plot of Twelfth Night was (it came up somehow, and I told her she was the right type to play Maria).  We talked about that and other Shakespeare--she's done some straight theater but no classical, I don't think.


Check out our head mikes!

The audience at the Strand LOVED us. It was more than appreciation--they were grateful.  At one point we had an emergency--during "There's a Light (Over at the Frankenstein Place)" the stage lights and music were cut and we were told to go backstage.  A board member came backstage and told us that they'd had a slight emergency and were holding the show briefly.  Then the board member started raving about how good we were, so professional and talented, the best they'd ever had...very nice to hear!  She actually touched me on the shoulder in a very sincere gesture, this is what I mean about seeming grateful.  Very sweet.  The audience was raving about us at intermission as well, I had several photograph requests.

I was able to get out in enough time to catch the 10:30 bus back, which arrived much quicker than I antici------pated.  12!  I was expecting 12:30 so yay for a whole half-hour!  I crashed and have been crashing ever since--SEVERE sleep deprivation last week and have slept upwards of 11 hours a day the past few days.  The cast has been sending gooey, mass "aw, you guys, I loved working with you so much!" emails and Kelly Anne is planning a cast party.