SHOWTUNE: "OH, SO SOON..."

Ni Hao! Well, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the Showtune set, but we came pretty close... This last Monday we loaded-in the Showtune set. With only a few mild setbacks, we had a working set by 6pm. The railing wasn't complete, and we still had facing and painting, but the cast was able to move on stage to rehearse. This was essential because the show opened four days later!

Showtune is a musical revue of the work of Jerry Herman who was the composer and lyricist for such shows as Hello, Dolly! and Mame. My challenge was to create a setting that was neutral enough to work for over 50 songs. I designed a series of platforms and stairs which allowed for a variety of different staging configurations. Below is the design rendering:


Thursday was the final dress rehearsal. I brought my camera along and was able to actually get some pretty good shots... Considering the poor quality of the "Yankee" photos, I was happy to see the improvement in such a short time. (The photography book I bought has been very helpful...) Anyway, here is a sampling of some of the photos:

I painted this "bathing beauty" photo board (above)

The challenge in taking pictures in the theatre is capturing the proper lighting. After that, it is even more of a challenge to get a clear, focused picture in low-light conditions. These are all candid shots, so that was another added challenge. I'm pretty happy that they are clear and full of color.

Now on to West Side Story! Wish me luck!