Feb 14, 2005
LENNON First Rehearsal, New York City
Be careful what you wish for, they always say. You might get it. Once upon a
time, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I wished to live in New York City
and work as an entertainer. Suddenly, here I am, smack in the heart of the city
working on a Broadway show, rubbing elbows with seasoned veterans of the theatre.
Sure I’m merely an understudy at this point, lesser paid, getting less
attention and seldom to be seen or heard by the public, but
the experience is the thing. And what an experience today was.
The entire company and staff gathered for the first time at studio 6A at the
new 42nd St Studios between 7th and 8th Avenues, our home for the next six weeks.
I was nervous most of the time, but never around director Don Scardino. His
calming presence always makes me feel at home. I met everyone in the cast, who
already seemed to know each other from previous shows over the years. Nine players
are in the starting cast: Will, Terrence, Julia, Marcy, Chuck, Michael, Julie,
Chad and Mandy. Then there are the standby's, Rona, Mark and myself. A forth
standby will be chosen soon. We began by settling a little union business with
the Actors Equity rep, and then Don came in to talk just to the cast about the
genesis of LENNON. His enthusiasm and genuine passion for the subject matter
had each of us enthralled and inspired to the edge of frenzy. Then there was
the big meet and greet with all the show's producers, staff and backers. The
set and costume designs were unveiled, and the cast read through the script,
which will be subject to daily revisions as the play develops, and sang each
song along the way (there are some damn good singers in this show). After lunch
we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Don and watching some John Lennon
footage (Montreal Bed-In, 1969), then we did some relaxation exercising, which
came in handy; no sooner had we finished when Yoko Ono appeared! We repeated
some of the songs we’d sung in read-through, which she found quite pleasing,
then we all met her...well, sort of. Yoko is very reserved and quiet, but with
all she’s been through, who could blame her?
Altogether a decent, but stressful first day. My only real adversaries were
the weather, which was rainy and cold, and the subway, not an easy animal to
tame at first and it made the trip to and from rehearsal more trying than it
needed to be. So I was understandably drained when I arrived in Park Slope in
Brooklyn, where I’m staying for a couple of weeks with my friend Patrick
from Austin. Not too drained, though, to have a quick video chat with my wife
and son. I found out that I could actually play with Dexter online! That’s
something I was really going to miss, now I don’t have to.