Opening Night

It was a scramble, mad-dash, race for the moon kind of day.

The first performance was at nine o'clock in the morning. An auditorium full of elementary school kids, all with ADHD, were the first recipients of the talents of the middle school dramatic personae. And they loved it! But what's not to love? One of their favorite stories from childhood come to life, onstage, with music and lights and special effects and "Big Kids" playing the roles they've only seen on the television.

The Company did very well. Most of the lines were remembered, most of the songs went off well, most of the stage survived. I was mortified that the cart wasn't completed yet: some of the side panels weren't painted yet; there was duct tape covering some gaps; the wheels weren't painted yet. But "Chip" didn't complain, and the show went on.

Mary was obviously having a great time. I'm not sure yet if a serious drama bug has bitten her yet, but she seemed to relish the life backstage. (Those of you who have been behind the stage know what I'm talking about.) The tension, the chatter, the gossip, the whispers from the crew to "Hush!" She looked so cute in her villager outfit, makeup done just right, standing at the edge of the stage and waiting for her cue.

As soon as the presentation was done, I grabbed the cart and took it outside to where Cheryl was waiting with the van. We loaded it up and she drove it home while I went back to work. After lunch, I went home and together, we worked on completing it. She did the (marvelous) painting job, and I finished the wheels and filled in the gaps and tweaked a few things here and there.

We took it back to the school after dinner, around five-thirty, where I had to finish one final task - painting the wheels gold - and then it was finally ready to go.

The show started promptly at sometime after seven o'clock. The auditorium had a few people in it - probably around a hundred, mostly parents - but they were ready for it. (Thursday nights are traditionally a Dress Rehearsal night because no one in their right minds goes "out" to a show on a Thursday night, but apparently things have changed over the years, and this was actually considered a regular show.)

It didn't go as well as before, and mostly that was due to the fact that the kids had already done it earlier in the day, and their voices were tired. And they'd been in school in the meantime, so there was some regular tiredness as well. And there were several tech things that didn't work: the fog machine, the microphones, the automatic wood chopper thingie.

The biggest thing that went wrong was the scene where Gaston and Lefou and one other henchman stroll across the stage on their way to the castle. Gaston and the henchman didn't show up. It seems they were playing around back in the dressing room (or locker room) and weren't paying attention, and they were supposed to be out on stage, and they totally missed their cue. A third actor, who was really the main instigator, was there as well. So Lefou walked across the stage by himself, got to the end without saying a word, shrugged his shoulders, and exited.

I'm sure the audience was confused.

After the show, after final bows and curtain calls and all that had been done, the director took the three boys aside and told two of them that they were in "major trouble", and told the third that he was out of the show, not to return ever again. (He had been messing around quite a bit throughout the whole production.)

First time I've ever seen an actor removed on Opening Night.

[Some of the aficionados of the show might've noticed as well that the Wardrobe lady was missing. She apparently stopped showing up for rehearsals a few days ago and so was dropped as well. Must be a Middle School thing. Mrs. Potts has had to improvise some cover lines for that situation, but she's done well.]

After that unpleasantness, the kids all went down front of the auditorium and were congratulated by their parents and other well-wishers. Then the kids went back and changed into normal clothes and we all departed for home.

Well, almost. Actually, Mary and I departed for Wendy's, where we got Frosty shakes to celebrate, and then we went home. After all, an actor deserves her due!

Tomorrow night's production should be very interesting.