Pippin: Final Rehearsals

          Wednesday we did another run-thru, giving us all another good chance to fix the trouble spots in the show. The dancing is coming together well, everyone is doing a really good job staying focused with lines and cues, and our interaction with the orchestra is getting a little better. I think we are finding that our weakest spots involve costume changes, some of the props used, and keeping a strong flow of communication. The latter one came from the fact that much of the orchestra had to leave around 10, and we had just gotten to intermission; because of this, we were unable to run most of Act II - we just skipped straight to the Finale, much to the chagrin of the director (as well as us). But we dealt with it. As for the other issues, we are having some trouble working with the costumes, particularly having enough time to change into some of them so rapidly, as we don't have any offstage hands to help. I personally feel it would be better if we could just lose some specific costumes - they don't really add much to the scenes we use them in, and they have only been a problem since we got them. But again, that's not for me to decide. Also, there have been problems with the props in terms of quantity and spacing; we have so many props, there is little space to put them once done with them (particularly for the ones used quickly onstage, with no time to take them off). We will just have to do our best.

           Thursday, however, was entirely different. As this was our final dress rehearsal, we finally had an audience - it was opened up to friends and family. Because of that, the atmosphere of the cast became electric - our high energy was back in anticipation of an audience. All of our prep time for costumes and makeup, we were all excited. I also noticed how great it was all looking - the set was finished, we had all of our props here, our costumes were finally finished (the tattooed guy looked AMAZING), and the orchestra was prepared - the cards were set for a great run.

         And what a great run it was - we all had fun that night! The musical numbers went well, the dances felt great - the sex scenes, in particular, were excellent (I couldn't hold a straight face during my sex duet). My mother was in the audience, and i was worried about her reaction to the show, as some of it was a little more adult than I expected. But she loved it! I was given lots of praise on my choreography by audience members, as well as the cast. I am so happy that after so much time (and admittedly some conflict), the show as come together quite well; now, on to Opening Night!