Saturday, December 16, 2006

Our Last Rehearsal before break!

Here's a little video of our last rehearsal before we hit Christmas break. I am VERY impressed with where we are at in this process. Especially when you consider that only ONE of our cast members has had any formal dance training and experience. I think my cast is AWESOME! They have really come a LONG way! Enjoy the video and tell me what you think!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Seussical in Production

The cast is set for our school's production of "Seussical the Musical" (to be performed February 2007). I was so impressed with the turn out for our auditions and have continued to be amazed at the growing talent we have in our show. Each rehearsal, I see a growing excitement and energy with our cast. This is a long and hard journey that we are embarking on, but I am ready to experience it all again.

This will be my second big musical to produce and direct and it is by far the largest one yet. So here we go . . . let the journey begin.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Clips from my last show!



Check it out! Clips from our production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" last February. I got to work with the most awesome cast ever! All of them were great. Enjoy these few "behind the scenes" clips from dress rehearsal! Let me know what you think of them!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

WICKED is AWESOME!

It was a VERY late night afterwards as we drove back home to Holland, MI. I think we crawled in bed around 3:30 a.m. But as usual, it was so worth it!

So, here is a picture of my carpool group (minus myself) that just got back from another sweet trip to Chicago, last weekend, to see the ever "Popular" and stunningly beautiful Broadway show, "Wicked". This was officially my third time seeing it and I enjoyed it just as much!

The show is just pure "magic"! Everything from costumes, to set, to storyline, to music, to lighting, to the "shock-factor". I love it all!

My wife and I took 35 people into the windy city last night to experience the Tony Award winning production. We made really great time on the road and only ran into a little but of traffic at the end. We met most of the group outside the theater around 6:00 and went to eat at a corner bakery restaurant. After a nice meal, we gathered into the beautiful Oriental Theatre and watched the show.

Even after seeing it several times, I still enjoy living through the story with the characters and I always walk away with a few more insights into the show. Plus, it's always nice to see the show with new people and feed off of their excitement as they experience it for the first time. This trip was no exception. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we had a "Wonderful" time. Even though it was just "One Short Day" in the windy city.

Afterwards, my group (which consisted of my wife, Michael Ulrich and his mom, and Chad Adkins) decided that we wanted to go by the stage door to meet some of the cast. So we did, and even got some autographs and photos with Kristy Cates (Elphaba) and Stacie Morgain Lewis (Glinda).


Here are the guys with Kristy Cates who played Elphaba. Stacie Morgain Lewis (Glinda) was also there outside but was not feeling well and only signed one autograph and took one picture (unfortunately, not with our group).

From what I have read from the critics, out of the three current productions running, the Chicago production is the best! So I am proud to say that I have been able to see the BEST "Wicked" production THREE times!

This show has just completely exploded in popularity and is growing fast. Right now, there is a London and a Los Angeles production in the works. That would make a total of FIVE around the world! I have also heard talk about an upcoming MOVIE version in the works. I have read that Steven Spielberg has bought the rights and is working on getting the production started. That would be awesome!

No doubt you all have noticed how many musicals are starting to be turned into movies. Right now, "Hairspray" & "Dreamgirls" are coming up. Past modern movie musicals are, "The Phantom of the Opera", "The Producers", "Rent", & "Chicago". I kind of like the trend. I just hope that they start doing the more cleaner shows in the future.

Well, that's all for now. Keep the love for Live Theatre alive! Attend a show near you!

Friday, July 28, 2006

7 hours and counting . . .

EXCITED TO SEE WICKED AGAIN!

That is all . . . review of the show to come . . .