Opening Night - Rabbit Hole

I'm late, I know, sorry.

I enjoyed the long Holiday weekend and then got a little swamped back at work on Monday. I've been pestered by perhaps 6 people thus far for the next post, so someone is reading. Glad to hear it. Hannah Cohen, was that your comment on the last post? Hannah was a Stage Management student at BU who helped us out as a Production Assistant on several productions, including What the Butler Saw, one of my favorites. She is now in NY doing what, Hannah?

Opening Night was a lot of fun. There are a lot of little opening night traditions and festivities around here, so I thought I'd share a few of them with you. I didn't have my camera, so no photos.

In our costume shop the gang stops work at around 4 PM to have their usual tea... however the opening night spread is not usual. This time around there was a birthday (Jeffery's) and a baby shower (Rachel's) to celebrate too so the room was crowded with folks, gifts, and pie. So much pie. There are always yummy nibbles here, as well as good company, so I try to drop in before I head out to the pre-show dinner.

Company management does a wonderful job of presenting the cast and crew with a cast picture taken at photo call, as well as a framed show poster. I think I've managed to avoid the cast photo for 14 years, though I'll challenge anyone to prove me wrong. The green room is usually overflowing with flowers sent from well wishers and baskets of candy and food. So is the run room (where the crew hangs out). Enough sugar already! And where's my poster??

Huntington Board Members and special guests attend a pre-show reception and dinner. There's usually at least one staff person per table and tonight I was one of them. We were at the Colonnade, just down the street, and approximately 90 guests braved the rain. I was seated with Huntington Trustees Ken Colburn and Jim Dillon, and Overseer Katherine Kane and their guests.

Seated next to me was a friend of Jim's, author Andy Savitz, who has some interesting views on corporate responsibility. Here's a quote from his latest book"The Triple Bottom Line", of which he is (or was) currently out on book tour."The truly sustainable company," Savitz concludes, "would have no need to write checks to charity or 'give back' to the local community, because the company's daily operations would not deprive the community, but would enrich it."

He said as much in our conversation and I didn't quite comprehend where he was going from our short dinner conversation. I'm thinking I'll have to read it. We also had a fascinating chat about how the Huntington, or companies like us, measure success. It's a very interesting question. I think the answer could be very different depending on who's answering the question. Do you perceive us as successful? Why and on what basis?

I'm rambling.

After dinner came the show... it was a nice big slightly soggy crowd and all seemed to have a good time. I have to confess I didn't watch (just listened from my office). We've received a lot of nice reviews and here's a sample from The Boston Globe, The Phoenix, and Edge Boston.

Post-show the cast, crew and staff went up to the rehearsal hall for THE opening night party. Complete with DJ and food catered by Bob's Southern Bistro the place was soon thumping and shaking... first ones out on the dance floor were director Joey Tillinger and his cast. Nice! And the cast of Mauritius stopped by for some fun too. I saw a bunch of cell phone photos being taken, but my sources have yet to provide me with anything juicy... come on, kids!?!

It was a well deserved night of celebration. We've now opened three out of seven, all in the first three months of our 10 month season, so that's a definite relief. Now it's on to Nick Martin's first show of the season, The Cherry Orchard. Rehearsal start December 5th so it's just a breath away.

One more item to share for those who saw Mauritius. I think there may be a sequel here, Teresa!

And Congrats to Rachel on the birth this morning of little Ava Marie... may she follow in Mom's footsteps and lead the next generation of theatre pro's!

Photo (above) Izzy (Geneva Carr, l.), Becca (Donna Bullock, c.) and Nat (Maureen Anderman) cut Izzy's birthday cake in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, running through Dec. 3 at the Boston University Theatre. Photo: Eric Antoniou.

4... 3... 2... 1...

November 4 - 7

I don’t have much to say as I took Saturday (Day 4) and Sunday off. If I’m needed I’ll get called and I don’t. I get to spend the day concentrating on the “Domestic Arts” (thanks Meg). There is no rehearsal, just brief notes with the cast after the show. The director asks us to add the following line to the pre-show recording; “If you feel the need to enjoy a hard candy during the performance, please unwrap it… now.” It’s a cute line that usually gets a laugh, but it doesn’t seem to stop the crinkling. We stopped using it a few years ago.

Sunday night (Day 3) there was silence as the curtain fell, and a good long pause before the appreciative audience began to applaud. Maureen Anderman (Nat) reported that the cast was thrilled… sometimes it means more us when people are so moved that they sit silent and mesmerized for a few moments. You know they have taken the journey with you.

Monday (Day 2) is the actor’s day off. Not much at all going on for Rabbit Hole. The mattress is getting dyed so it’s not as bright, and the floor gets a final coat of polyurethane. There’s payroll to check (or at least I was supposed to), we welcome some new overseers at an orientation over at the Pavilion, and I have a conference with a designer for a room that we are hoping to convert into a lounge in the lower lobby. And I get reminded that I have a quarterly budget update due tomorrow afternoon.

Tuesday (Day 1) is our final preview. We had a production staff meeting this morning, Mauritius closes on Sunday, and Cherry Orchard production started yesterday, so we have a lot to discuss. Then I blasted out payroll, weekly budget reports, the quarterly projections for our finance committee coming up, and set up my staff's reviews. Hence all of the blog posts late today :-)

The big day is tomorrow... OPENING NIGHT! I'll tell you all about it after I recover.

(Photo: Howie (Jordan Lage, r.) and Becca (Donna Bullock) come to terms with their future lives in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, running through Dec. 3 at the Boston University Theatre. Photo: Eric Antoniou.)

5... First Preview

Day 5. Friday, November 3

What is a preview? From the point of view of the audience member it’s usually a fairly normal performance. We sell tickets to subscribers and the public, though at a slight discount, and invite some of our neighbors to come for very little (thanks to an outreach sponsorship from Citizen's Bank). We also have pay your age previews. It’s amazing to me how many of our subscribers really like to come to the first preview. They like seeing something that is out there for the first time to an audience, and know there’s a chance they might see something that the rest of our patrons might never see, like a mistake, or something that get’s changed or cut before press Opening on Wednesday. What makes it different is that we’ll take what been learned from experiencing the show with an audience and try to meld that in. And we usually keep rehearsing, with up to five hours of rehearsal a day until opening. I’ll watch first preview but then, if I can manage, not see it again until opening. Often it’s a very different experience after a few days away. In a good way.

We didn’t rehearse much today though, after spending a half hour working with some new TV cues the cast arrives and they run a couple of scenes. They only work about an hour together.

Four year old Gabe Emerson (the voice of Danny) came in and gave his advice. Turns out his true calling may be that of Director. Watch out. Really though it was very touching to have a four year old hanging around the set. It was a little spooky to see him playing in the bedroom. The show now has it's ghost.

The preview goes well. It’s fun to sit in the crowd and hear them whisper to each other. It’s not so fun to listen to the opening of the candy wrappers.

(Photos: (top) Howie (Jordan Lage) attempts to relax his wife Becca (Donna Bullock) with a massage. (Bottom): Nat (Maureen Anderman, l.) and Becca (Donna Bullock) share a quiet moment in Danny's room in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, running through Dec. 3 at the Boston University Theatre. Photo: Eric Antoniou.)

Day 6: Invited Dress Rehearsal

Day 6. Thursday, November 2.

Today we ran the show twice, the first time in the afternoon after some brief work notes. Things are in good shape and we’re still doing a little finessing. Now is the time that we begin to give the show back to the cast. They have not really been able to get into the show since last Saturday as we have been constantly interrupting the show with adjustment making. A little change in blocking here, or a few minutes spent tweaking a lighting cue. We’re pretty much done with that now, so the cast can now begin to find the rhythm of the piece again on their own. Almost…

The afternoon’s run is photo call. During the run our photographer will take the production photos. The photographer will take several hundred shots and of these we’ll pick the 10 or 12 that you’ll see in the press and in our media from here on out.. Needless to say, it’s a bit of a pain for the actors to hear the constant clicking and film reloading during the run.

Tonight we give them a more realistic shot at it. No interruptions, no stops. Even a bit of an audience; we’ve invited some 60 or so of our neighbors from Fenway Community Health Center, Boston Conservatory, and Home for Little Wanderers to attend the invited dress. This medium does not work until it the experience is shared with an audience, and tonight we begin to see what is there; when the audience breathes as one, laughs (or doesn’t), and where we lose their attention. And we listen to what they’re saying as they talk to each other on their way out. It's much better than a survey form… you get the real candid reactions. It’s the beginning of what the next five days will bring.

(Photo: Izzy (Geneva Carr) gets philosophic over a home-made baked good in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, running through Dec. 3 at the Boston University Theatre. Photo: Eric Antoniou.)