Brush Up

BRUSH UP

Cast, crew and orchestra did a tremendous job on our first weekend. We will reconvene as a cast on Wednesday evening at 6:00 to get ourselves back in show mode before Applefest weekend kicks off. No makeup or costume (or orchestra), but you might want to wear your dancing shoes. I expect to finish up at 8:00.

In the meantime, take a moment to reacquaint yourselves with your families and friends. Also take a moment to dig out your script and check to see if there's anything in your lines and music that has become changed a bit in performance.

Again, thanks to everyone for hard work and some great shows. See you Wednesday.

76 WORDS:    Hey everyone.  Check in with me tonight, Tuesday, and I will have the words for the end of 76 TBONES.  Thanks for your patience in dealing.

You ALL did a great job last night.  I appreciate your work.  See you tonight.   Karen

Rehearsals: Week of September 2

NO MONDAY REHEARSAL

TUESDAY (September 3): Marian the Librarian 6-8

WEDNESDAY (September 4): Iowa Stubborn, Trouble

THURSDAY (September 5): 76 Tbones 6-7
                                               Shipoopi 7-8

Saturday AM August 31 rehearsal is cancelled

Too many folks can't be there.

Week of August 26

MONDAY (August 26): We will run all of Act I. Planning on 6:00 until 9:00
For the benefit of our young cast members, we will run Scene 11 (Wells Fargo Wagon) first, so some townsfolks will not need to stay until the very end.

TUESDAY (August 27): Act II, Scenes 1e, 3b, 3c
Marion, the Pickalittles, Charlie, Harold, Quartet

WEDNESDAY (August 28): Act II, Scenes 4a, 5b, 6, 7
Everyone. Every single cast member.

THURSDAY (August 29): Run ACT II
Act II is considerably shorter, so we should be able to finish up by 8:00.

SATURDAY (August 31): TBA
From 10-12 we will work on the things that turned out to be most in need of work during our runs on Monday and Thursday.

Week of August 19

MONDAY- August 19
I.2b- Trouble: Harold, Marcellus, and all townspeople except Mayor Shinn
I.2c, I.6b- Harold and Marcellus
Harold's songs
Ensemble dance numbers brush-up and catch-up for those who have missed reharsals

TUESDAY- August 20
I.4- Marion, Mrs. Paroo, Winthrop, Amaryllis
Marion's songs
Winthrop's songs

WEDNESDAY- August 21 (No Music)
I.5c- Mayor Shinn, Tommy, Zaneeta, Harold, Constable (Kevin)
I.8- Harold, Tommy
I.9- Harold, Mayor Shinn
II.1c- Eulalie, Quartet, Mayor Shinn, Tommy, Zaneeta

THURSDAY- August 22
I.6c, I.6d- Harold, Eulalie, Pickalittles, Quartet
Harold's songs

SATURDAY- August 24 (10 AM)
I.10a- Harold, Mrs. Paroo, Marion. Winthrop
I.10b- Marion, Mrs. Pareoo
I.11b- Shinn, Marion, Eulalie
I.11c- Townspeople,  Mayor Shinn, "Wells Fargo Wagon"
II.1a- Eulalie, Pickalittles
Music review

Rehearsal Schedule

This should be a Google calendar with the rehearsal schedule on it. It should update as changes are inevitably made to the schedule. We'll see how that works.

Scene Breakdown

You have a copy of this in your cast packets, but here's another one. If you have any questions about whether or not you're in a particular scene, just ask.

Any character who is a resident of the town is a townsperson. Characters listed in ( ) are present for the scene but not much else.

ACT I

Scene 1: 1-10   Salesmen, Charlie, Harold

Scene 2a: 10-12 “Iowa Stubborn” Harold, All townspeople

Scene 2b: 12-15 Harold, Marcellus, (Jacey Squires)

Scene 2c: 15-22 “Trouble” Harold, Marcellus, All townspeople

Scene 3: 22-23 Harold, Marion

Scene 4: 23-31 Marion, Amaryllis, Mrs. Paroo, Winthrop

Scene 5a: 31-34 Mayor Shinn, Quartet, Eulalie, Ethel, Tommy, Constable, All townspeople

Scene 5b: 34-38 “Trouble/76 Tbones” Harold, Townspeople, Shinn, Constable

Scene 5c: 38-41 Mayor Shinn, Tommy, Harold, Constable, Zaneeta

Scene 5d: 41-44 Quartet, Eulalie, Harold

Scene 6a: 44-45 Harold, Marion

Scene 6b: 45-46 Harold, Marcellus

Scene 6c: 48-52 Harold, Eulalie, Pickalittles

Scene 6d: 52-53 Quartet, Pickalittles, Eulalie

Scene 7: 53-56 “Librarian Ballet” Harold, Marion, Tommy, Zaneeta, Library dancers

Scene 8: 57 Harold, Tommy

Scene 9: 57-59 Harold, Mayor Shinn

Scene 10a: 59-63 Harold, Mrs. Paroo, Marion, Winthrop

Scene 10b: 63-64 Marion, Mrs. Paroo

Scene 11a: 65-66 Tommy, Zaneeta

Scene 11b: 66-67 Shinn, Marion

Scene 11c: 67-71 “Wells Fargo” All townspeople, Mayor, Marion, Harold

ACT II

Scene 1a: 73-74 Eulalie, Quartet, Tableau ladies

Scene 1b: 74-77 “Shipoopi” Marcellus, Ethel, Harold, Marion, Townspeople, Shipoopi dancers

Scene 1c: 78-80 Eulalie, Quartet, Mayor, Tommy, Zaneeta

Scene 1d: 80-82 Harold, Marion

Scene 1e: 82-84 Pickalittles, Eulalie, (Marion)

Scene 2: 84-87 Quartet, Harold, Marion

Scene 3a: 87-90 Marion, Mrs. Paroo, Winthrop

Scene 3b: 90-94 Quartet, Marion, Charlie

Scene 3c 94-100 Harold, Marion (Quartet)

Scene 4a: 101-102  Marcellus, Harold

Scene 4b 102-106 Harold, Marion

Scene 5a: 106-107 Harold, Marion

Scene 5b: 107-108 Harold, Marcellus, Charlie

Scene 6: Every single person in town, Harold, Marcellus, Marion, Winthrop

Scene 7: All townspeople

Rehearsal: Week of August 5

Nothing Monday or Tuesday

Wednesday and Thursday  (August 7,8) 6-8pm : Shipoopi
Shipoopi dancers include:

Ben, Hannah, Madson K, Madison Z, Ben H, Brad, Jenny, Jacob, Emma, Kyel, Raquel, Jacki, Ashlynn, Janice, Ryah

Saturday (August 10): 10-12:30   76 Trombones
Everybody who isn't Charlie or the Mayor

What Kind Of Show Is This?

Meredith Wilson wrote about what he knew. He grew up in Iowa and eventually became a member of John Philip Sousa's band. This show is a love letter to his own youth, a sort of living postcard to us from the past.

It's a show that doesn't have a mean bone in its body. Even the comic characters are meant to be affectionately portrayed, not ugly cartoons. It's a show about how music can energize a community and bring it to life. It's about a guy who finds what he didn't even realize he was looking for. But I love that the show isn't just fluffy mush-- it's also a battle of wits between some pretty sharp folks.

It's also a show that is well-suited to our neck of the woods. Franklin and Oil City were much like River City at that time, and so the show sort of echoes our own history.

This is one of my bucket list shows to direct, and I am excited that the FCOA board is giving me a shot at it. I expect this to be an awful lot of fun, and I hope that one way or another you'll jin us for this adventure.

Special Opportunity For Civic Veterans

Because this is the Applefest show for the sixtieth anniversary FCOA season, I would like to try something a bit different.

This is a show about community, and what better way to celebrate community than by including a reminder of the theater community that has given Franklin 60 years of great community theater. I'm inviting everyone who has ever been a part of an FCOA show to make a cameo appearance as a resident of River City. You don't need to commit to every single performance, and you will need to make only a rehearsal or two, but in the end you will be able to say that you were there--a part of the FCOA 60th anniversary applefest show.

Details will be forthcoming, but for right now, if you're a regular civic player who was thinking, "Oh, I'd like to be part of this production, but I really don't have the time..." well, yes, you do.

Casting: Chorus and Etc.

If you've ever done a show with me before, you know how important I believe the chorus is. It's the background players that give a show a rich reality. It's the chorus that's really responsible for letting the audience know ho to feel about what they just saw or heard.

This show requires a small town. We need families, generations, whole  social groups. Outside of River City we have the traveling salesmen of the very first scene, but within River City, we have families and friends. The Pickalittle ladies who pal around with Mayor Shinn's wife. The teens and children who have their own social groups. And of course the teens and children who will become the members of the band. There are many townsfols who are given names (how can you not love Ethel Toffelmeier) but each one is a distinct and colorful character.

We can use singers, dancers, and people to delver a line or two. We can use young and old, men and women, to make this town seem full and real. All ages are welcome for this show.

The men of the chorus have the opening number, which requires rhythm but  not so much singing. The women of the chorus have the "pick-a-little talk-a-little" number. There are  two big dance numbers-- one for mostly the younger crowd and another for any and all who are game. And there are ample opportunities for those who just want to stand and hoot and holler.

Casting: Major Roles

This is a show with parts for actors of all ages, as well as actors who would rather not sing and dance (or who would rather just singe and dance). A wide range of opportunities here. All of the comedic characters are meant to be real, and not broad mocking cartoons.

HAROLD HILL: The consummate con artist, who picks River City on a whim because he loves a challenge. His three big numbers (Trouble, Marian the Librarian, Seventy-Six Trombones) are as much about patter as they are about singing; he needs some dancing skills, too. Like all good con artists, he sells himself as much as everyone else. Perhaps the most revealing moment for his character is late in the show. To make nice with Marian's little brother, he says he thought being in the band would do the kid good. When the boy points out there wasn't a band, Hill replies, "I always think there's a band, kid."

MARIAN PAROO: The librarian and piano teacher. An acting challenge because we don't get a lot on the page to help build the character. Vocally, she tops out at a good solid F.

MARCELLUS WASHBURN: The sidekick. Needs some dance skills and some singing. The most convenient character in the history of musical theater-- if he didn't just happen to be in town, the whole rest of the show wouldn't happen.

TOMMY DJILAS: Teenaged boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Has some dancing, no solo singing.

ZANEETA SHINN: The mayor's teenaged daughter. Some dancing, no solo singing.

MAYOR SHINN: Bombastic, self-important blowhard. A fun role for a comedic character actor, with no singing or dancing.

WINTHROP PAROO: Marian's much younger brother (Ron Howard was 8 years old when he played him in the film). Embarrassed by his speech impediment, but comes out of his shell. One solo song.

AMARYLLIS: A young girl who studies piano with Marian nd pines for Winthrop. One song.

EULALIE MCKECKNIE SHINN: The mayor's wife. Another comedic character. Some talk-singing.

MRS. PAROO: Marian's very Irish mother, though we don't necessarily need an accent as broad as the one in the film. Tiny bit of singing, little dancing, though she could also be part of townspeople ensemble.

THE SCHOOL BOARD: A barbershop quartet. They have four numbers, and they are challenging. The ideal here is always to cast a pre-existing quartet. Acting is minimal (they just have to be cranky with each other).

CHARLIE COWELL: The closest thing the show has to a villain. He's out to get Hill, and he's pretty cranky about it. No singing or dancing.

There are plenty of other roles available, and I'll put those up in a separate post.