The Road So Far
Seven weeks doesn’t seem like a lot of time to put on a musical as fantastical and challenging as Les Misérables. The first three days, we did table work and read the script aloud. It wasn’t until Monday, June 2 that we actually started to block our musical numbers. It’s overwhelming to think about. When you say “seven weeks,” it seems like forever until you look at the schedule and see that you’re booked almost every week night. It’s a thrill, though, and it raises the stakes even higher. Everything has to keep building and growing in preparation for that opening night. You can’t lose steam. The days pass more and more quickly until suddenly it dawns upon you that next Monday, our guest actor Joe Tokarz arrives.
So what have we done so far? The first week was music rehearsal. We worked glorious harmonies and sang through the full extent of the show. In the next week alone, most of Act I was staged. We ran (or rather, stumbled merrily along) through this entire act on Friday night; this cast should be extremely proud of the work we’ve done. We couldn’t have done it without the help of our wonderful production team.
The energy was palpable that night. Tensions were high, of course, but everyone brought their A-Game to the table. It was a long night, but we pulled through. The transitions weren’t seamless and we may have tripped over our own feet a couple of times, but we worked through it. Some of the numbers weren’t even blocked yet, but the actors powered through them on artistic instinct. We’re doing it all again this week, staging Act II and running it on Friday, as well. By June 23 when Mr. Tokarz arrives, we’ll be ready to welcome him in with an excellent foundation.
We still have a long way to go before we’re ready to open, but seeing how much effort and passion the production team and the actors are putting in is inspiring. Even though the hours are long and the work isn’t easy, there’s no business like show business. (Wrong musical, I know.)