K-ra-zy
Gershwin’s music has taken over my days practically non-stop since I last updated my website. At first it was my own practice, putting the finishing touches to playing the behemoth of a vocal score that Crazy For You has, before heading to the rehearsal room and meeting the rest of the company. It was a very good thing that I prepped as much as I did, as on Day 3 of rehearsals I was called upon to play the entire score cover to cover for a read-through in front of the entire cast and creative teams!
We are now into Week Four in the rehearsal room, with show preparations now a closely-guarded secret until we unleash this company into the public eye, aside from the odd rehearsal photo on social media channels. One thing to say, though, is that it is possible one of the most well-run rehearsal rooms I have been in, with not a single weak link among the cast, crew and creatives who are on hand. This is allowing the piece to come together beautifully, and allowing the formidable cast to really hone the production into a glorious piece of artistry. And I almost have the score finally under the fingers!
June sees us move in to the theatre for technical rehearsals and previews, with press night coming up early next month. Book tickets here if you are yet to do so! I will be up conducting fairly early on and with good regularity, so just drop me a message if you would like a tip-off of any of my dates.
I gave myself a small break from Gershwin early on in May with a final trip up to Cheshire to collect items for my new flat, as well as one final visit to the parents, timed expertly well with the Liverpudlian festivities that encircled Eurovision. It made for a fine distraction before the hard work began! We even attempted a “Eurovision Buffet” with different food and drink for every country participating in the final. I’m not sure it was the best idea in the end, though, with a lot of food left over and a certain amount of indigestion to deal with the following day! But it was great to see such a wonderful festival of Europe come to the North West, and the images of Liverpool in the sunshine, with crowds bedecked in blue and yellow (as well as all sorts of colours of the rainbow) will live long in the memory.