From the Inside Out

It’s the final week of rehearsals for Plaza Suite at McKinney Repertory Theatre.  I can’t believe that opening night is only 3 days away!  It’s coming up so quickly.  I don’t feel quite ready yet, but that’s how I always feel during the last week.  Hopefully, I’ll be 100% ready to go by Friday!

Last night we worked on stage set-up before rehearsing our acts. Here are the hotel windows going into place.

Loading in the furniture.  It’s starting to come together!!

Taking a short break

One of our cast members rescued a stray dog last night.  He brought him into the theatre to get him out of the rain.  He was so cute and sweet.  We affectionately named him “Simon” in honor of our playwright.

Jesse, the “famous Hollywood producer staying in the Plaza hotel and signing up Francis Ford Coppola for his next picture.”

One of my favorite Broadway plays of all time is The Phantom of the Opera. I’ve seen it many times — even in the original playhouse in London’s West End — but I never lose my awe for it. I’m mesmerized by the music, acting, grand costumes, and amazing set design. If you’ve never seen it, buy tickets today and go as soon as you can. You won’t regret it. It’s a fantastic production!

The Phantom of the Opera is the winner of seven 1988 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has been seen by over 80 million people in 124 cities in 25 countries. On January 9, 2006, it became the longest-running show in Broadway history surpassing Cats’ record-holding run of 7,485 performances. Since then, the Broadway and US national touring companies have played more than 20,000 performances in the US! In 2008, the show celebrated an unprecedented milestone when it reached its twentieth anniversary on Broadway. And if all of that wasn’t impressive enough, the Phantom has grossed more than any film or stage play in history, surpassing Hollywood blockbusters like Titanic, ET, and Star Wars. Wow!

This year, Dallas Summer Musicals is celebrating 70 years of Broadway, and The Phantom of the Opera is kicking off their new season. Gary and I have season tickets, so we were really excited about the opportunity to see the show again. We trekked downtown tonight to enjoy it one more time before the tour ends. Once again, it blew me away. I absolutely LOVE this show. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a genius.

You can’t take pictures during the show, but here are a few images I captured with my iPhone before the opening and during intermission. Enjoy!

Opening stage set for the auction. The chandelier is covered in the middle of the stage.

Our souvenir tickets and the playbill

Inside the Music Hall at Fair Park before the show

Resetting the chandelier during intermission

The ornate facade of the majestic “Paris Opera House”

Rehearsals continue for Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite at McKinney Repertory Theater. The first performance (March 5) is only a few weeks away, and we’re starting to do full run-throughs with the entire cast. Since the play is a group of 3 independent acts, we haven’t had much interaction with the rest of the cast — until now. It’s fun having everyone together and being able to enjoy the performances of the other fantastic actors in the play.

We had our first “off book” rehearsal this evening, which means that all lines must be memorized and no scripts can be used on stage. It seems that these are always the worst rehearsals as it’s terribly difficult to keep your energy level up and stay in character while trying to recall a line. You lose the momentum of the scene and have to work hard to get it back. So, we muddled through our acts and managed to get in a few laughs as we completely botched some of the lines. Thankfully, we have a patient director who has a good sense of humor!

We’ll do it all over again tomorrow night, and I’m hoping my lines will become more permanently etched into my brain so I can concentrate more on acting and less on memory recall!

Below are a few rehearsal pictures I captured with my mobile phone:

Rehearsing in MPAC’s Noble Hall. Gary was standing in for “Sam” from Act I.

Getting ready to practice on the main stage.

Our awesome director doing what she does best…directing!

For Dallas locals, here’s another reason to watch the latest Hollywood flick at Studio Movie Grill. The theater chain is the first in the Dallas area to introduce reserved seating. Moviegoers at the Dallas, Arlington, Plano, Lewisville and Addison locations can now select their seats online before leaving home.

No more waiting in long lines to grab a good seat. No more early arrival times. You pick your seat, arrive when you want, and avoid the hassles of open seating. I love the idea! Why didn’t they start doing this sooner? It will greatly improve the moviegoing experience, especially on opening weekends. If I didn’t love Studio Movie Grill (SMG) before, I certainly do now. This is brilliant!

Does it sound too good to be true? Are you wondering if there’s a catch? Not really, but there is one thing I need to mention. You must purchase a $12 gift certificate online if you want to reserve your seat in advance. Considering the fact that you are probably going to spend more than $12 on food and beverages during the movie anyway, this shouldn’t be an issue for most people. After all, one of the reasons you go to SMG is to eat while watching the show. You just buy the gift certificate online as part of your ticket package and then use it to cover your dining expenses for the evening.

Studio Movie Grill has been testing the new system during the past month, and so far it’s been wildly successful. I haven’t tried it yet, but I can’t wait to do it.

Here’s to no more fighting for the best seats in the theater…whahoo!

Studio Movie Grill, I love you.

After a couple of months off, I decided to audition for another play. On Saturday, Gary and I received a call from one of the producers at McKinney Repertory Theater (MRT) encouraging us to audition for their upcoming production of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite. Since we had a great experience with MRT last summer, we decided to do it.

We met with the director tonight and went through the audition process consisting mostly of cold readings with characters from the first and second act of the play. After a few readings with just me and Gary, the director introduced us to a couple of other actors who were also auditioning for parts. We read with them, and then took a small break.

At the end of the night, we found out that both of us had been cast in the play! We will be playing the roles of the two featured characters in Act II–a Hollywood producer and his ex-girlfriend. It should be fun!

Plaza Suite was first performed in New York City in 1968. It is a comedy in three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City’s famous Plaza Hotel. Each act has a unique story and focuses primarily on 2 lead characters. The McKinney Repertory Theatre version of the play will be performed on March 5, 6, 12, 13, and 14.

Rehearsals start tomorrow…can’t wait!