Comments for ShowBizRadio

Comment on Vpstart Crow A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Sanford Rubenstein

Sanford Rubenstein — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:01:39 +0000

My wife, Marcia, and I drove down from Staten Island, NY, to see the show. Disregard the fact that our son, Paul, directed the show; the actors did a fine, believable job which added to an already good vacation. I do not think the Bard of Avon would have taken offense to the modern dress as the acting held your attention. As a retired English teacher, who has read and taught Shakespeare, I appreciated the language of the times. Zounds!

Comment on Vpstart Crow A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Paul Rubenstein

Paul Rubenstein — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:44:03 +0000

Thank you so much for coming out to see the show! I know I speak for everyone involved when I say that we appreciate your kind words.

Comment on Zemfira Stage Tea at Five by Jay Tilley

Jay Tilley — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:57:35 +0000

This was one of the best individual performances I’ve seen in the DC area since I first moved here in late 1998. It was a phenomenal performance by a great actress and one of the nicest people anyone could ever hope to work with. Congratulations Laura!

Comment on American Century Theater The Titans by Jack Marshall

Jack Marshall — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:36:43 +0000

Thanks, McCall, for a thoughtful, well-written and perceptive review—and for the kind words. My only cavil is about Jon’s accent, which was intentionally toned down to avoid the Mayor Quimby connection: most people remember JFK impressionists rather than JFK, and it has humorous implications today. We felt holding to the accent would get in the way of the character; the production of “Stuff Happens” made a similar decision, and I think its the right one. (And the lilt to the real JFK accent IS Irish, says this native-born Bostonian.) But anyway, it was a choice, and mine: Jon could do a perfect Vaughn Meader Kennedy if he was asked.

Special Kudos and thanks for noting the Drop Kick Murphys, whose version of “Johnny We Hardly Knew
Ye” is a theme throughout the evening. In case you’re a trivia buff, here are the reasons that cut was so appropriate to “The Titans”:

The Tune:

* The tune is most recognized as”When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” an American war song..

* ….which is often used to symbolize the futility of and sadness of war (it was popular with both the North and the South during the Civil War)

* It was the theme used by Stanley Kubrick for all the scenes in “Dr. Strangelove” involving the American bomber preparing to drop an A-bomb on Russia. The movie itself was inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Lyrics:

* “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye” is an old Irish funeral song, used as the title of Kennedy aide Ken O’Donnell’s JFK memoir.

* Its refrain “guns and guns and drums and drums” has the proper bellicose flavor for the play’s story, and references the Cold War tensions in context.

The Origin: It is an old Irish song fitting with JFK’s old Irish ancestry.

The Arrangement: I wanted a song that would end the show (the sad guitar strum that starts the song, heard after Khrushchev’s “I wept”), provide something lively but dark for the curtain call, and go long enough to get everyone out of the theater…and it’s a 5 minute plus arrangement.

The Band: Of course, the Drop Kick Murphys are a Boston-based Irish band, as were the Kennedys…

and finally…

The Obscure: The band is famous for its hit rendition of “Tessie,” the anthem of the 1903 Red Sox championship team. It recorded it in 2004, the year the Sox finally won the World Series. The original “Tessie” used to be sung at games by the “Royal Rooters,” a fanatic group of Red Sox supporters whose leader was Boston mayor “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald…the maternal grandfather of JFK and RFK!

(And, on a personal note, it is the favorite band of my 13 year-old son, Grant, who ran the sound board when you saw the show!)

Thanks again!

Comment on The Arlington Players And Then There Were None by st

st — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:59:03 +0000

Hey, there. I do theatre in new orleans and am currently working on a production of and then there were none. Another production was just recently done at another local theatre about a year ago - it had a similar result as the one you are speaking of lots of laughs from audience - great show, and it was what director intended.
Samuel French - the publsiher of agatha christie’s play - actually categorizes this as agatha christie’s “mystery comedy.” The novel is defnitely full drama - but of course in the novel everyone dies….the play is a mystery/comedy - hence the two surviving “;lovebirds” at the end.

Comment on 2nd Flight Theatre Company Merges With College Community Theatre by Check Out CCT2FP’s New Blog - ShowBizRadio

Check Out CCT2FP’s New Blog - ShowBizRadio — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:36:54 +0000

[...] newly merged CCT2FP Theatre Company is blogging about their August production of Bare: the Musical. Right now they are posting brief [...]

Comment on Tools and Resources for Sound Designers by Laura & Mike Clark

Laura & Mike Clark — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:08:51 +0000

Hi Kevin, I added in a 30 second track of silence between each sound cue. Then all I have to do is hit the space bar to stop the track from playing. So far it’s worked out fine, but I’ll check out your app as well. Thanks for the suggestion.

Comment on Tools and Resources for Sound Designers by Kevin Boyce

Kevin Boyce — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:53:58 +0000

You used iTunes to play the sound cues? How do you keep it from continuing on to the next sound? I’ve tried that myself, and my head nearly exploded. If I may be so bold, let me recommend Macs Cue. It’s a $20 shareware cue player, and I know it’s good because I wrote it! In fact I wrote it when I was designing sound for a local production of “City of Angels” a few years back, precisely because iTunes wasn’t going to work for the 70 or 80 cues that show has. Locally I know KAT uses it, as does Silver Spring at least sometimes. Plus, Alice Cooper’s sound guy uses it too, for little cues in his show, so how bad can it be?

So yeah, I’m hawking my stuff, but really, iTunes is not the best tool for the job. Check it out and see what you think. And now I really need to get the next version out. Real Soon Now, as they say.

Comment on College Community Theater Glengarry Glen Ross by Jay Tilley

Jay Tilley — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:20:58 +0000

I had the pleasure of seeing this closing night. Probably one of best acted and most tightly directed shows that I’ve seen in recent years.

Comment on 2008 NVTA One Act Play Festival Summary by Jay Tilley

Jay Tilley — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:16:58 +0000

Nice article McCall! Congrats to you and all the winners and nominees!