Yes folks. 19 more performances to go. It would have been 20, but they canceled one of the Friday Matinees. I'm a bit bummed about that, but there you are. The reason is because we haven't sold out the rest of the show at this point. That's pretty surprising because the feedback I've been getting in the lobby after the show has been all good. It's a fun show. What amazes me is the men who go that looked like they were dragged there by their wives, and they come out with a smile on their faces. It's a great show for men who like action films or even Westerns.
So to catch you up on the latest... Friday night went really well. I couldn't help but notice that Jeff/Aramis was using his French accent, and it was getting thicker and thicker as the show went on. I almost slipped into it myself, but I managed to hold off. After the show though, I decided that I was going French in the Saturday Matinee. I figured why not. I've already developed the character for it. I worked on it all night and the next morning, and on Saturday I let it fly! Wow what a blast! I found more parts that are funny about Porthos because of it, and Jeff and I were really playing a ton off of each other. Eden/Milady even said she liked it, and that we were like the Brownies from Willow when we were on stage together. It certainly felt good, and I was able to maintain it throughout the show. I also took the liberty of kissing Rosalie/Adele on stage in our scene. It was so funny to catch her unaware, her reaction was priceless. Allan/d'Artagnan and I had to do a little recovery because the timing was a bit off between us, but we were able to make it work, it was quite funny how we worked it out. Afterward I was just flying high. I was really proud of myself for pulling it off like I did. I didn't hear anyone complain about it, and I got quite a few compliments too.
However when I got home I started getting a bad feeling. I probably over thought it, but I was really beginning to worry that I offended people in the cast. I didn't ask for permission, (although I did announce it on Friday night in our dressing room, so the Musketeers, and Rochefort knew) and in a way, it was selfish of me. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I could pull it off and be believable, but still I was getting worried that someone would complain and I would hear about it on Monday.
When I got to the theatre on Monday however, I told Tammy about it and she said she didn't hear anything, and she usually hears all about what goes on. So that was a good sign. I had already decided that I wasn't going to use the French accent all the time, maybe once or twice. I have fun doing it the way that I normally do it anyhow. When we got to Greenroom before the show though, Kacey said that he noticed that some people made some minor changes and additions. I assume that some of that was aimed at me, but he didn't point me out, and he didn't say that it was horrible. Our director had said at the last dress rehearsal that it's our show now, I guess I may have taken that a little too literal, but I would have never done anything that would have ruined the show. If I didn't get a talking to, then it must have gone over alright. Who knows, the French may actually return. The kiss is definitely going to make a return, but we're going to have to work the timing out before we do that again in a performance.
Monday's performance was a blast though. After I found the laughs from playing it French, I implemented some stuff in my Standard American English accent and it went over well with the audience. My big fight scene went over really well too. Everything was crisp and on point, it had all the intent it should have had, and it was just awesome! Something happened to the stage though on Monday. It wouldn't raise or lower and the center column was all the way down. We were backstage near where we come on stage for the next scene and the stage crew started filling up the hall with the chessboard, table and stone benches. Jeff and I both wondered what was going on. They told us the stage was broken, and they would have to carry that stuff on for the last garden scene. They also had to carry off the bench and table that was currently on the stage. We lined up in the Vom waiting to run on, and the tech crew was standing right next to us ready to come on after the blackout and do their thing. It was crazy, but it couldn't have happened at a better time in the show. We only had once scene left. After we all ran off stage and the blackout occurred, we were all backstage watching the monitor as the tech crew came on and worked their magic. Those guys and gals are total studs! Unsung heroes if you ask me. They were pretty fast about it too. It was interesting doing the last scene like that, but it enabled the whole audience to see me pull out the Cardinal's nightcap and taunt him with it. It got the biggest laugh to date because of the visibility. I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm pretty sure they fixed the stage for tonight's performance. I just hope we don't have anymore issues with the stage for the rest of the run. That's the danger of relying such high-tech equipment though. Luckily it happened when it did, because it would have been a beast to do a majority of those scene changes with a broken stage.
Tomorrow is my last day doing the educational performances, (unless my double can't do them with his cast.) I'm excited! The last time we performed for the kids, it was amazing. They are the best audiences we've had so far. They really get into it, and cheer and clap. I can't wait! I'm having so much fun doing this show. I could totally play Porthos for another 60 more performances and probably still be juiced up about it every time! What's great is it's constantly changing. Right now it's just minor tweaks and adjustments, but it's all in the name of making the show better as a whole. I really love performing with Mike and Jeff. We've developed a great bond together onstage and off. It's so much fun working with those guys. I'm definitely having the time of my life!
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