DD Utrecht Premiere

Last night was the premiere of Dirty Dancing Utrecht -- and the evening was wonderful. The show was fantastic with high energy, the audience response was excited, eager and extremely positive, and everyone was in fabulous spirits. My friend Abbie and her fiance live in Amsterdam, so they came to the premiere as well. It was great for us to have friends not involved in the theater be there supporting the show and partying with us in celebration of opening. Valerie attended the London premiere as well, so it was interesting to get her reaction and feedback on how much the show has evolved since London.

Here are a few snapshots of the premiere:

(David, Valerie, me, Michael Conlon and producer Kevin Jacobsen in front of the DD photo-op banner)

(Me and Kevin)

(David, Abbie's fiance Derek, and Abbie)

(Abbie, me and Valerie)

(David with the ladies)

(Crazy musicians perform lying down on the floor to get the party started)

(Alice from the London DD office -- without whom I would lose my mind and certainly lose track of time and travel itineraries. She is a star.)
(David rocks out with James, our director)

(David and Michael both sported Paul Smith suits, and were very excited)

(With Penny and Conrad)

(David with Eleanor and Michael)

(Valerie and me)

(Cheesy? For sure... but funny, and priceless)

Party Time!

Really very great day today -- in brief, as we must to bed -- we had a private canal boat ride with the creatives and their families and special others complete with wine, food from one of the top hotels in Amsterdam, a band and a private boat tour guide. Very festive and merry, the ganag's all here.

Our friend Val arrived from London to join in on the festivities with opening night, people are crazily wrapping presents and writing cards all around, there are decisions to be made about outfits and plans about after parties.

It's all happening, very buzzy, but we are all excited and thrilled about the opening. The show is in good shape, at this point the stresses and anxieties have given away to a desire to party as one big rowdy family.

Soon!

It's All Happening

Today is the EPK -- filming the electronic press kit. This means we have no rehearsals in the rehearsal sense, just shooting several choice moments, scenes and sequences.

In the mean time, the London DD office has arrived, every day more and more international members of the extensive Dirty Dancing team arrive in Holland in preparation for the premier on Sunday.

It's all happening!

And here we go again...!

Previews began Thursday night -- and are going very well. Excellent audience reception thus far: attentive and eager. Literally the second the lights go out at the end of the show, they are on their feet clapping and cheering. It's been great for the cast to finally have an audience, to experience such a passionate and responsive packed house.

TOI TOI TOI!

The Journey to Opening and Its (few minor) Discontents, expressed

View onto the stage from the balcony. The fire safety curtain is down, so set pieces are not visible.

David wanted me to clarify that, contrary to my "bored.bored.bored" blog item, we are not so pathetic. Perhaps. My intention was to be on the humorous side of things -- a flair of melodrama -- but he did not want to alarm our readers, it seems. To this effect he has written an entry. (And posted an even more ridiculous photo of us.) But I confess I do not wholly agree with the Dutch-New Yorker trade being a fair and square one. I tend to think that the a Dutch person in New York is better off than a New Yorker in Amsterdam... or in Utrecht, as we are now, for rehearsals.

I'd also add that *I*, of all the creatives, have been the most positive person about living temporarily in Amsterdam. It's true. You should hear all the other complaints. At least I took matters into my own hands awhile. I roast chickens in small ovens weekly, religiously. I ride a pink bicycle -- the Dutch kind -- and dodge cars and pedestrians in an attempt to assimilate. I've made myself sick with Jonge cheese and Oud cheese. I've sampled Krezip, a Dutch rock band. But even I have succumbed to being homesick.

Maybe it's the work situation, not life in Holland. It's enormously better than life in Hamburg, hands down.

Tech period can be a trying blend of dreariness and stressful pressure. Everything takes a long time, yet we are constantly aware of how little time we have before an audience enters into the picture. We now work afternoons and nights, which means we get picked up at 12:30pm, rehearse from 1:30 to 11pm, have a technical meeting, and come home to Amsterdam... at which point it is 12:30am at the earliest. Long days ahead from here until opening, but it'll also happen quickly!

And so it goes. This process is not new to us, we should be able to do this in our sleep at this point. Stage throws nice opening night parties, though, so I hope all the exhaustion will evaporate with a good party.