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10/07/11 Let’s Play Catch Up: From Tech to Television to the Times Our last rehearsal at 42nd Street Studios in Times Square was on Saturday, September 3. On Tuesday, September 6, we started tech rehearsals at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. It’s about a 45 minute ride to Millburn, and it’s nice because three vans are provided to bus the cast from Times Square to Paper Mill and back for each rehearsal and performance. Our first preview was on Thursday, September 15. Previews are the time for a show to see how audiences react to the show and fix what needs to be fixed. If you saw the show when we started previews then saw it again on opening, you would definitely notice the changes. Just ask my mom- she’s seen it 9 times so far. I personally really like the changes that they made. I feel like the fat has been trimmed and now we have an awesome show. Okay, I cannot say enough how thankful I am to be a part of “Newsies.” It’s not just a really fun show. As a result of being in it, I get to do really fun things. One of them was PERFORMING ON “THE VIEW.” :D On Monday, September 19, the boys of “Newsies” woke up really early and all went to ABC studios here in New York City. Just for emphasis, let me repeat- It was REALLY EARLY. We got there early to rehearse on their stage (tiny) while a woman - who I am guessing was in charge - was directing all of the camera men on where to stand and what to do. Before we performed, Whoopi Goldberg came into the green room where we were and told us: “Kick the s**t out of it. We only tell them where you guys are. You have to get them to come. Now go out there and kill it!” Nice lady. She had a funny hat. I appreciate funny hats. 8/29/11 Singing Whilst 27 Feet Off the Ground
Whenever one goes to see a musical or play, it’s not just the actors they’re going to see. It’s the spectacular sets and lights that give them a sense of where we are and whatnot! At the first rehearsal of “Newsies,” the creative team explained to us what everything was going to look like, and they even provided this cool model to give us a visual. And when I say cool model, I mean that they reproduced every single detail of the set on a small scale to fit in this box that was about one and a half feet tall. Either someone was paid very well to make it, or they just had a lot of time on their hands. Nonetheless, I was impressed! Anyway, when they were explaining the set to us, they said there was going to be three tall towers. I was thinking “Okay that should be cool.” It wasn’t until they said the towers were each 27 feet tall, however, that my thought process changed to “Holy czxsofmaw.” We rehearse at the 42nd Street Studios in the middle of Times Square, on the 4th floor, in two big rooms. Even though these rooms are big, we only rehearse on wooden platforms that are 9 feet tall and are pushed around by nice production assistants. Standing on them and looking down, you think “Hey now, I’m kinda high up.” But then you realize that’s only a third of what the actual towers are going to be. Plus, the actual set moves around by itself, and is made of steel and aluminum so we can run and jump on them as much as we please. I mean… walk… and… be completely safe. Ha ha who am I kidding? They were made so we could have fun on them! Up until a week ago, I had never seen the real set in person. The production team scheduled an entire day just so we could go over to Hudson Scenic Studios in Yonkers, New York (practically every big show has their sets built there), and work through the first act on them. When everyone got there, we walked in and through some construction workshops until we got to this huge room with our set. I am not even joking when I say that every single person walked in, gawked at the huge set, and proceeded to take pictures with their phones. Random thought: I am using the word “huge” so many times. Everyone had a good time walking up and down and across the towers. Also, I must say, it would suck if you were afraid of heights. Luckily I’m not, so I was having a great time. The set, along with the lights, will help to make for one heck of an awesome show. Ugh, I can’t wait for tech week next week! 8/19/11 Meetings and Greetings! Hey there! My name’s Andy Richardson and this is my blog! I’m gonna be using this blog to update everyone about my life while I’m in Disney’s first stage production of “Newsies.” Just a heads up: Sometimes I go off-track and will say a random thought that crosses my mind. It’s just how I work. Also, since we’ve already had about two weeks worth of rehearsals, I’m gonna talk about the first rehearsal in detail because it was a unique day. I’ll catch up to the present later. I promise the others will be shorter! Random thought: This is my first blog and I am wondering . . . Is there some kind of blog etiquette I should be following? Hmmm, these are the questions that haunt me. :P First and foremost, I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of this amazing production where I get to work with such awesome people. Everyone is so nice and funny, AND I get to say I was a part of the original stage production of “Newsies”! “Newsies” as a movie didn’t do too well at the box office and yet it drew such a cult following. Super-short summary: “Newsies” is based on a true story about the turn-of-the-century newsboy strike. After newspaper prices were raised by the infamously greedy Joseph Pulitzer, the newsboys of New York decided to take a stand for their rights. In the stage production, we do it all while singing and dancing. A couple of days before official rehearsals for “Newsies” even started, there were three days of pre-production rehearsals. Christopher Gattelli, our amazing choreographer, asked if some people could come to help him out so he could figure out some spacing and timing issues with some of the dances. We weren’t required to go, but I was not about to pass up an opportunity to get to know some of my fellow cast members (plus I got to learn some of the choreography early)! It was fun, and I got to meet some of the other Newsies. Despite the choreography being really fun, it was dang tiring. I am embarrassed to admit however, I had kind of been a couch potato for a little before pre-production (not the smartest idea on my part) so it’s understandable. Needless to say, I was sore the next couple of days. When the first day of rehearsals came around, I was excited as you-don’t-know-what. As is usual on the day of first rehearsals, the first thing we did was an Actor’s Equity meeting. They basically explained health care and stuff and went through some technical stuff that I probably should have been paying attention to but I kind of zoned out. Luckily, my mom was there to soak everything in for me while I sang “Seize the Day” to myself in my head! After all of that, it was the Meet and Greet. Everyone got to mingle for a little and meet each other (wonder where the name came from!) and they even provided some bagels and fruit. That was really nice, especially since I didn’t eat too much for breakfast from being really excited. Oh! That reminds me! I met Harvey Fierstein! :D ACT ONE – SCENE ONE ANDY ANDY takes the bagel and, after putting some butter on it, ANDY ANDY smiles widely at being called “Cookie” by the END. CURTAIN FALLS. And that is how I met Harvey Fierstein. I expect the story shall be picked up by producers soon so keep your eyes out for “Cookie and a Bagel: The Musical” on Broadway around 2013. It has four songs placed throughout, including the rock/ballad “Which Bagel?” and the catchy “Hey Mom, Guess What Happened!”
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