Thrilling Moments

Sunday Night, December 14, 2008

It's true. The Canadian production of Jersey Boys is officially "Open". (I use the quotes because we're still rehearsing a couple times a week on top of doing shows. In other theatres, this is called the "Preview" period.) And we're not just "Open", we're a Hit. Since Friday night, we have given four shows, and have received four Standing Ovations!

The past seven days have been a whirlwind. Heck, the past seven weeks have been crazy. It feels strange sitting here on the other side of it all. It's hard to communicate just how intense this time has been. We're on top of the mountain now, after all the blood, sweat and tears spent doing the daily climb, and it feels oddly unsettling. My head's still spinning from it all.

Don't get me wrong, it feels great to be performing now. More than great. Thrilling. It's just, the rehearsal period was so intense, that it seems strange not to be going back to the grind of 10- to 12-hour days.

I've never experienced such an all-encompassing rehearsal period in my life. One reason could be the slightly shortened rehearsal period. There are five other productions of Jersey Boys playing in the world, and none of them have been put up in six weeks. But we somehow managed to do it. (Kudos to us Canadians, eh!)

Another reason for my perceived vertigo is probably the size of my role - it's enormous. For those of you who haven't seen the show, I'll try to give you an idea. Other than intermission, I see my dressing room exactly once during the whole show, for about two minutes. There simply is not enough time off-stage to make the trip any other time. I have 11 full or partial costume changes in the wings, the fastest of which is seven seconds. Of the 19 songs in Act 1, I sing in 13. In Act 2, I sing lead on all 12 songs. I am onstage for all but three minutes of Act 2. The sheer amount of material I had to understand, learn, and then master was enormous.

I say 'master'. Well, that is open for interpretation. Sure, there are hundreds of things I nail every run. Whatever, that's expected of me. But, there are still plenty of things I get wrong every time we do a run. Most are imperceptible to the audience, thank goodness, but some are not. The key is instantly forgetting the mistake - it's in the past, you can't change it anyway, just go forward, get back on track. This is easier said than done, sometimes. But, it is the key. Stay in the moment, whatever the moment turns out to be. And I know that very soon, I'll be nailing every moment every night.

I must say, I was quite nervous for our first audience Friday night. Although we had done three or four solid runs in the rehearsal hall, we had only done one run with full tech and costumes in the theatre before our first show. Let me spell it out. We rehearsed in a rehearsal hall for five weeks, before moving into the theatre for four days of technical rehearsals. During tech, there are dozens of tiny little changes to the feel of the show. Spike marks change slightly for set pieces we move. Instead of a bright rehearsal room, everthing is now dark. Instead of hearing the rehearsal piano, we now have a full band being mixed through speakers and monitors. Sometimes you hear them great, other times you can barely pick out what key your in. Actors you've become accustomed to seeing as themselves, now have wigs on. Drinks are now used, instead of miming, or using water. Your own voice sounds different because we're all wearing microphones. Virtually each of our senses has been affected in this move from rehearsal hall into the theatre. So it's only natural for nerves to be a part of the equation. It takes the first few shows for all this to gel.

That being said, Friday night was a huge success. The cast was obviously primed and ready to finally do what we've been working so hard at, and there was definitely a palpable energy in the crowd. Applause flowed after the opening number ("Ces Soirees-La") was finished. On my first entrance (during "Silhouettes") - literally skipping and snapping across a catwalk - there were cheers. I definitely did not expect that, and it filled me with confidence. Ditto for the applause after I finished my first song ("I Can't Give you Anything But Love"). Five minutes in, and the amazing Jeremy Kushnier is getting all his laughs in our first scene together. This puts me at ease. After this, I can feel my breath settling deeper.

I screw up my first bit of choreography in "I Go Ape". It was bound to happen at some point, and I remember actually feeling relieved that it happened in that number, which is supposed to be funny anyway. But, I'm find myself tense again for my next song, "Moody's Mood For Love", which is one of the hardest in the show. I barely get through it without showing signs of the flop sweat that instantly came over me. Anyway, forget that. Move forward. Be in the Moment.

Things get back on track leading up to the first big moment in the play, "Sherry", the Four Seasons first Number 1 hit. The audience goes crazy. Seriously. I would describe what I heard as a 'roar'. That was the first thrilling moment of the night. "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like A Man" followed, with a few minor mis-steps on my part, but the crowd goes wild again. Thrilling moment #2.

A few minutes off stage, a few more scenes and songs, and I remember thinking the cast is really 'On' tonight. I can tell it's a special evening. You can feel it in the air.

Act 2 is like a 55-minute roller-coaster for me. Literally one thing after another. It's pretty much a blur in my mind right now, as it is when I'm actually doing the show. There's just zero time to think, to process how things went, what could be done better next time, what's coming up, what notes I got from the director for that scene - all the stuff that you can usually think about during the show. I remember nailing my little dance-break leading into "Beggin'". I remember the 'Sit-down' scene going really well. You could hear a pin drop. And of course, I remember the response to "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". You want to talk thrilling? That was definitely Thrilling Moment #1, #2, and #3 all put together. I will never forget that moment. I was truly loving singing it to them, and they were loving hearing it. That's really cool.

Later in the act, I remember hearing sobs, sniffles, and tiny coughs during the "Fallen Angel" scene. That kinda threw me a little but, because its a private moment, when I'm at my most vulnerable. But, thinking back on it, it will be welcome to hear those sounds because it lets me know they are connected to my story. This moment goes right into "Rag Doll" which has to be the hardest song in the world to get right after doing the previous 30 minutes. On it's own, it's easy. But not in sequence. I remember making one or two obvious mistakes in the choreo. Whatever. I moved on.

The Final sequence with "Who Loves You?" and the Bows ("Oh What A Night, Reprise")were the cherry on top. Thrilling Moments #4 + #5. What a night, indeed! Standing ovations are never tiresome, as far as I'm concerned. They literally leaped to their feet. And stayed there, clapping and singing along.

After the show, we had about an hour of notes from the production team, to help us right the wrongs for the next show Saturday afternoon. And with each show, there is a different energy from the crowd. Different things are nailed, different things go awry. That's all part of the process of learning how to run this show in the theatre. I'm proud to say I did both shows Saturday and the Sunday matinee, and each one got a little bit better.

I am incredibly lucky to be playing this part, being in this Tony award winning show, and sharing the stage with so many multi-talented actors, singers, dancers, and musicians. I know that the Thrilling Moments are gonna keep on coming.

I can't wait to share this show with you all. Come see it soon. And for those of you who have seen the new cast, what are your favorite moments? Comment below.