We’ve just completed the first half of a split week. Four shows in Little Rock, AR, and the cast of “Little House on the Prairie, the Musical” will have another four shows in three days in Springfield, MO following a bus ride tomorrow morning.
Sound like fun? The cast thinks so, although it’s somewhat tiring for all concerned.
The production crew and the musicians have had to set up for shows in two entirely different venues in two cities in a seven-day period. That means tearing down and loading up after tonight’s last show in Little Rock and getting to Springfield in the wee hours Friday to get ready for an 8 p.m. show. Four semi-trailer trucks are needed to hold all of the gear, costumes and scenery.
It really needs to be set up earlier in the day because the cast needs to familiarize itself with the new stage and dressing areas much earlier. The traveling orchestra (the musical director and three musicians) has to spend the entire day with the musicians they pickup in each city to familiarize them with the score.
Then there will be a cast meeting at 5:45pm, followed by a sound check, which leaves less than an hour until the curtain goes up. Two shows are scheduled on Saturday and one Sunday afternoon before we hit the trail for Tulsa by bus Sunday night. At least, we’ll be in Tulsa for a full week and some regularly in the day’s schedule/
Enough detail on the work and the downside of the musical game!
The kids (and the grown-up kids accompanying them) had a great time in Little Rock. Pictures of some of the adventures can be found at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=298945198703%3A1365255720&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_link
There were a couple of highlights of the time spent in Little Rock.
1. Our granddaughter, Taylor Bera, and two of her schoolmates, were named “Honorary Duck Masters” at the local Peabody Hotel. If you say you’ve never heard of such a job, you may not be alone. It seems that one of the original owners of the first Peabody Hotel thought it would be neat to have ducks (real ones) swimming in a pool in the lobby of his first hotel, but he knew they couldn’t stay inside all the time. So he needed a way to get them to and from the pool every day. The owner created a formal ceremony –one in the morning to get them to pool and another in the afternoon to return them to their overnight home.
Taylor and her classmates got to escort them on the “red carpet” after they marched out of the pool, to the elevator, and then rode with them up to the second floor. They assisted them into a cage, pushed the cage to their rooftop “home” and then escorted them into the home.
They each received a formal certificate from the “head Duck Master” designating their status. A lot of the spectators looked a little jealous. The morning and afternoon ceremonies are held 365 days a year and draw quite a crowd at each ceremony. Taylor thought it was a lot of fun.
2. The kids’ other special treat in Little Rock was being special guests for the day
at the Clinton Presidential Library. They received had dinner at the Library and then a guided tour of the facility honoring our 42nd president. After they completed tour, they were given a bag full of mementos from Ann Kamps, manager of the Volunteers and Visitor Services for the Clinton Library. The guardians and many of the cast were also given passes to visit the library.
The show was well attended by Little Rock residents and the mayor of the town issued a formal proclamation making November 3, 2009, Little House on the Prairie Day in the city.
The play shared the spotlight in the city with the start of the trial of a man accused of October 2008 killing of a popular Arkansas television personality, Anne Pressly. The trial was being held in at the Circuit Courthouse just across the street from the Robinson Center Music Hall.
Sound like fun? The cast thinks so, although it’s somewhat tiring for all concerned.
The production crew and the musicians have had to set up for shows in two entirely different venues in two cities in a seven-day period. That means tearing down and loading up after tonight’s last show in Little Rock and getting to Springfield in the wee hours Friday to get ready for an 8 p.m. show. Four semi-trailer trucks are needed to hold all of the gear, costumes and scenery.
It really needs to be set up earlier in the day because the cast needs to familiarize itself with the new stage and dressing areas much earlier. The traveling orchestra (the musical director and three musicians) has to spend the entire day with the musicians they pickup in each city to familiarize them with the score.
Then there will be a cast meeting at 5:45pm, followed by a sound check, which leaves less than an hour until the curtain goes up. Two shows are scheduled on Saturday and one Sunday afternoon before we hit the trail for Tulsa by bus Sunday night. At least, we’ll be in Tulsa for a full week and some regularly in the day’s schedule/
Enough detail on the work and the downside of the musical game!
The kids (and the grown-up kids accompanying them) had a great time in Little Rock. Pictures of some of the adventures can be found at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=298945198703%3A1365255720&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_link
There were a couple of highlights of the time spent in Little Rock.
1. Our granddaughter, Taylor Bera, and two of her schoolmates, were named “Honorary Duck Masters” at the local Peabody Hotel. If you say you’ve never heard of such a job, you may not be alone. It seems that one of the original owners of the first Peabody Hotel thought it would be neat to have ducks (real ones) swimming in a pool in the lobby of his first hotel, but he knew they couldn’t stay inside all the time. So he needed a way to get them to and from the pool every day. The owner created a formal ceremony –one in the morning to get them to pool and another in the afternoon to return them to their overnight home.
Taylor and her classmates got to escort them on the “red carpet” after they marched out of the pool, to the elevator, and then rode with them up to the second floor. They assisted them into a cage, pushed the cage to their rooftop “home” and then escorted them into the home.
They each received a formal certificate from the “head Duck Master” designating their status. A lot of the spectators looked a little jealous. The morning and afternoon ceremonies are held 365 days a year and draw quite a crowd at each ceremony. Taylor thought it was a lot of fun.
2. The kids’ other special treat in Little Rock was being special guests for the day
at the Clinton Presidential Library. They received had dinner at the Library and then a guided tour of the facility honoring our 42nd president. After they completed tour, they were given a bag full of mementos from Ann Kamps, manager of the Volunteers and Visitor Services for the Clinton Library. The guardians and many of the cast were also given passes to visit the library.
The show was well attended by Little Rock residents and the mayor of the town issued a formal proclamation making November 3, 2009, Little House on the Prairie Day in the city.
The play shared the spotlight in the city with the start of the trial of a man accused of October 2008 killing of a popular Arkansas television personality, Anne Pressly. The trial was being held in at the Circuit Courthouse just across the street from the Robinson Center Music Hall.
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