Success!

Like the show, this picture is both mesmerizing and terrifying.

The New York staged readings of ‘Rewrites’ went off without a hitch, and I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people.  The purpose of these readings was to discover the flaws in the show and to create interest in the project and we were massively successful in achieving both those goals.

All three nights at the Gene Frankel Theatre were packed – at times perhaps bending fire code – so many thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to see the toddler that is this musical take its first steps, even if they were at times a little wobbly.  We hope that, at the very least, the show was entertaining and worth everyones valuable time.  We also hope that you return to this blog and keep updated on what is happening with the show.

A meeting of the minds is taking place this Saturday to discuss the future of the show.  We are very excited to restructure the show – add bits, slice off the fat – as well as add new music.  But first, we are going to take a break to clear our minds.  It has been six months, after all.
We will soon post video of the workshop performance for everyone that was unable to attend in person.  Although it can’t possibly compare to sitting in those uncomfortable folding chairs in that muggy little black box, it will have to do.

The cast and crew went out last night to celebrate our success at the Half Pint in Greenwich Village.  I want to thank everyone who was involved with this New York workshop by name:

Jordan Fein
Terry Quire
John Kurzynowski
Leigh Jones
Nathaniel Kent
Jessie Barr
Stephen Lukas
Hadley Cronk
Joshua Isaacs
Brian Hedden
Holly Lynn
Sam Pinkleton
Stephie Grob
Jake Brandman
Sam Ryan
Theresa Giacopasi

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Littler

A little bit of a preview…

Starving to see the show? Check out these video and audio files to temporarily satiate your appetite.

VIDEO:

Rehearsal 1

Rehearsal 2

Rehearsal 3

Rehearsal 4

AUDIO

Keep Me Grounded

BlahBlah

The Hook

Brian Hedden

Producer

No More Table Readings

Notice the distinct lack of Teddy Grahams.

One Weekend

Josh, Jesse, and Sam win the 300m Act. Go America!

We have been running the first act for so long that today’s runthrough of he second act was a welcome change of pace.  Getting the second act on its feet was very fun, and for the first time we saw that the musical sequences allow for a lot of amusing antics.

The people involved with this show have been working their asses off to make sure that the first reading on Monday is as polished as it can possibly be.  Everyone has been extremely patient with Dan and myself as we stop and start their scenes to get the script in better shape.

The goal now is one of pacing, mood, and – most important – overall time.  None of us are fans of unnecessarily long theatre and we are trying remain true to that.  So let’s all hope that we are successful in our cuts.  For your sake and our own.

Thank you also to those who have donated in this final stretch.  Every cent goes a long way.

Littler

An Invitation to the New York Reading

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

You’re invited to a free showcase of REWRITES: A MUSICAL
by Dan Moyer and Chris Littler
a Little Red Square production

ON MONDAY, AUGUST 25 AT 8pm
ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 26 AT 8pm
ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 AT 8pm
at the Gene Frankel theater
24 Bond Street (map)
212-748-9407
rsvp to rewritesrsvp@gmail.com
_______________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE SHOW…

Nate Spelling has a lot of problems. The theater that’s been his home for 7 years is falling apart. His brother Jimmy ruins every script with the “Jimmy Spelling touch.” And their only sponsors are about to leave them for a quadriplegic Swedish dance group — unless the Spellings can pull off a hit show in two days. Lucky for them, aging musical godfather Bernard Buryk is on his deathbed at St. Vincent’s, and just happens to believe that Nate is his long-dead lover and muse. Buryk’s unproduced masterpiece about Martin Luther could be their ticket to success — if Nate can stand to steal it.

Theft. Deceit. Protestants. Brotherly betrayal and false proposals. With an indie-rock score and dynamo voices, REWRITES takes you behind the scenes of the cutthroat world of independent theater.

Written by Dan Moyer with music by Chris Littler, and starring a slew of New York’s next wave of musical talent, REWRITES is an introduction to some of the rising stars of today’s theater scene. After spending three weeks workshopping in Santa Cruz, California, the cast and crew have returned to New York to stage a showcase at the Gene Frankel Theater on Monday, August 25 through Wednesday, August 27.

ADMISSION IS ABSOLUTELY FREE. All we ask is that you watch. Please rsvp to rewritesrsvp@gmail.com.

Enter the Frankel

Even the dog matches.

Apologies for slacking on the blog.  It’s been an interesting three, four – however many days it has been.  That’s no excuse for not keeping you all updated, but there it is anyway.

What you see above is the Gene Frankel Theatre, named after the famed director whose most notable works were The Blacks and Indians. And now Rewrites (or maybe we should call it White People for good luck?) is having the world premiere reading there.  Sure, it’s a little cramped and hot – but it’s the perfect location for a show that takes place as a venue that is supposed to be a little cramped and hot, no?

Sunday night we had a private reading with a few of our dramatic writing friends – no blocking, some songs cut in half, plot holes all over the place – and Dan and I have been working frantically to make sure that the show is in tip-top shape (my words, not his) by Thursday morning, when we begin finely tuning the show.   Jordan, Terry, and the actors have all been extremely patient with us as we beat the living crap out of this thing and for that we owe them our undying thanks.  We hope that the show makes them look good come Monday.

Which reminds me, have you made your reservation yet?  Reservations are filling up surprisingly fast.  I have no doubt in my mind that every seat will be filled by Sunday evening – so you better shoot us an email if you want to catch a glimpse of this project while the ink is still warm on the page.

Tomorrow – or I suppose it would be today – everyone is taking a much needed day off to quietly reflect on the week of intense work that is about to begin.  Dan and I will be working miracles on the page and hoping that it all the pieces fit together nicely.

Musicallically yours.
Littler

Picture Update

Enjoy this week’s photo gallery!

On Our Feet

Hadley and Stephen rehearsing the opening of the show.

Sorry. We’re busy.

Director Jordan Fein tells the actors how to most comfortably sit in their chairs.

With less than two weeks to go until the workshop performance, we are busting our asses to make sure that the show is as polished and wonderful as it can possibly be.  That leaves little time to do much else, and we are sorry if our blog posts fall a bit behind.  I know that I will do my best to keep the blog updated on a daily basis.

This past evening we went over music and blocked “Gary Kasparov v. Deep Blue”.  Some decisions were made on music and costuming.  Tomorrow we have a full read-through of the show from start to finish to pinpoint the problem areas and rectify the story situation.

The new actors add new life (and dare I say spunk?) to the show and we are ecstatic to have them on board.  More tomorrow.  Tonight we get some much-needed rest.

Littler

Two Weeks

Where magic is said to happen.

Two weeks.  That’s an interesting thought.

In two weeks this show will be performed in front of friends, family, and possible investors.  I have every confidence that we will produce an amazing show, but still…

…two weeks!

Tonight was the first reading of the full script since the end of Santa Cruz, and it has gone through some major major revisions since then.  The good news is that it went well.  We see the problems in the script and are hard at work on finding fixes.

It was also the first time we’ve seen some of our newly formed NEW YORK CAST members perform in their roles and they were fantastic.   Every one of them.

Soon we will have information about all the great new people we have attached to show as of today.

Tomorrow we sing.

Littler